In response to a formal Congressional request, the Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) prepared a scientific technical review of the draft report titled, "Interpretive Findings ...
Many National Wildlife Refuges (Refuges) have impaired water quality resulting from historic and current land uses, upstream sources, and aerial pollutant deposition. Competing duties limit the time available for Refuge staff...
Toxicants may harm predators or prey differentially, hindering clear determination of multiple stressor effects on predation dynamics in polluted aquatic systems. We built on a prior field study in which we demonstrated that ...
Environmental Contaminants Specialists from multiple states
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) Division of Environmental Quality have deployed to the pipeline break site near Billings, MT....
The mountain plover (Charadrius montanus) is a shorebird that primarily inhabits dry upland sites, such as shortgrass prairie and shrub-steppe landscapes during both wintering and breeding seasons. Nesting occurs primarily in...
Final report and management recommendations for the Off-Refuge Environmental Contaminants Investigation titled "Retention time of chlorophacinone in the tissues of black-tailed prairie dogs exposed to chlorophacinone." The ma...
In Maine, locations of moribund or dead bald eagles are regularly reported to biologists and
game wardens and carcasses are immediately collected. Unless a law enforcement case is
suspected, eagle carcasses are destined for...
Between 2008 and 2010, skin-on fillets from seven dead adult sea-run Atlantic salmon from the
Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment (GOM DPS) were analyzed for organochlorine
compounds, PBDE, and trace metals. Five fish...
Brandy Pond is a remote, shallow, pond in east-central Maine. A bald eagle (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus) nest territory has existed on the pond since the mid 1960s. Since the
establishment of the nest, the bald eagle territory...
The Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge (ARONWR) was established in 1998 on the site of the former Loring Air
Force Base (LAFB), a cold-war era Strategic Air Command facility. Throughout the course of its 40+ year
operationa...
Hazardous substances are a constant threat to our fish, wildlife, and other natural resources. As a result of concern over the influx of contaminants into the environment, and a wish to ensure that the responsible partiesﾗnot...
The Fish and Wildlife Serviceﾒs Role in Oil Spill Response
The Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the protection of threatened and endangered species, migratory birds, and certain fish, marine mammals, and sea turt...
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provides advice, including appropriate cleanup techniques, actions and end points to the Federal On-Scene Coordinator to protect threatened and endangered species, migratory birds,...
Toxicity of lead, cadmium, or zinc to early life stages of freshwater mussels (fatmucket, Lampsilis siliquoidea; Neosho mucket, L. rafinesqueana) was evaluated in 48-h exposures with mussel larvae (glochidia), in 96-h exposur...
The Trinity River, California, has an extensive history of gold and mercury mining, and recent studies demonstrated uptake of legacy mercury contamination by teleost fishes. We investigated mercury concentrations of larval la...
The sudden appearance of a large cluster of animals with gross abnormalities may signal a significant change in
an ecosystem. We describe an unusual concentration of beak deformities that appear to have arisen rapidly within...
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a colorless, flammable and highly toxic gas with a characteristic odor of rotten eggs. It is produced naturally and as a result of human activity. Nationally, the largest source of hydrogen sulfide i...
Hydrocarbon-inducible cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) expression was measured, as ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, in livers of wintering harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) captured in areas of Prince William ...
The black-tailed prairie dog occupies an estimated 2.4 million acres in the western U.S and is considered to be a
keystone species of the Great Plains due to its influence on biological diversity and ecosystem function. Over...
This study evaluated selenium and atrazine exposure and effects to fish and wildlife at North Platte National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. Atrazine was detected in 2 of 54 water samples and at lo...
On February 2, 2007, a family walking along a Cape Cod beach in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, came upon a large
dead sturgeon in the sand. The 5 foot, 45 pound sturgeon was later identified as a male Atlantic sturgeon
(Acipense...
During June of 2009, eleven non-viable piping plover (Charadrius melodus) egg were collected from nests located
at the northern end of Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware. The eggs were combined into two composite
samples ...
On June 12, 2006 and June 2, 2009, non-viable, addled bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
eggs were collected from nests at Pontook Reservoir on the Androscoggin River and at Silver
Lake, New Hampshire (NH), respectively....
Organic-carbon enriched geologic features such as the abundance of phosphate deposits and petroleum-generating basins located in the Tethyan oceanic realm are typically enriched in selenium as are bituminous coals and Cretace...
