Barnett Rattner, Ph.D.
Dr. Barnett Rattner is an ecotoxicologist at the Eastern Ecological Science Center in Laurel, MD.
He conducts hypothesis-driven laboratory and field investigations, risk assessments and scholarly evaluations on the toxicity of legacy and contemporary pollutants (industrial contaminants, metals, pesticides, petroleum crude oil) to wildlife and the environment. His current focus is on exposure and adverse effects of anticoagulant rodenticides, flame retardants and pharmaceuticals, comparative toxicology, non-target secondary poisoning associated with rodenticides, alternative testing methods, and screening-level risk assessments. Dr. Rattner actively represents the DOI as a member of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods, and serves as a special consultant to the Fish and Wildlife Service on issues related to nontoxic shot used in hunt nontoxic shot used in hunt waterfowl.
Active Projects:
- Development of data and models to evaluate the hazard and risk of anticoagulant rodenticides to non-target raptorial species
- Absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and toxicity of neonicotinoids in seed-eating birds
- Harmful algal blooms and bird die-offs in the Chesapeake Bay: A potential link?
- Contaminant exposure and potential reproductive effects in ospreys nesting in Chesapeake and Delaware Bay
- Contaminant-related activities and synoptic reviews in support of client agencies in the Department of the Interior
- Technical assistance to the Fish and Wildlife Service on alternative shot
Accomplishments:
- Authored over 135 publications, co-edited three books (Handbook of Ecotoxicology, Ecotoxicology of Wild Mammals, Anticoagulant Rodenticides and Wildlife), and made over 160 presentations at scientific meetings, workshops and symposia.
- Compiled two widely used internet-accessible ecotoxicological databases (Contaminant Exposure and Effects—Terrestrial Vertebrates database, Biological and Ecotoxicological Characteristics of Terrestrial Vertebrate Species Residing in Estuaries).
- Serves as Terrestrial Editor of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and as an Editorial Board member of the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, and Outlooks on Pest Management.
Professional Experience
Ecotoxicologist and Physiologist (research scientist, section leader, deputy branch chief) Department of the Interior, FWS, NBS, and USGS (1978-present)
Adjunct Professor University of Maryland, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences & Department of Environmental Science and Technology (1988-2022)
National Research Council Post-doctoral Research Associate, National Naval Medical Center (1978
Guest Worker, National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH (1974-1981)
Instructor and Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Maryland, Department of Zoology (1972-1977)
Education and Certifications
B.S., University of Maryland, 1972 - Zoology
M.S., University of Maryland, 1974 - Zoology, Developmental Biology
Ph.D., University of Maryland, 1977 - Zoology, Environmental Physiology
National Research Council Postdoctoral Associateship, Naval Medical Research Institute, 1978 - Hyperbaric Physiology
Affiliations and Memberships*
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Society of Toxicology
The Wildlife Society
American Physiological Society
Honors and Awards
Distinguished Service Award, Department of the Interior 2018
Fellow, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 2017
President, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry World Council 2015
President, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry - North America 2012
SETAC Government Service Award 2007
Science and Products
Accumulation of 14C-naphthalene in the tissues of redhead ducks fed oil-contaminated crayfish
Oviposition and the plasma concentrations of LH, progesterone, and corticosterone in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) fed parathion
Hormonal responses and tolerance to cold of female quail following parathion ingestion
Effects of dispersant and crude oil ingestion on mallard ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos)
Oviposition, plasma luteinizing hormone and corticosterone concentrations, and cold tolerance of quail fed parathion
Inclusion body hepatitis in kestrels (Falco sparverius)
Osmoregulation and salt gland Na, K-ATPase activity following exposure to the anticholinesterase fenthion
Diagnosis of anticholinesterase poisoning in birds: Effects of environmental temperature and underfeeding on cholinesterase activity
Tolerance of adult mallards to subacute ingestion of crude petroleum oil
Plasma corticosterone and thyroxine concentrations during chronic ingestion of crude oil in mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)
Does non-specific stress confound diagnosis of anticholinesterase poisoning in birds?
