Randy Hines holds a M.S. in Forestry-Integrated Resource Management and a B.S. in Zoology and Wildlife Ecology from Southern Illinois University.
Randy has served as the Partnership Coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey's Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center since 2003. Randy is responsible for management of the science communication program. Responsibilities include coordinating the exchange of scientific and technical information requested by congressional offices, other agencies, organizations, and the general public. Randy performs outreach programs to provide educational opportunities and increase community awareness of USGS and Center activities.
Since 2015, Randy also serves as the Collateral Duty Safety and Environmental Program Coordinator. Safety duties include working with local management, supervisors, and employees to facilitate a safe and healthful environment by building an occupational safety and health culture to prevent loss to human and material resources. Randy provides managers with assistance in administering local safety, and health programs; conduct annual audits of the occupational safety and health program at the center; and provides or arranges safety training for staff. Environmental compliance duties include implementing environmental policies at the center-level and incorporating requirements into daily science activities and center operations.
From 1989 to 2003, Randy was a field biologist with experience in both research and management, involving wildlife and fisheries ecology, toxicology, and risk assessment. Randy's research interests were avian ecology, habitat assessment/enhancement, and field application (radio telemetry, GIS, video/camera) technique development. Experience with numerous species including, sea lamprey, colonial waterbirds, Neotropical songbirds, waterfowl, raptors, and common loons.
Science and Products
USGS Safety and Occupational Health Award of Excellence Individual Awardee
Hand-rearing, growth, and development of common loon (Gavia immer) chicks
Dioxins and congener-specific polychlorinated biphenyls in three avian species from the Wisconsin River, Wisconsin
Organochlorines, mercury, and selenium in great blue heron eggs from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana
Cytochrome P450 and organochlorine contaminants in black-crowned night-herons from the Chesapeake Bay region, USA
Movement patterns of wintering lesser scaup in Grand Calumet River - Indiana Harbor Canal, Indiana
Science and Products
- Science
USGS Safety and Occupational Health Award of Excellence Individual Awardee
Randy Hines with the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) has assisted in developing an outstanding safety program. As the Center’s Collateral Duty Safety Program Coordinator (CDSPC), he coordinates the Center safety program, industrial hygiene monitoring, and employee safety training. Randy maintains the Center’s safety plans and ensures each employee has created a personal hazard... - Publications
Hand-rearing, growth, and development of common loon (Gavia immer) chicks
Common loon chicks were reared in captivity in association with studies to evaluate the effects of radiotransmitter implants and to assess the ecological risk of dietary methylmercury. Here we report on hatching and rearing methods used to successfully raise chicks to 105 days of age. We experienced a 91.5% hatch rate, and 89.6% of loon chicks survived to the end of the study at 105 days. BaselineAuthorsKevin P. Kenow, Melissa S. Meier, Laurie E. McColl, Randy K. Hines, Jimmy Pichner, Laura Johnson, James E. Lyon, Kellie Kroc Scharold, Michael MeyerDioxins and congener-specific polychlorinated biphenyls in three avian species from the Wisconsin River, Wisconsin
Sediments from the Wisconsin River, WI, USA are contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-p-dioxin (TCDD) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Wet weight concentrations of TCDD and PCBs in eggs were at background levels and highest in the piscivorous hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus; geometric mean=7 pg/g TCDD and 0.92 μg/g PCBs) and lowest in the omnivorous wood duck (Aix sponsa) (<1 pg/g andAuthorsT. W. Custer, Christine M. Custer, Randy K. HinesOrganochlorines, mercury, and selenium in great blue heron eggs from Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana
In 1993, 20 great blue heron (Ardea herodias; GBH) eggs (one per nest) were collected from a colony at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana (INDU). The eggs were artificially incubated until pipping and were then analyzed for organochlorines, mercury, and selenium. Livers of embryos were analyzed for hepatic microsomal ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (EROD) activity. Brains were measured forAuthorsThomas W. Custer, Randy K. Hines, Paul M. Stewart, Mark J. Melancon, Diane S. Henshel, Daniel W. SpearksCytochrome P450 and organochlorine contaminants in black-crowned night-herons from the Chesapeake Bay region, USA
Black-crowned night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) offspring were collected from a relatively uncontaminated coastal reference site (next to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, VA, USA) and two sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (Baltimore Harbor, MD and Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC, USA). Hepatic microsomal activities of benzyloxyresorufin-O-dealkylase and ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase werAuthorsBarnett A. Rattner, Mark J. Melancon, Clifford P. Rice, Walter Riley, John D. Eisemann, Randy K. HinesMovement patterns of wintering lesser scaup in Grand Calumet River - Indiana Harbor Canal, Indiana
Lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) winter in the Grand Calumet River-Indiana Harbor Canal (GCR-IHC) drainage into southern Lake Michigan, a polluted oasis in the highly urban and industrial corridor of northern Illinois and Indiana. The GCR-IHC is an important wintering area for lesser scaup in northwestern Indiana, especially after Lake Michigan freezes, because of the lack of other wildlife habitaAuthorsChristine M. Custer, T. W. Custer, D.W. Sparks, Randy K. Hines, C.O. Kochanny - News
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