A reserve pit is an earthen pit excavated adjacent to a drilling rig and is commonly used for the disposal of drilling muds and fluids in natural gas or oil fields. If the reserve pit contains oil or oil-based products (i.e. ...
Commercial and centralized oil field wastewater disposal facilities (COWDFs), pose a significant risk to migratory birds and other wildlife because they use large evaporation ponds (either passive or with aeration) to dispose...
We evaluated the effects of contaminants on osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nesting along the lower Duwamish River (LDR), Washington, and used the upper reach of the Willamette River (WR), Oregon, as a reference site. Osprey eggs ...
This is 1 of 4 papers reporting on the results of a SETAC technical workshop titled "The Nexus Between Ecological Risk Assessment and Natural Resource Damage Assessment Under CERCLA: Understanding and Improving the Common Sci...
This is 1 of 4 papers reporting on the results of a SETAC technical workshop titled "The Nexus between Ecological Risk Assessment and Natural Resource Damage Assessment under CERCLA: Understanding and Improving the Common Sci...
This is 1 of 4 papers reporting on the results of a SETAC technical workshop titled "The Nexus Between Ecological Risk Assessment and Natural Resource Damage Assessment Under CERCLA: Understanding and Improving the Common Sci...
The federally endangered Okaloosa darter (Etheostoma okaloosae) is found almost exclusively on the Eglin Air Force Base in the Choctawhatchee Bay watershed of Florida. Portions of this limited habitat are threatened by smothe...
Trumpeter (Cygnus buccinator) and tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus) populations wintering in northwest Washington State and on the Sumas Prairie, British Columbia, from 1999-2008, lost over 2,574 members, the majority (62%, 1,...
This report summarizes those restoration activities that were implemented between 2007 through 2008. The CdA Basin Trustees (Trustees) include the Department of
Agriculture, represented by the United States Forest Service (U...
Analyses of blood and liver samples from live captured sea otters and liver samples from beach-cast sea otter carcasses off the remote Washington coast indicate relatively low exposure to contaminants, but suggest that even a...
Between 2004 and 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners investigated the potential for sediment contamination at three dams in North Carolina: Lowell Dam (Little River, Johnston County), Carbonton Dam (Deep Riv...
Information regarding environmental contaminants and oil spills on breeding Atlantic Coast
piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) was solicited from state and federal biologists, and through
database and literature searches. T...
Mercury pollution is prevalent in the northeastern U.S. due to a combination of high rates of
atmospheric deposition from Midwest sources and an abundance of habitats in the Northeast that
effectively produce methylmercury ...
Since 2003, scientists at the U.S.
Geological Surveyﾒs National Fish
Health Research Laboratory
(NFHRL) in Kearneysville, WV have
been evaluating the reproductive
health of smallmouth bass in the upper
Potomac River and...
The Sediment Quality Triad (SQT) consists of complementary measures of sediment chemistry, benthic community structure, and sediment toxicity. We applied the SQT at 20 stations in the tidal portion of the Anacostia River from...
Peregrine falcon eggs from nests in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont were analyzed for polybrominanted diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Eggs were collected from 1996 to 2006, excluding 1997 ...
The Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the protection of threatened and endangered species, migratory birds, and certain fish, marine mammals, and sea turtles. As a major federal landowner, we are also responsible f...
We studied tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) at the Sangamo National Priorities List (NPL) site and a reference area (Little Grassy) within Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, Illinois, USA, to evaluate the bioavailabili...
Risk of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure and effects were assessed for a colony of federally endangered interior least terns (Sterna antillarum) nesting on the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge (NM, USA). The colony...
Northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) were extirpated from the Washington coast in the early 1900s. Reintroductions of sea otters from Amchitka Island, Alaska, occurred in 1969 and 1970. By 2005, 814 sea otters occupie...
We documented pre-restoration physical and biological conditions at four reaches in Thornton Creek, 95th Street, N.F. Confluence, S.F. Confluence, and Knickerbocker. For each study site (treatment) a control reach was selecte...
Sediment, water, crayfish, and fish were collected at Lynx Creek and Lynx Lake, Arizona in 2004 and 2005. Granite Basin Lake was used as a reference site. Both sites are located in the the Prescott National Forest. Concentrat...
Impoundments are well recognized stressors to many species of riverine fishes, amphibians, mussels, crayfishes, and insects (Richter et al. 1997). Neves et al. (1997) and Watters (2000) reviewed effects of impoundments on fre...
Between 1995 and 2005, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners investigated the occurence and significance of avian vacuolar myelinopathy in North Carolina. One aspect of the work was a cooperative study on timing and...
