I came to the USGS in September 2002 as a postdoctoral fellow to study the bioavailability and bioaccumulation of metals in freshwater food webs. My work focused on understanding how metals are transferred through food webs and how trophic position in a food web influences exposure to metals. I used nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes to show that cadmium, in contrast to copper, could be magnified along certain freshwater food webs. This suggests that processes that drive Cd trophic transfer are more complex than that of organo-metals, metalloids and organic contaminants.
In addition to my work on metal trophic transfer, I refined an approach that involves the use stable metal isotopes (rather than radioisotopes) to describe accumulation and loss dynamics in freshwater invertebrates. Characterization of bioaccumulation dynamics is critical to understanding risks associated with contaminant exposure in organisms. For instance, this tracing technique allowed showing that a slow rate constant of loss for Cu likely explains the elevated levels of this toxic trace metal found in molluscs in nature, and that diet is an important bioaccumulation pathway for metals for several aquatic species.
I used biodynamic modeling and the enriched stable isotope tracers in novel ways to understand the fate and effects of nanosized metals in aquatic organisms as well as toinvestigate how the geochemical properties of mineral particles consumed by organisms affect their bioavailability.
Education:
PhD. 2002. Water and Environmental Sciences, University of Quebec (INRS-ETE), Canada
Influence of temperature and biological processes on Cd bioaccumulation in the aquatic insect Chaoborus
M.Sc. 1997. Water and Environmental Sciences, University of Quebec (INRS-ETE), Canada
Refining a predictive model that uses insect larvae as metal biomonitors in lakes
B.Sc. 1994. Biology, University of Quebec (Rimouski), Canada
Publications:
Lead, JR; Batley, GE; Alvarez, P; Croteau, MN; Handy, R; McLaughlin, M; Judy, J; Schirmer, K. 2018. Nanomaterials in the environment: behavior, fate, bioavailability, and effects. An updated review. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. in press
Tangaa SR, Winther-Nielsen M, Selck H, Croteau MN. 2018. A biodynamic understanding of dietborne and waterborne Ag uptake from Ag NPs in the sediment-dwelling oligochaete, Tubifex tubifex. NanoImpact 11: 33-41.
Croteau MN, Fuller CC, Cain DJ. 2017. Assesing the dietary bioavailability of metals assciated with natural particles: Extending the use of the reverse labeling approach to zinc. Environ. Sci. Technol. 51: 2803-2810
Croteau MN, Fuller CC, Cain DJ, Campbell KM, Aiken G. 2016. Biogeochemical controls of uranium bioavailability from the dissolved phase in natural freshwaters. Environ. Sci. Technol. 50: 8120-8127
Luoma SN, Stoiber T, Croteau MN, Römer I, Merrifeld R, Lead JR. 2016. Effect of cysteine and humic acids on bioavailability of Ag from Ag nanoparticles to a freshwater snail. NanoImpact 2: 61-69
Thit A, Ramskov T, Croteau MN, Selck H. 2016. Biodynamics of copper oxide nanoparticles and copper ions in an oligochaete- Part II: Subcellular distribution following sediment exposure. Aquat. Toxicol. 180: 25-35
Cain DJ, Croteau MN, Fuller CC, Ringwood AH. 2016. Dietary uptake of Cu sorbed to hydrous iron oxide is linked to cellular toxicity and feeding inhibition in a benthic grazer. Environ. Sci. Technol. 50: 1552-1560
Stoiber T.S., Croteau, M-N., Romer I, Tejamaya, M., Lead JR & Luoma, S.N. 2015. Influence of hardness on the bioavailability of silver to a freshwater snail after waterborne exposure to silver ntrate and silver nanoparticles. Nanotoxicology 9(7): 918-927.
Ramskov T, Croteau MN, Forbes VE, Selck H. 2015. Biokinetics of different-shaped copper oxide nanoparticles in the freshwater gastropodPotamopyrgus antipodarum. Aquat. Toxicol. 163: 71-80
Ramskov, T; Thit, A; Croteau, MN; Selck, H. 2015. Biodynamics of copper oxide nanoparticles and copper ions in an oligochaete – Part I: Relative importance of water and sediment as exposure routes. Aquatic Toxicology 164: 81–91
Khan F.R., Kennaway, G.M., Croteau, M-N., Dybowska, A., Smith B.D., Nogueira, A.J.A., Rainbow P.S., Luoma, S.N. & E. Valsami-Jones. 2014. In vivo retention of ingested Au NPs by Daphnia magna: no evidence for trans-epithelial alimentary uptake. Chemosphere 100: 97-104.
