Keith A Loftin, Ph.D.
Science and Products
Detection of microcystin and other cyanotoxins in lakes at Isle Royale National Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, northern Michigan, 2012–13
Although cyanotoxins released during algal blooms have become an increasing concern in surface waters across the United States, the presence of cyanotoxins in northern Michigan lakes had not been evaluated in detail. The U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service (NPS) led a 2-year study (2012 and 2013) to determine the presence of...
Fuller, Lori M.; Brennan, Angela K.; Fogarty, Lisa R.; Loftin, Keith A.; Johnson, Heather E.; VanderMeulen, David D.; Lafrancois, Brenda Moraska
Satellite monitoring of cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom frequency in recreational waters and drinking water sources
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHAB) cause extensive problems in lakes worldwide, including human and ecological health risks, anoxia and fish kills, and taste and odor problems. CyanoHABs are a particular concern in both recreational waters and drinking water sources because of their dense biomass and the risk of exposure to toxins....
Clark, John M.; Schaeffer, Blake A.; Darling, John A.; Urquhart, Erin A. ; Johnston, John M.; Ignatius, Amber R.; Myer, Mark H.; Loftin, Keith A.; Werdell, P. Jeremy; Stumpf, Richard P. A method for examining temporal changes in cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom spatial extent using satellite remote sensing
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHAB) are thought to be increasing globally over the past few decades, but relatively little quantitative information is available about the spatial extent of blooms. Satellite remote sensing provides a potential technology for identifying cyanoHABs in multiple water bodies and across geo-political...
Urquhart, Erin A. ; Schaeffer, Blake A.; Stumpf, Richard P. ; Loftin, Keith A.; Werdell, P. Jeremy A critical review of the postulated role of the non-essential amino acid, β-N-methylamino-L-alanine, in neurodegenerative disease in humans
The compound BMAA (β-N-methylamino-L-alanine) has been postulated to play a significant role in four serious neurological human diseases: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Parkinsonism Dementia Complex (ALS/PDC) found on Guam, and ALS, Parkinsonism, and dementia that occur globally. ALS/PDC with symptoms of all three diseases first came to the...
Chernoff, Neil; Hill, D. J.; Diggs, D. L.; Faison, B. D.; Francis, B. M.; Lang, J. R.; Larue, M. M.; Le, T.-T.; Loftin, Keith A.; Lugo, J. N.; Schmid, J. E.; Winnik, W. W.
Cyanobacteria of the 2016 Lake Okeechobee and Okeechobee Waterway harmful algal bloom
The Lake Okeechobee and the Okeechobee Waterway (Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie Canal and River, and the Caloosahatchee River) experienced an extensive harmful algal bloom within Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie Canal and River and the Caloosahatchee River in 2016. In addition to the very visible bloom of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa,...
Rosen, Barry H.; Davis, Timothy W.; Gobler, Christopher J.; Kramer, Benjamin J.; Loftin, Keith A. Expanded target-chemical analysis reveals extensive mixed-organic-contaminant exposure in USA streams
Surface water from 38 streams nationwide was assessed using 14 target-organic methods (719 compounds). Designed-bioactive anthropogenic contaminants (biocides, pharmaceuticals) comprised 57% of 406 organics detected at least once. The 10 most-frequently detected anthropogenic-organics included eight pesticides (desulfinylfipronil, AMPA,...
Bradley, Paul M.; Journey, Celeste A.; Romanok, Kristin; Barber, Larry B.; Buxton, Herbert T.; Foreman, William; Furlong, Edward T.; Glassmeyer, Susan T.; Hladik, Michelle L.; Iwanowicz, Luke R. ; Jones, Daniel K.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Kuivila, Kathryn M. ; Loftin, Keith A.; Mills, Marc A.; Meyer, Michael T.; Orlando, James L. ; Reilly, Timothy J.; Smalling, Kelly L. ; Villeneuve, Daniel L.
Methods used to characterize the chemical composition and biological activity of environmental waters throughout the United States, 2012-14
A vast array of chemical compounds are in wide commercial use in the United States, and the potential ecological and human-health effect of exposure to chemical mixtures has been identified as a high priority in environment health science. Awareness of the potential effects of low-level chemical exposures is rising. The U.S. Geological Survey, in...
Romanok, Kristin M. ; Reilly, Timothy J.; Barber, Larry B.; Boone, J. Scott; Buxton, Herbert T.; Foreman, William T. ; Furlong, Edward T.; Hladik, Michelle; Iwanowicz, Luke R. ; Journey, Celeste ; Kolpin, Dana W.; Kuivila, Kathryn ; Loftin, Keith A.; Mills, Marc A.; Meyer, Michael T.; Orlando, James L. ; Smalling, Kelly L. ; Villeneuve, Daniel L.; Bradley, Paul M. Similarities and differences in occurrence and temporal fluctuations in glyphosate and atrazine in small Midwestern streams (USA) during the 2013 growing season
Glyphosate and atrazine are the most intensively used herbicides in the United States. Although there is abundant spatial and temporal information on atrazine occurrence at regional scales, there are far fewer data for glyphosate, and studies that compare the two herbicides are rare. We investigated temporal patterns in glyphosate and atrazine...
Mahler, Barbara J.; Van Metre, Peter C.; Burley, Thomas E.; Loftin, Keith A.; Meyer, Michael T.; Nowell, Lisa H. Matrix inhibition PCR and Microtox® 81.9% screening assay analytical results for samples collected for the Sediment-Bound Contaminant Resiliency and Response Strategy pilot study, northeastern United States, 2015
Coastal communities are uniquely vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR) and severe storms such as hurricanes. These events enhance the dispersion and concentration of natural and anthropogenic chemicals and pathogenic microorganisms that could adversely affect the health and resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems in coming years. The U.S....
Schill, William B.; Benzel, William M.; Fisher, Shawn C.; Griffin, Dale W.; Jones, Daniel K.; Loftin, Keith A.; Iwanowicz, Luke R. ; Reilly, Timothy J. Exposure potential of salt marsh units in Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge to environmental health stressors
Natural and anthropogenic contaminants, pathogens, and viruses are found in soils and sediments throughout the United States. Enhanced dispersion and concentration of these environmental health stressors in coastal regions can result from sea level rise and storm-derived disturbances. The combination of existing environmental health stressors and...
Defne, Zafer; Ganju, Neil K.; Jones, Daniel K.; Reilly, Timothy J.; Aquino, Kimberly C.; Carbo, Chelsea L.; Kaufhold, Erika E.; Benzel, William M.; Fisher, Shawn C.; Griffin, Dale W.; Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Loftin, Keith A.
Water quality and bed sediment quality in the Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, 2012–14
The Albemarle Sound region was selected in 2012 as one of two demonstration sites in the Nation to test and improve the design of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council’s National Monitoring Network (NMN) for U.S. Coastal Waters and Tributaries. The goal of the NMN for U.S. Coastal Waters and Tributaries is to provide information about the...
Moorman, Michelle C.; Fitzgerald, Sharon A.; Gurley, Laura N.; Rhoni-Aref, Ahmed ; Loftin, Keith A.
Spatial variability of harmful algal blooms in Milford Lake, Kansas, July and August 2015
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) tend to be spatially variable vertically in the water column and horizontally across the lake surface because of in-lake and weather-driven processes and can vary by orders of magnitude in concentration across relatively short distances (meters or less). Extreme spatial variability in cyanobacteria...
Foster, Guy M.; Graham, Jennifer L.; Stiles, Tom C.; Boyer, Marvin G.; King, Lindsey R.; Loftin, Keith A.