James Coles, PhD.
James Coles is an aquatic ecologist for the New England Water Science Center. His primary interests are identifing how urban development and its associated stressors affect invertebrate and algal communities in streams, and translating this information into reliable indicators of ecological health that can be used in management decisions for streams.
Biography
James is an aquatic ecologist who has been with the New England Water Science Center since 2007. His earlier work focused on the effects of environmental factors on the growth of cyanobacteria and its seasonal dominance over diatoms. More recently he has investigated the effects of watershed development and associated stressors on the condition of stream ecosystems. Since 2014 he has been the coordinator for the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessments in New England; these studies include a comprehensive investigation of how stream ecosystems are affected by modified flow regimes, and how watershed development results in multiple stressors that affect water quality and the biotic communities of streams in New England.
Education:
Ph.D., Environmental Science and Public Policy, 1992, George Mason University
M.S., Aquatic Ecology, 1982, George Mason University
B.A., Environmental Biology, 1977, University of Virginia
Prior Experience:
USGS/EPA Liaison - EPA Region I (New England), Boston MA (2002-2007)
Ecologist - Nat'l Water Quality Assessment Program, USGS MA/RI District (1992-2002)
Project Manager - Analysis and Technology, Inc., Arlington VA (1983 - 1989)
Water Quality Specialist - Virginia Department of Transportation, Richmond VA (1977- 1980)
Science and Products
Chemical and physical controls on mercury source signatures in stream fish from the northeastern United States
Streams in the northeastern U.S. receive mercury (Hg) in varying proportions from atmospheric deposition and legacy point sources, making it difficult to attribute shifts in fish concentrations directly back to changes in Hg source management. Mercury stable isotope tracers were utilized to relate sources of Hg to co-located fish and bed sediments...
Janssen, Sarah E.; Riva-Murray, Karen; DeWild, John F.; Ogorek, Jacob M.; Tate, Michael T.; Van Metre, Peter C.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Coles, James F.
Design and methods of the U.S. Geological Survey Northeast Stream Quality Assessment (NESQA), 2016
During 2016, as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project (NAWQA), the U.S. Geological Survey conducted the Northeast Stream Quality Assessment (NESQA) to investigate stream quality in the northeastern United States. The goal of the NESQA was to assess the health of wadeable streams in the region by characterizing multiple water-...
Coles, James F.; Riva-Murray, Karen; Van Metre, Peter C.; Button, Daniel T.; Bell, Amanda H.; Qi, Sharon L.; Journey, Celeste A.; Sheibley, Richard W.
The Midwest Stream Quality Assessment—Influences of human activities on streams
Healthy streams and the fish and other organisms that live in them contribute to our quality of life. Extensive modification of the landscape in the Midwestern United States, however, has profoundly affected the condition of streams. Row crops and pavement have replaced grasslands and woodlands, streams have been straightened, and wetlands and...
Van Metre, Peter C.; Mahler, Barbara J.; Carlisle, Daren M.; Coles, James F.
Urban development and stream ecosystem health—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey
Urban development creates multiple stressors that can degrade stream ecosystems by changing stream hydrology, water quality, and physical habitat. Contaminants, habitat destruction, and increasing streamflow variability resulting from urban development have been associated with the disruption of biological communities, particularly the loss of...
Reilly, Pamela A.; Szabo, Zoltan; Coles, James F.
The Northeast Stream Quality Assessment
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) is assessing stream quality in the northeastern United States. The goal of the Northeast Stream Quality Assessment (NESQA) is to assess the quality of streams in the region by characterizing multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to aquatic life and...
Van Metre, Peter C.; Riva-Murray, Karen; Coles, James F.
Aquatic assessment of the Pike Hill Copper Mine Superfund site, Corinth, Vermont
The Pike Hill Copper Mine Superfund site in Corinth, Orange County, Vermont, includes the Eureka, Union, and Smith mines along with areas of downstream aquatic ecosystem impairment. The site was placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) National Priorities List in 2004. The mines, which operated from about 1847 to 1919, contain...
Piatak, Nadine M.; Argue, Denise M.; Seal, Robert R.; Kiah, Richard G.; Besser, John M.; Coles, James F.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Levitan, Denise M.; Deacon, Jeffrey R.; Ingersoll, Christopher G.
Effects of urban development on stream ecosystems in nine metropolitan study areas across the United States
Urban development is an important agent of environmental change in the United States. The urban footprint on the American landscape has expanded during a century and a half of almost continuous development. Eighty percent of Americans now live in metropolitan areas, and the advantages and challenges of living in these developed areas—...
Coles, James F.; McMahon, Gerard; Bell, Amanda H.; Brown, Larry R.; Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Scudder Eikenberry, Barbara C.; Woodside, Michael D.; Cuffney, Thomas F.; Bryant, Wade L.; Cappiella, Karen; Fraley-McNeal, Lisa; Stack, William P.
Urban development results in stressors that degrade stream ecosystems
In 2003, eighty-three percent of Americans lived in metropolitan areas, and considerable population increases are predicted within the next 50 years. Nowhere are the environmental changes associated with urban development more evident than in urban streams. Contaminants, habitat destruction, and increasing streamflow flashiness resulting from...
Bell, Amanda H.; Coles, James F.; McMahon, Gerard; Woodside, Michael D.
Variability in stream chemistry in relation to urban development and biological condition in seven metropolitan areas of the United States, 1999-2004
Beginning in 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program investigated the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems in nine metropolitan study areas across the United States. In seven of these study areas, stream-chemistry samples were collected every other month for 1 year at 6 to 10 sites. Within a study...
Beaulieu, Karen M.; Bell, Amanda H.; Coles, James F.
Aquatic assessment of the Ely Copper Mine Superfund site, Vershire, Vermont
The Ely Mine, which operated from 1821 to 1905, and its area of downstream impact constitute the Ely Copper Mine Superfund site. The site was placed on the National Priorities List in 2001. The mine comprises underground workings, foundations from historical structures, several waste-rock piles, roast beds associated with the smelting operation,...
Seal, Robert R.; Kiah, Richard G.; Piatak, Nadine M.; Besser, John M.; Coles, James F.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Argue, Denise M.; Levitan, Denise M.; Deacon, Jeffrey R.; Ingersoll, Christopher G.
Selected Physical, Chemical, and Biological Data Used to Study Urbanizing Streams in Nine Metropolitan Areas of the United States, 1999-2004
This report documents and summarizes physical, chemical, and biological data collected during 1999-2004 in a study titled Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosystems, undertaken as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Data-collection methods and data processing are described in this report for streamflow...
Giddings, Elise M.P.; Bell, Amanda H.; Beaulieu, Karen M.; Cuffney, Thomas F.; Coles, James F.; Brown, Larry R.; Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Falcone, James A.; Sprague, Lori A.; Bryant, Wade L.; Peppler, Marie C.; Stephens, Cory; McMahon, Gerard
The Effects of Urbanization and Other Environmental Gradients on Algal Assemblages in Nine Metropolitan Areas across the United States
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted studies from 2000 to 2004 to determine the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems in nine major metropolitan study areas across the United States. Biological, chemical, and physical components of streams were assessed at 28 to 30 sites in each study area. Benthic algae were sampled to compare the degree...
Coles, James F.; Bell, Amanda H.; Scudder, Barbara C.; Carpenter, Kurt D.