Funding Program: Contaminant Biology

Statement of Problem: The Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Program is a monitoring and assessment program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). One goal of the BEST Program is to measure and assess the effects of contaminants on selected species and habitats at broad geographic and temporal scales. The BEST Program addresses this goal by monitoring the health of fish as affected by contaminants in large river of the Nation. Large mainstem rivers accumulate and transport pollutants from both point (direct discharges) and non-point (i.e., agricultural, urban, and atmospheric) sources. These systems carry contaminants assimilated in upstream tributaries, and reflect land uses throughout the watershed. Large rivers support complex webs of aquatic, terrestrial, and avian species; information from fish monitoring can be used to infer effects on piscivorus predators such as birds and mammals. Given their assimilative nature and ecological significance, monitoring information from large river habitats provides critical, policy-relevant information to the USGS and Department of the Interior (DOI) land managers. The BEST Program measures the biological responses of fish in large rivers to contaminant stress by applying a suite of methods specifically selected because of their utility as screening indicators for exposure to and effect of a broad range of chemicals found in the environment. The BEST Program has applied these methods and assessed contaminant effects in fish from the Mississippi River basin (1995), the Rio Grande basin (1997), the Columbia River basin (1997), the Yukon River basin (2002), the Colorado River basin (2003), select rivers of the Southeastern (2004), and select rivers of the Mid-Atlantic (2006). The purpose of this project is to support the activities of the BEST Large Rivers Monitoring Network. Support come in the form of implementation of program, design and improvement of new methods, novel methods for data analysis/interpretation, and presentation/publication of the LRMN data and findings.

Objectives: Goal 1. Measure and assess the effects of contaminants on selected species and habitat throughout the Nation. Goal 2. Conduct research and synthesis activities directed at providing innovative biomonitoring methods and tools for operational applications. Goal 3. Deliver effective and efficient tools to DOI bureaus for assessing contaminant threats to species and lands under their stewardship.