We examined the sensitivity of the wood duck (Aix sponsa) embryo to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) by injecting the toxicant into their eggs. ...
To evaluate the significance of ion imbalance toxicity and the extent of impacts to the aquatic
community associated with surface water discharge of concentrate from membrane and ion
exchange water treatment processes in co...
We measured polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, and mercury in wood duck (Aix sponsa) eggs collected near a North Caro...
To assess fish tissue mercury concentrations in species commonly consumed on eastern North
Carolina National Wildlife Refuges, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partnered with the North
Carolina Division of Water Quality a...
Freshwater mussels (superfamily Unionoidea) are in serious global decline and in urgent need of protection and conservation. The declines have been attributed to a wide array of human activities resulting in pollution and wat...
The present study evaluated the performance and variability in acute toxicity tests with glochidia and newly transformed juvenile mussels using the standard methods outlined in American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM...
Skeletal and eye abnormalities in amphibians are not well understood, and they appear to be increasing while global populations decline. Here, we present the first study of amphibian abnormalities in Alaska. In this study we ...
In July 2006, thirty-six brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were collected from tributaries of two Maine rivers and used as surrogates for assessing potential contaminant exposure in Atlantic salmon parr. Eighteen trout wer...
During the 2004 and 2005 breeding seasons, a total of 50 common tern (Sterna hirundo) eggs and 42 chicks were collected from three Maine offshore islands where chick developmental abnormalities had been previously reported, a...
Six non-viable common tern (Sterna hirundo) and three roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) eggs were collected from Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Massachusetts and Seal Island NWR in Maine. Eggs were formed into three...
A former small arms firing range was located adjacent to Youngs Road in an upland
portion of the Baring Division of Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Washington
County, Maine. The small arms range had been used for decade...
From existing databases, we compiled and evaluated 604 total mercury (Hg) levels in the eggs and
blood of 17 species of marine foraging birds from 35 Gulf of Maine islands to provide baseline data and to
determine the best ...
This study determined the nature and extent of trace elements, metals, and petroleum hydrocarbons in evaporation ponds used for the disposal of process water from Sinclair Oil Corporation's LARCO oil refinery in Evansville, W...
In 2000, 2001, and 2002, blood and feather samples were collected from 40-45-day-old nestling ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) from Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay and River. Concentrations of 18 metals, metalloids, and other elem...
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and partners measured pollutants in wood duck (Aix sponsa) eggs collected near a North Carolina paper mill. The mill, on the Roanoke River near Plymouth, is adjacent to one of the Na...
We examined mercury concentrations and space use of prebreeding Forster's terns (Sterna forsteri) in San Francisco Bay, California, USA, to assess factors influencing mercury levels in piscivorous birds. In 2005 and 2006, we ...
Biphasic relationships can be found throughout the sciences, especially in the dose-response relationships of pharmacology, toxicology, agriculture, and nutrition. Accurate modeling of biphasic dose-response is an essential s...
Habitat protection is a major component of the Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration process. The acquisition of private lands, or partial interests in private lands, is intended to promote natural recovery of spill-injured reso...
In 1998, the tanker Command spilled
approximately 3,000 gallons (11,350
liters) of fuel oil from a damaged tank
while en route from San Francisco to
Central America. The spill oiled beaches
along the San Mateo County coa...
Fish hatcheries are an important
tool in the Fish and Wildlife Service's
efforts to restore threatened and endangered
aquatic species. Unfortunately,
these facilities sometimes face the same
contaminant risks encountered...
The Fish and Wildlife Service's Corpus
Christi Ecological Services Field Office in
Texas is seeking to restore and preserve
the crane's vital estuarine habitat. Its
most recent success was made possible
through a coopera...
Here we review mechanisms and factors influencing contaminant exposure among terrestrial vertebrate wildlife. There exists a complex mixture of biotic and abiotic factors that dictate potential for contaminant exposure among ...
in Spill Response
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) provides advice, including appropriate cleanup techniques, actions and end points to the Federal On-Scene Coordinator to protect threatened and endangered specie...
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serviceﾒs Role
in Spill Response
Staff from the Sacramento Fish and
Wildlife Office, San Francisco Bay
National Wildlife Refuge Complex,
Sacramento Regional Office, Portland
Regional Office, C...
San Francisco Bay has a legacy of mercury contamination from historical mercury mining
in the Coast Range and gold extraction in the Sierra Nevadas. An estimated 220 million pounds of mercury were mined in the coastal mounta...