Plasma corticosterone and thyroxine concentrations, and enzyme activities in mallards during acute and chronic dietary exposure to crude oil
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Accumulation of 14C-naphthalene in the tissues of redhead ducks fed oil-contaminated crayfish
Crayfish, artificially contaminated with14C-naphthalene-5% water-soluble fraction of No. 2 fuel oil, were force-fed to one-year-old redhead ducks to determine the accumulation of petroleum hydrocarbons. The relative distribution of carbon-14 activity in the gall bladder containing bile, and fat were similar, and significantly greater (P < 0.05) than the activity in the blood, brain, liver, and kidAuthorsI. Barry Tarshis, Barnett A. RattnerOviposition and the plasma concentrations of LH, progesterone, and corticosterone in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) fed parathion
Bobwhite quail were fed concentrations of parathion (0,50, 100, 200 or 400 p.p.m.) for 10 days. Food intake, body weight change, brain acetylcholinesterase activity, egg production, and ovary weight were reduced in a dose-dependent manner. In a second experiment, birds were fed 0, 25 or 100 p.p.m. parathion or pair-fed control food to equate consumption in the 100 p.p.m. group. Egg production wAuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, L. Sileo, C.G. ScanesHormonal responses and tolerance to cold of female quail following parathion ingestion
Thirty-week-old female bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus), maintained at 26 + 1?C, were provided diets containing 0,25, or 100 ppm parathion ad libitum. After 10 days, birds were exposed to mild cold (6 + 1?C) for 4,8, 12, 24, or 48 hr. Brain acetylcholinesterase activity was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner in birds receiving 25 and 100 ppm parathion. Body weight, egg production, and plaAuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, L. Sileo, C.G. ScanesEffects of dispersant and crude oil ingestion on mallard ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos)
No abstract available.AuthorsW. C. Eastin, Barnett A. RattnerOviposition, plasma luteinizing hormone and corticosterone concentrations, and cold tolerance of quail fed parathion
No abstract available.AuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, L. Sileo, C.G. ScanesInclusion body hepatitis in kestrels (Falco sparverius)
Inclusion body disease of suspected adenovirus etiology was the apparent cause of death of 9 captive kestrels (Falco sparverius). Cloacal hemorrhage was the only prominent gross lesion; disseminated hepatocellular necrosis and intranuclear inclusion bodies were evident microscopically. Attempts to reproduce the disease, and to propagate and serologically characterize the agent were unsuccessful.AuthorsL. Sileo, J. C. Franson, D.L. Graham, C.H. Domermuth, Barnett A. Rattner, O. H. PatteeOsmoregulation and salt gland Na, K-ATPase activity following exposure to the anticholinesterase fenthion
Salt gland function and osmoregulation in aquatic birds drinking hyperosmotic water has been suggested to be impaired by organophosphorus insecticides. To test this hypothesis, adult ducks (Anas rubripes) were provided various regimens of fresh or salt (1.5% NaCl) water (FW, SW) and mash containing vehicle or 21 ppm fenthion (Fn) on days 1-7 and 7-12 of this study. The 8 treatments (day 1-7:day 7-AuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, W. J. Fleming, H. C. MurrayDiagnosis of anticholinesterase poisoning in birds: Effects of environmental temperature and underfeeding on cholinesterase activity
Brain cholinesterase (ChE) activity has been used extensively to monitor exposure to organophosphorus (OP) and carbamate (CB) insecticides in wild birds. A series of factorial experiments was conducted to assess the extent to which noncontaminant-related environmental conditions might affect brain ChE activity and thereby confound the diagnosis of OP and CB intoxication. Underfeeding (restrictingAuthorsBarnett A. RattnerTolerance of adult mallards to subacute ingestion of crude petroleum oil
Adult male mallards were fed untreated mash or mash containing 1.5% Prudhoe Bay crude oil for 7 days ad lib. During the initial 24 h of exposure to crude petroleum oil, ducks consumed less mash (P less than 0.05) and lost approx. 3.5% of their initial body weight (P less than 0.05), however, neither intake nor body weight differ between groups on days 2-7. Plasma samples collected between 09.00 anAuthorsBarnett A. RattnerPlasma corticosterone and thyroxine concentrations during chronic ingestion of crude oil in mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)
1. Blood samples were collected from mallard ducks after 6, 12, and 18 weeks of dietary exposure to mash containing 0.015%, 0.150%, and 1.500% crude oil.2. Plasma corticosterone concentrations in ducks fed mash containing 0.150% or 1.500% Alaskan Prudhoe Bay crude oil were uniformly depressed when compared to values in untreated control birds.3. Plasma thyroxine concentration was not altered in duAuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, W. C. EastinDoes non-specific stress confound diagnosis of anticholinesterase poisoning in birds?
No abstract available.AuthorsBarnett A. RattnerPlasma corticosterone and thyroxine concentrations, and enzyme activities in mallards during acute and chronic dietary exposure to crude oil
No abstract available.AuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, W.C. Eastin - Web Tools
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*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government