Lopez-Serrano Oliver A., Croteau, M-N., Stoiber TL, Tejamaya M, Römer I, Lead JR. Luoma SN. 2014. Does water chemistry affect the dietary uptake and toxicity of silver nanoparticles by the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis? Environ. Pollut. 189: 87-91
García-Alonso, J., Rodriguez-Sanchez, N., Misra, S.K., Valsami-Jones, E., Croteau, M-N., Luoma, S.N., Rainbow, P.S. 2014. Toxicity and accumulation of silver nanoparticles during development of the marine polychaete Platynereis dumerilii. Sci. Total. Environ. 476-477: 688-695.
Luoma, S. N., Khan, F. & Croteau, M-N. 2014. Bioavailability and Bioaccumulation of Metal Based Engineered Nanomaterials (Me-ENMs) in aquatic environments: Concepts and Processes. In Frontiers of Nanoscience, Vol. 7. Lead, J. and Valsami-Jones, E. (eds). Elsevier. pp 157-192
Croteau, M.-N., Dybowska, A.D., Luoma, S.N., Misra & Valsami-Jones, E. 2014. Isotopically modified silver nanoparticles to assess nanosilver bioavailability and toxicity at environmentally relevant exposures. Environ. Chem. 11: 247-256
Croteau, M.-N., Misra, S.K., Luoma S.N., & Valsami-Jones, E. 2014. Bioaccumulation and toxicity of CuO nanoparticles by a freshwater invertebrate after waterborne and dietborne exposures. Environ. Sci. Technol. 48: 10929-10937
Croteau, M.-N., Cain, D.J., and Fuller, C.C., 2013, Novel and nontraditional use of stable isotopes to study metal bioavailability from natural particles: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 47, no. 7, p. 3424-3431
Cain, D.J., Croteau, M.-N., and Fuller, C.C., 2013. Aquatic Organisms Absorb Metals From Ingested Mineral Particles. GeoHealth Newslettervol. 10 (1) [http://health.usgs.gov/geohealth/v10 n01.html]
Cain, D.J., Croteau, M.-N., and Fuller, C.C., 2013, Dietary bioavailability of Cu adsorbed to colloidal hydrous ferric oxide: Environ. Sci. Technol. 47: 2869-2876
Misra, S.K., Dybowska, A., Berhanu, D., Croteau, M.-N., Luoma, S.N., Boccaccini, A.R. & Valsami-Jones, E. 2012. Isotopically modified nanoparticles for enhanced detection in bioaccumulation studies. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46: 1216-1222
Cain, D., Croteau, M.-N., & Luoma, S.N. 2011. Bioaccumulation dynamics and exposure routes of Cd and Cu among species of aquatic mayflies. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 30: 2532-2541.
Croteau, M.-N., Misra, S.K., Luoma, S.N., & Valsami-Jones, E. 2011. Silver bioaccumulation dynamics in a freshwater invertebrate after aqueous and dietary exposures to nanosized and ionic Ag. Environ. Sci. Technol. 45: 6600-6607
Croteau, M.-N., Dybowska, A.D., Luoma, S.N., & Valsami-Jones, E. 2011. A novel approach reveals that ZnO nanoparticles are bioavailable and toxic after dietary exposure. Nanotoxicology. 5(1): 79-90
Dybowska, A.D., Croteau, M.-N., Misra, S.K., Bernahu, D., Luoma, S.N., Christian P., O’Brian, P. & Valsami-Jones, E. 2011. Synthesis of isotopically modified ZnO nanoparticles their potential as nanotoxicity tracers. Environ.Pollut. 159: 266-273
Janssen, E.M.-L., Croteau, M.-N., Luoma, S.N., & R.G. Luthy. 2010. Measurement and modeling of polychlorinated biphenyl bioaccumulation from sediment for the marine polychaete Neanthes arenaceodentata and response to sorbent amendment. Environ. Sci. Technol. 44: 2857-2863.
