Ecosystems Research Division

Biographical Information

Name: M. Craig Barber
Title: Research Ecologist
phone: 706-355-8110
e-mail: barber.craig@epa.gov

Education:

1974 - 1983 University of Georgia, Athens; Ph.D. in Ecology. Major professor, Dr. B.C. Patten; Dissertation, Nutrient Dynamics of Orb-Weaving Spiders (Araneae: Araneidae and Uloboridae) in Okefenokee Shrub Swamps.

1970 - 1974 Northern Arizona University; B.S. with extended major in Biology

Expertise/Research Interests:

June 1985 - present Research ecologist, USEPA National Exposure Research Laboratory/ Ecosystems Research Division. From Sept. 1988 to Sept. 1990 served as Matrix Manager of the Office of Research and Development's (ORD) Ecological Risk Assessment Program. From Sept. 1991 to 1994 served as Technical Coordinator of Indicators for ORD's Environmental Monitoring and assessment Program (EMAP). Since 1995 has been a developer of bioaccumulation and population dynamic models for fish communities.

June 1983 - May 1985 Post doctorate researcher, Okefenokee Ecosystem Program (NSF Grant BRS 8215587 awarded to the University of Georgia, Athens)

June 1977 - May 1983 Graduate research assistant, Okefenokee Ecosystem Program (NSF Grants DEB 7612291, DEB 7808842, and DEB 8110639 awarded to the University of Georgia, Athens)

Oct. 1979 - Oct. 1981 Ecological modeler, Ecology Simulations Inc., Athens, GA (NOAA contract NA-79-SAC-00790).

Dec. 1976 - Mar. 1978 Ecological modeler, Ecology Simulations Inc., Athens, GA (SCS/USDA contract AGSCS-00111).

Sept.1975 - June 1976 Graduate teaching assistant, Division of Biology, University of Georgia, Athens)

Select Publications:

Barber, M.C., L.A. Suárez, and R.R. Lassiter. 1991. Modelling bioaccumulation of organic pollutants in fish with an application to PCBs in Lake Ontario salmonids. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 48: 318-337.

Barber, M.C., L.A. Suárez, and R.R. Lassiter. 1988. Modeling bioconcentration of nonpolar organic pollutants by fish. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 7:545-558.

Glasser, J.E. and M.C. Barber. 1982. Formulating hydroperiod effects for a multispecies stand simulation model for the Okefenokee Swamp. In: Analysis of Ecological Systems: State-of-the-art in Ecological Modelling. pp 733-739. W.K. Laurenroth, G.V. Skogerboe, and M.Flug (eds). Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company. Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Patten, B.C., T.H. Richardson, and M.C. Barber. 1982. Path analysis of a reservoir ecosystem model. Canadian Water Resources Journal. 7:252-282.

Barber, M.C., B.C. Patten, and J.T. Finn. 1979. Review and evaluation of input-output flow analysis for ecological application. In: Compartmental Analysis of Ecosystem Models. pp 43-72. J.H. Mattis, B.C. Patten, and G.C. White (eds). International Co-operative Publishing House. Fairland, Maryland.

Barber, M.C. 1979. A note concerning time parameterization of Markovian models of ecosystem flow analysis. Ecol. Model. 6:323-328.

Barber, M.C. 1978a. A retrospective Markovian model for ecosystem resource flow. Ecol. Model. 5:125-135.

Barber, M.C. 1978b. A Markovian model for ecosystem flow analysis. Ecol. Model. 5:193-206.

Published Reports

Barber, M.C. 2001. Bioaccumulation and Aquatic System Simulator (BASS) User's Manual Beta Test Version 2.1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, Athens, GA. EPA 600/R-01/035. BASS version 2.1 User's Manual (PDF, 155 pp., 4.7 MB, about PDF).

Barber, M.C., ed. 1994. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program: Indicator Development Strategy. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens, GA. EPA/620/R-94/022.

Burns, L.A., M.C. Barber, S.L. Bird, F.L. Mayer, and L.A. Suárez. 1990. PIRANHA Pesticide and Industrial Chemical Risk Analysis and Hazard Assessment Version 1.0. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens, GA.

Barber, M.C., L.A. Suárez, and R.R. Lassiter. 1988. FGETS (Food and Gill Exchange of Toxic Substances): A Simulation Model for Predicting Bioaccumulation of Nonpolar Organic Pollutants by Fish. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens, GA. EPA/600/S3-87/038.

Suárez, L.A., M.C. Barber, and R.R. Lassiter. 1987. GETS, A simulation model for dynamic bioaccumulation of nonpolar organics by gill exchange: A User's Guide. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens, GA. EPA/600/S3-86/057.

Current Projects:

Craig Barber is the principal developer of the Bioaccumulation and Aquatic System Simulator (BASS) which is a Fortran 95 simulation model that predicts the population and bioaccumulation dynamics of age-structured fish assemblages which are exposed to hydrophobic organic pollutants and class B and borderline metals that complex with sulfhydryl groups (e.g., cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, silver, and zinc). BASS's bioaccumulation algorithms are based on diffusion kinetics and are coupled to a process-based model for the growth of individual fish. The model's exchange algorithms consider both biological attributes of fishes and physico-chemical properties of the chemicals of concern that determine diffusive exchange across gill membranes and intestinal mucosa. Biological characteristics used by the model include the fish's gill morphometry, feeding and growth rate, and proximate composition (i.e., its fractional aqueous, lipid, and structural organic content). Relevant physico-chemical properties are the chemical's aqueous diffusivity, n-octanol/water partition coefficient (Kow), and, for metals, binding coefficients to proteins and other organic matter. bass simulates the growth of individual fish using a standard mass balance, bioenergetic model (i.e., growth = ingestion - egestion - respiration - specific dynamic action - excretion). A fish's realized ingestion is calculated from its maximum consumption rate adjusted for the availability of prey of the appropriate size and taxonomy. The community's food web is specified by defining one or more foraging classes for each fish species based on either its body weight, body length, or age. The dietary composition of each of these feeding classes is specified as a combination of benthos, incidental terrestrial insects, periphyton/attached algae, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and one or more fish species. Population dynamics are generated by predatory mortalities defined by community's food web and standing stocks, size dependent physiological mortality rates, the maximum longevity of species, and toxicological responses to chemical exposures. The model's temporal and spatial scales of resolution are a day and a hectare, respectively. Currently, BASS ignores the migration of fish into and out of the simulated hectare.

BASS is currently being used to investigate methylmercury bioaccumulation in the Florida Everglades and to predict population and community dimensions of "fish health" for a regional analysis of the ecological sustainability of the Albemarle-Pamlico drainage basin in North Caorolina and Virginia.

BASS Software and User Manual:

To obtain a copy of the BASS 2.1 User's Guide click on the following link BASS User's Manual (PDF, 155 pp., 4.7 MB, about PDF). To obtain a copy of the actual BASS 2.1 software, please contact the author (barber.craig@epa.gov) directly.