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
The toll of toxics: investigating environmental contaminants
Technical review of the sources and implications of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on natural resources
Toxicity of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (de-71) in chicken (Gallus gallus), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and American kestrel (Falco sparverius) embryos and hatchlings
Potential environmental contaminant risks to avian species at important bird areas in the northeastern United States
Management concerns about known and potential impacts of lead use in shooting and in fishing activities
Environmental contaminant hazards to wildlife at National Capital region and Mid-Atlantic National Park Service units
Element patterns in feathers of nestling Black-Crowned Night-Herons, Nycticorax nycticorax L., from four colonies in Delaware, Maryland, and Minnesota
Concentrations of metals in blood and feathers of nestling ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) in Chesapeake and Delaware Bays
Sources and implications of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on natural resources
Apparent tolerance of turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac
Potential environmental contaminant risks to avian species at important bird areas in the northeastern United States
Egg incubation position affects toxicity of air cell administered polychlorinated biphenyl 126 (3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl) in chicken (Gallus gallus) embryos
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The toll of toxics: investigating environmental contaminants
On Earth Day of this year, the British Petroleum-operated Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, 41 miles off the Louisiana coast. The blast killed 11 workers, injured 17, launched a massive oil spill, and triggered an environmental catastrophe—the full impact of which may not be realized for years.AuthorsDonald W. Sparling, Barnett A. Rattner, John S. BarclayTechnical review of the sources and implications of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on natural resources
No abstract available.AuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, J. C. Franson, S.R. Sheffield, C.I. Goddard, N.J. Leonard, D. Stang, P.J. WingateToxicity of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (de-71) in chicken (Gallus gallus), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and American kestrel (Falco sparverius) embryos and hatchlings
Embryonic survival, pipping and hatching success, and sublethal biochemical, endocrine, and histological endpoints were examined in hatchling chickens (Gallus gallus), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and American kestrels (Falco sparverius) following air cell administration of a pentabrominated diphenyl ether (penta-BDE; DE-71) mixture (0.01-20 mu g/g egg) or polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congenerAuthorsM.A. McKernan, Barnett A. Rattner, R. C. Hale, M. A. OttingerPotential environmental contaminant risks to avian species at important bird areas in the northeastern United States
Environmental contaminants can have profound effects on birds, acting from the molecular through population levels of biological organization. An analysis of potential contaminant threats was undertaken at 52 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) within the northeastern Atlantic coast drainage. Using geographic information system methodology, data layers describing or integrating contamination (impaired wAuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, B.K. AckersonManagement concerns about known and potential impacts of lead use in shooting and in fishing activities
We present a summary of the technical review, jointly requested by the American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society, addressing the hazards to wildlife resulting from lead objects or fragments introduced into aquatic and terrestrial environments from the use of ammunition and fishing tackle. Impacts from lead are well documented in humans, as well as in terrestrial and aquatic organisms. CoAuthorsC.I. Goddard, N.J. Leonard, D.L. Stang, P.J. Wingate, Barnett A. Rattner, J. C. Franson, S.R. SheffieldEnvironmental contaminant hazards to wildlife at National Capital region and Mid-Atlantic National Park Service units
Pollutant data for air, water, soil and biota were compiled from databases and internet sources and by staff interviews at 23 National Park Service (NPS) units in 2005. A metric was derived describing the quality and quantity of data for each park, and in combination with known contaminant threats, the need for ecotoxicological study was identified and ranked. Over half of NP units were near ToxAuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, B.K. AckersonElement patterns in feathers of nestling Black-Crowned Night-Herons, Nycticorax nycticorax L., from four colonies in Delaware, Maryland, and Minnesota
The pattern of elements in nestling black-crowned night-heron feathers from a rural Minnesota colony differed from colonies in industrialized regions of Maryland and Delaware. Except for chromium, however, the differences did not reflect the elements associated with waters and sediments of the Maryland and Delaware colonies. Therefore, elements in water and sediment do not necessarily bioaccumulAuthorsThomas W. Custer, Nancy H. Golden, Barnett A. RattnerConcentrations of metals in blood and feathers of nestling ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) in Chesapeake and Delaware Bays
In 2000, 2001, and 2002, blood and feather samples were collected from 40–45-day-old nestling ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) from Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay and River. Concentrations of 18 metals, metalloids, and other elements were determined in these samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy, and Hg concentrations were measured by cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy. When cAuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, N. H. Golden, P. C. Toschik, P. C. McGowan, T. W. CusterSources and implications of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on natural resources
A technical review of lead sources that originate from hunting, shooting sports, and fishing activities was undertaken by the American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society. The report addresses (1) sources of lead that originate from hunting, shooting sports, and fishing activities, (2) the hazard and risk that lead from these activities pose to natural resources, and (3) the management implAuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, J. Christian Franson, Steven R. Sheffield, Chris I. Goddard, Nancy J. Leonard, Douglas Stang, Paul J. WingateApparent tolerance of turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac
The nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug diclofenac is extremely toxic to Old World Gyps vultures (median lethal dose ∼0.1–0.2 mg/kg), evoking visceral gout, renal necrosis, and mortality within a few days of exposure. Unintentional secondary poisoning of vultures that fed upon carcasses of diclofenac‐treated livestock decimated populations in the Indian subcontinent. Because of the widespread useAuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, M.A. Whitehead, G. Gasper, C.U. Meteyer, W. A. Link, M.A. Taggart, A.A. Meharg, O. H. Pattee, D.J. PainPotential environmental contaminant risks to avian species at important bird areas in the northeastern United States
Environmental contaminants, acting at molecular through population levels of biological organization, can have profound effects upon birds. A screening level risk assessment was conducted that examined potential contaminant threats at 52 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the northeastern Atlantic coast drainage. Using geographic information system methodology, data layers describing or integratingAuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, B.K. AckersonEgg incubation position affects toxicity of air cell administered polychlorinated biphenyl 126 (3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl) in chicken (Gallus gallus) embryos
The avian egg is used extensively for chemical screening and determining the relative sensitivity of species to environmental contaminants (e.g., metals, pesticides, polyhalogenated compounds). The effect of egg incubation position on embryonic survival, pipping, and hatching success was examined following air cell administration of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener 126 (3,3',4,4',5-pentachlAuthorsM.A. McKernan, Barnett A. Rattner, R. C. Hale, M. A. Ottinger - 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