Databases

• Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Program (AMMTAP) - the objectives of AMMTAP are to collect tissue samples from Alaska marine mammals and to store these samples under the best conditions so that they can be analyzed in the future for environmental contaminants.

• Avian Incident Monitoring System (AIMS) - USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC) is among contributers of this cooperative program between American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dedicated to data collection, storage and presentation, and programs dedicated to improving identification, investigation, and laboratory analysis of pesticide poisoned birds. USGS scientists at PWRC provide oversight and ongoing evaluation of APIN's sceening protocol for determining pesticide poisoning, as well as conduct necropsy of bird carcasses and analyze brain and blood for cholinesterase activity (see a brief description of the project).

• BEST Database Query Tool - fish health and contaminant concentrations in fish from the Mississippi River, Columbia River, Yukon River, Colorado River and Rio Grande.

• Contaminant Exposure and Effects Terrestrial Vertebrates Database - searchable database containing over 17,000 geo-referenced data records describing contaminant exposure and effects in free-ranging terrestrial vertebrates in coastal and estuarine habitat in the United States.

• National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (NCBP) Database- NCBP was established to document trends in the occurrence of persistent toxic chemicals that may threaten fish and wildlife resources. Begun in the early 1960s as part of the National Pesticide Monitoring Program, the NCBP has expanded its initial focus on persistent organochlorine insecticides to include industrial chemicals, herbicides, and potentially toxic elemental contaminants. The program also provides necessary feedback to the regulatory process by documenting the success (or failure) of regulatory actions related to environmental contaminants. The NCBP provides a nationwide source of material that is searched analytically for the occurrence of new or previously undetected environmental contaminants to provide information on emerging problems and for the development of new and improved analytical methods. Through its archival function, the NCBP also provides a means for retrospective analyses and documentation of historical trends for newly identified environmental contaminants. Information from this historical program has also provided an impetus for developing a revised and expanded monitoring program (Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends BEST), which was transferred to USGS in 1996.

• Seabird Tissue Archival and Monitoring Project (STAMP) - the objectives of STAMP are to collect specimens from representative Alaskan colonial seabirds suitable for determining levels of organic and inorganic contaminants and to transport, catalog, and archive samples in conditions that are suitable for long-term storage and eventual contaminant analyses.

• Sediment-contaminant Database for the Upper Mississippi River System - includes information on concentrations of metals, metalloids, nutrients, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, industrial compounds, sterols, petroleum-related compounds, and polychlorinated biphenyls.

• Web Portal for Wildlife Toxicology Sites - This web portal provides access to over 25 wildlife toxicology sites and databases from government, academia and non-profit organizations that deal with contaminant monitoring, mortality incidents, acute and chronic toxicity data, accumulation factors, toxicological reference values, interspecies correlations, and more general wildlife toxicology literature.