Croteau, M.-N., & S.N. Luoma. 2009. Predicting dietborne metal toxicity from metal influxes. Environ. Sci. Technol. 43, 4915-4921
Croteau, M.-N., & S.N. Luoma. 2008. A biodynamic understanding of dietborne metal uptake by a freshwater invertebrate. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42: 1801-1806
Hare, L., Tessier A., and M.-N. Croteau. 2008. A biomonitor for tracking changes in the availability of lakewater cadmium over-space and time. Human Ecol. Risk Assessment. 14: 1-14
Croteau, M.-N., & S.N. Luoma. 2007. Characterizing dissolved Cu and Cd uptake in terms of the biotic ligand and biodynamics using enriched stable isotopes. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41: 3140-3145
Croteau, M.-N., S.N. Luoma & B. Pellet. 2007. Determining metal assimilation efficiency in aquatic invertebrates using enriched stable metal isotope tracers. Aquat. Toxicol. 83: 116-125.
Croteau, M.-N., S.N. Luoma & A. R. Stewart. 2005. Trophic transfer of metals along freshwater food webs: Evidence of Cd biomagnification in nature. Limnol. Oceanogr. 50: 1511-1519.
Croteau, M.-N., & S.N. Luoma. 2005. Delineating copper accumulation pathways for the freshwater bivalve Corbicula using stable copper isotopes. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 24: 2871-2878
Kuwabara, J.S., B.R. Topping, G.E. Moon, P. Husby, A. Lincoff, J.L. Carter & M.-N. Croteau. 2005. Mercury accumulation by lower trophic-level organisms in lentic systems within the Guadalupe River watershed, CA. U.S.G.S-Scientific Investigation Report 2005-5037, http://pubs.water.usgs.gov/sir2005-5037.
Croteau, M.-N., S.N. Luoma, C. B. Lopez & B.R. Topping. 2004. Stable metal isotopes reveal copper accumulation and loss dynamics in the freshwater bivalve Corbicula. Environ. Sci. Technol. 38: 5002-5009.
Croteau, M.-N., L. Hare & A. Tessier. 2003. Difficulties in relating Cd concentrations in the predatory insect Chaoborus to those of its prey in nature. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 60: 800-808.
Croteau, M.-N., L. Hare & P. Marcoux. 2003. Feeding patterns of migratory and non-migratory fourth instar larvae of two coexistingChaoborus species in an acidic and metal contaminated lake: Importance of prey ingestion rate in predicting metal bioaccumulation. Arch. Hydrobiol. 158: 57-74.
Croteau, M.-N., L. Hare & A. Tessier. 2002. Increase in food web cadmium following reductions in atmospheric inputs to some lakes. Environ. Sci. Technol. 36(4): 3079-3082.
Croteau, M.-N., L. Hare, P.G.C Campbell & Y. Couillard. 2002. Metallothionein-like metal-binding protein in the biomonitor Chaoborus:Occurrence and relationship to ambient metal concentrations in lakes. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 21(4): 737-741.
Croteau, M.-N., L. Hare & A. Tessier. 2002. Influence of temperature on Cd accumulation by species of the biomonitor Chaoborus. Limnol. Oceanogr. 47(2): 505-514.
Croteau, M.-N., L. Hare & A. Tessier. 2001. Differences in Cd accumulation among species of the lake-dwelling biomonitor Chaoborus. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 58: 1737-1746.
Croteau, M.-N., L. Hare & A. Tessier. 1998. Refining and testing a trace metal biomonitor (Chaoborus) in highly acidic lakes. Environ. Sci. Technol. 32(9): 1348-1353.
About the Laboratory
The Bio-Uptake Research Laboratory uses novel stable isotope tracing techniques to assess the bioavailability of inorganic contaminants and characterize the underlying processes governing their bioavailability.
Scientists refined an existing speciation model to identify key biogeochemical processes controlling dissolved uranium bioavailability to a freshwater snail. This information is important to advance current understanding and prediction of the ecological risk posed by uranium mining to freshwater ecosystems, including federally managed lands such as in the Grand Canyon area.
Metal nanoparticles (Me-NPs) are increasingly used in various products, such as inks and cosmetics, enhancing the likelihood of their release into aquatic environments. An understanding of the mechanisms controlling their bioaccumulation and ecotoxicity in aquatic biota will help support environmental risk...
Tangaa, Stine Rosendal; Winther-Nielsen, Margrethe; Selck, Henriette; Croteau, Marie-Noele The present review covers developments in studies of nanomaterials (NMs) in the environment since our much cited review in 2008. We discuss novel insights into fate and behavior, metrology, transformations, bioavailability, toxicity mechanisms, and environmental impacts, with a focus on terrestrial and aquatic systems. Overall, the findings were...
