Thomas W. Custer

Position title: Wildlife Biologist (Research)

Email: tcuster@usgs.gov
Phone: 608.781.6375
Fax: 608.783.6066

Education:
1969 BA California State University, Fullerton, CA (Biology)
1971 MA California State University, Fullerton, CA (Zoology)
1974 PhD University of California, Berkeley, CA (Zoology/Ecology)

Primary Responsibilities/Activities:
Conduct field research on effects of contaminants on wildlife, mainly birds.  Contaminants studied include organochlorine pesticides (e.g. DDT), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins and furans, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, avicides, Perfluorooctane sulfonates (PFOS), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

Research Interests:

• Wildlife Toxicology
• Contaminants
• Organochlorines
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
• Dioxins and furans
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
• Metals
• Mercury
• Pesticides
• Avicides
• Perfluorooctane sulfonates (PFOS)
• polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)

Active Projects:

• Mercury  and other element exposure to tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting on Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota (Wildlife Toxicology Team)
• Exposure and effects of PCB contamination on spotted sandpipers, belted kingfishers,
  and tree swallows on the Hudson River (Wildlife Toxicology Team)
• Mercury contamination in tree swallows nesting in northern Wisconsin lakes that differ in methyl mercury concentration (Wildlife Toxicology Team)
• Effects of dredge island creation in Pool 8, Upper Mississippi River, on contaminant accumulation in tree swallows (Wildlife Toxicology Team)
• Reanalysis of Great Blue Heron eggs collected at Indiana Dunes in 1993 (Wildlife Toxicology Team)

Select Publications:
Custer, T. W., C. M. Custer, R. K. Hines, K., L. Stromborg, P. D. Allen, M. J. Melancon, D. S. Henshel.  2001.   Organochlorine contaminants and biomarker response in  double-crested cormorants nesting in Green Bay and Lake Michigan.  Archives of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 40:89-100.

Custer, T.W.. C. M. Custer, P. M. Dummer, G. M. Linz, L. Sileo, R. S. Stahl, and J. J. Johnston.  2003.  Nontarget bird exposure to DRC-1339 during Fall in North Dakota and Spring in South Dakota.   In G. M. Linz, editor.  Management of North American blackbirds.  National Wildlife Reseach Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.  Pages 64-70.

Custer, T. W., E. Cox, and B. R. Gray.  2004.  Trace elements in moose (Alces alces) found dead in northwestern Minnesota, USA.  Science of the Total Environment 330:81-87.

Custer, T. W., C. M. Custer, B. Goatcher, M. J. Melancon, C. W. Matson, and J.W. Bickham.  2006.  Contaminant exposure of barn swallows nesting on Bayou D’Inde, Calcasieu Estuary, Louisiana  USA.  Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 121: 543-560. 

Custer, T. W., C. M. Custer, B. A. Eichhorst, and D. Warburton.  2007.  Selenium and metal concentrations in waterbird eggs and chicks at Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, Minnesota.  Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 53:103-109

Links:
Effects of industrial contamination on wildlife

Wildlife contaminant research in the Upper Midwest

Trace element concentrations in moose livers from northwestern Minnesota

Contaminants in tree swallows in relation to water level management

Exposure of nontarget birds to DRC-1339 avicide in fall baited sunflower fields

Effects of mining activities on wildlife

Tree swallows as indicators of mercury bioaccumulation in the North Fork of the Holston River, Virginia