Publications

This study determined the relative sensitivity of five species of aquatic macrophytes and six species of algae to four commonly used herbicides (atrazine, metribuzin, alachlor, and metolachlor). Toxicity tests consisted of 96-h (duckweed and algae) or 14-d (submerged macrophytes) static exposures. The triazine herbicides (atrazine and metribuzin) were significantly more toxic to aquatic...

Tree ring analysis was used to document the long-term effects of municipal wastewater on the growth rate of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.]. The study site, a swamp in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, has received municipal wastewater for the last 40 years. Growth chronologies from 1920 to 1992 were developed from cross-dated tree core samples taken from treated and control...

To assess the extent of sediment contamination in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) system after the flood of 1993, sediment samples were collected from 24 of the 26 navigational pools in the river and from one site in the Saint Croix River in the summer of 1994. Whole-sediment tests were conducted with the amphipod Hyalella azteca for 28 days measuring the effects on survival, growth...

An expert meeting was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and held in Stockholm on 15-18 June 1997. The objective of this meeting was to derive consensus toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxinlike polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for both human, fish, and wildlife risk assessment. Based on existing...

No abstract available.

This report is intended to summarize major findings that emerged between 1992 and 1995 from the water-quality assessment of the Ozark Plateaus Study Unit and to relate these findings to water-quality issues of regional and national concern. The information is primarily intended for those who are involved in water-resource management. Yet, the information contained here may also interest...

The role of riparian vegetation is assessed quantitatively by using a five-decade record of valley bottom vegetation and channel dynamics developed from historical aerial photography. A 12-kilometer reach of a typical Ozarks stream was mapped using aerial photographs from 1938, 1948, 1955, 1965, 1976, and 1989; maps were then analyzed in a digital geographic information system. Analysis...

Benthic invertebrate samples were collected from 23 pools in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) and from one station in the Saint Croix River (SCR) as part of a study to assess the effects of the extensive flooding of 1993 on sediment contamination in the UMR system. Sediment contaminants of concern included both organic and inorganic compounds. Oligochaetes and chironomids constituted...

Based on usage of the parent compounds and studies of their dissipation in corn fields, atrazine (6-chloro-N-ethyl-N'-(1-methylethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine)), cyanazine (2-[[4-chloro-6-(ethylamino)-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl]amino]-2-methylpropionitrile), and simazine (6-chloro-N,N'diethyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine) are thought to be the important contributors of desethylatrazine (6-chloro...

During the past 25 years, industry and government made large financial investments that resulted in better water quality across the Nation; however, many water-quality concerns remain. Following a 1986 pilot project, the U.S. Geological Survey began implementation of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program in 1991. This program differs from other national water-quality...

Methanol extracts of dorsal skin layers, eyes, gills, and livers from ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation-sensitive and UVB-tolerant species of freshwater fish were examined for a substance that appears to be photoprotective. Significantly larger amounts of this substance were found in extracts of outer dorsal skin layers from both UVB-sensitive and UVB-tolerant fish when compared with...

An acute (96 h) pore-water toxicity test protocol using germination and growth of Ulva fasciatazoospores as endpoints was developed to test the toxicity of marine and estuarine sediment pore-water samples. Tests with an organic toxicant (sodium dodecyl sulfate; SDS), three metals (Cd, Cu, and Zn), and ammonia (NH3) were conducted to determine zoospore sensitivity. Zoospore germination...