Lead, Jamie R.; Batley, Graeme E.; Alvarez, Pedro J.J.; Croteau, Marie-Noele; Handy, Richard D.; McLaughlin, Michael J.; Judy, Jonathon D.; Schirmer, Kristin We extend the use of a novel tracing technique to quantify the bioavailability of zinc (Zn) associated with natural particles using snails enriched with a less common Zn stable isotope. Lymnaea stagnalis is a model species that has relatively fast Zn uptake rates from the dissolved phase, enabling their rapid enrichment in 67Zn during the initial...
Croteau, Marie-Noele; Cain, Daniel J.; Fuller, Christopher C. The use and likely incidental release of metal nanoparticles (NPs) is steadily increasing. Despite the increasing amount of published literature on metal NP toxicity in the aquatic environment, very little is known about the biological fate of NPs after sediment exposures. Here, we compare the bioavailability and subcellular distribution of copper...
Thit, Amalie; Ramskov, Tina; Croteau, Marie-Noele; Selck, Henriette To gain insights into the risks associated with uranium (U) mining and processing, we investigated the biogeochemical controls of U bioavailability in the model freshwater speciesLymnaea stagnalis (Gastropoda). Bioavailability of dissolved U(VI) was characterized in controlled laboratory experiments over a range of water hardness, pH, and in...
Croteau, Marie-Noele; Fuller, Christopher C.; Cain, Daniel J.; Campbell, Kate M.; Aiken, George R. Metal-based engineered nanoparticles (NPs) will undergo transformations that will affect their bioavailability, toxicity and ecological risk when released to the environment, including interactions with dissolved organic material. The purpose of this paper is to determine how interactions with two different types of organic material affect the...
Luoma, Samuel N.; Tasha Stoiber; Croteau, Marie-Noele; Isabelle Romer; Ruth Merrifeild; Lead, Jamie Whereas feeding inhibition caused by exposure to contaminants has been extensively documented, the underlying mechanism(s) are less well understood. For this study, the behavior of several key feeding processes, including ingestion rate and assimilation efficiency, that affect the dietary uptake of Cu were evaluated in the benthic grazer ...
Cain, Daniel J.; Croteau, Marie-Noele; Fuller, Christopher C.; Ringwood, Amy H. Copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) are widely used, and likely released into the aquatic environment. Both aqueous (i.e., dissolved Cu) and particulate Cu can be taken up by organisms. However, how exposure routes influence the bioavailability and subsequent toxicity of Cu remains largely unknown. Here, we assess the importance of exposure...
Ramskov, Tina; Thit, Amalie; Croteau, Marie-Noele; Selck, Henriette Sediment is recognized as a major environmental sink for contaminants, including engineered nanoparticles (NPs). Consequently, sediment-living organisms are likely to be exposed to NPs. There is evidence that both accumulation and toxicity of metal NPs to sediment-dwellers increase with decreasing particle size, although NP size does not always...
Ramskov, Tina; Croteau, Marie-Noele; Forbes, Valery E.; Selck, Henriette The release of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) into the aquatic environment is likely, but the influence of water chemistry on their impacts and fate remains unclear. Here, we characterize the bioavailability of Ag from AgNO3 and from AgNPs capped with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP AgNP) and thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG AgNP) in the freshwater snail,...
Stoiber, Tasha L.; Croteau, Marie-Noele; Romer, Isabella; Tejamaya, Mila; Lead, Jamie R.; Luoma, Samuel N. The incidental ingestion of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) can be an important route of uptake for aquatic organisms. Yet, knowledge of dietary bioavailability and toxicity of NPs is scarce. Here we used isotopically modified copper oxide (65CuO) NPs to characterize the processes governing their bioaccumulation in a freshwater snail after...
Croteau, Marie-Noele; Misra, Superb K.; Luoma, Samuel N.; Valsami-Jones, Eugenia A major challenge in understanding the environmental implications of nanotechnology lies in studying nanoparticle uptake in organisms at environmentally realistic exposure concentrations. Typically, high exposure concentrations are needed to trigger measurable effects and to detect accumulation above background. But application of tracer...
Croteau, Marie-Noële; Dybowska, Agnieszka D.; Luoma, Samuel N.; Misra, Superb K.; Valsami-Jones, Eugenia