From November 1998 through early
April 1999, a bird die-off occurred on
the north shore of Lake Apopka, Florida.
The deaths occurred on former farmlands
that had been purchased to reduce
nutrient run-off into the lake by...
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to state and federal natural resources
trustee agencies (Trustees) and parties responsible for oil spills or other pollution events
(Responsible Parties) on how to: 1) ini...
Today, the Service's Environmental
Contaminants Program includes contaminants
specialists stationed at more than
75 locations around the country. These
scientists are on the front lines in the
fight against pollution. Th...
When we hear about "invaders,"
we often imagine the danger these
interlopers pose is obvious and immediate.
However, newly introduced species
may not become invasive for decades
after they arrive. In 1993, biologist W.R....
The pathways used by non-native
species are not always obvious. Many
problematic species, diseases, and
parasites have been transferred to new
locations as undetected (and unplanned)
hitchhikers. Unintended introductions...
In cooperation with our partners, the
Fish and Wildlife Service's Environmental
Contaminants Program provides the
science needed to improve water quality
for restoring freshwater mussels - our
Nation's largest group of t...
The Coeur d'Alene River Basin, Lake Coeur d'Alene, and the Spokane River contain elevated heavy metal concentrations in sediment and water from historical mining and ore processing operations in the Coeur d'Alene Basin. Lead ...
Reduced habitat quality may be contributing to the decline of freshwater mussels
in southeastern rivers. As part of an ongoing evaluation of the quality of freshwater
mussel habitat in Gulf Coastal Rivers, the Chipola River...
Preliminary screening assessments for abnormal amphibians were initiated on national wildlife refuges (NWRs) in the southeast region in 2000, with additional refuges included in each subsequent year (2001-2006) (Table 1, Figu...
Previous work by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified nutrients, elemental contaminants, algal toxins, bacterial pathogens, and hormones as contaminants of concern (COCs) associated with wetlands created from the sec...
Willapa Bay is a coastal estuary in Washington
State that provides seasonal rearing habitat
for anadromous cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki
clarki. Cutthroat trout forage throughout the estuary in
the summer months whe...
Recent studies have demonstrated that fish feeds contain significant concentrations of contaminants, many of which can bioaccumulate
and bioconcentrate in fish. Organochlorine (OC) contaminants are present in the fish oils a...
To provide the entire Lower Colorado River with the first endocrine disruption reconnaissance study on native and non-native fishes (razorback suckers and common carp), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) chose three sam...
The biological integrity of contaminated sediments in Watson Bayou was evaluated. Results demonstrated the applicability of the biological integrity standard for estuarine systems in the State of Florida and the value of sedi...
We examined factors influencing mercury concentrations in pre-breeding American avocets (Recurvirostra americana) and black-necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus), the two most abundant breeding shorebirds in San Francisco Bay,...
We evaluated whether mercury influenced survival of free-ranging American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) and black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) chicks in San Francisco Bay, California. Using radio telemetry, we radio...
This report documents an evaluation of chemical contaminants in, and toxicity of, sediments
collected from impoundments created by locks and dams on the Cape Fear River in Bladen and
Cumberland Counties, North Carolina. Twe...
The objective of the present study was to determine acute toxicity of copper, ammonia, or chlorine to larval (glochidia) and juvenile mussels using the recently published American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Stan...
The objectives of the present study were to develop methods for conducting chronic toxicity tests with juvenile mussels under flow-through conditions and to determine the chronic toxicity of copper and ammonia to juvenile mus...
The state of Oklahoma has designated several areas as freshwater mussel sanctuaries in an attempt to provide freshwater mussel species a degree of protection and to facilitate their reproduction. We evaluated the protection a...
Water quality data were collected from three drainages supporting the endangered Carolina heelsplitter (Lasmigona decorata) and dwarf wedgemussel (Alasmidonta heterodon) to determine the potential for impaired water quality t...
The New Mexico Natural Resources Trustee, acting through the New Mexico
Office of Natural Resources Trustee (ONRT) and the U.S. Department of Interior
(DOI), acting through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Servi...
The purpose of the Contaminant Assessment Process is to compile and summarize known past, present, and potential contaminant issues on National Wildlife Refuges. This report documents contaminant issues on the Tetlin National...
A benthic macroinvertebrate bioassessment was completed in 1995 for Steep, Salmon, Gold and Sheep creeks in Juneau, Alaska. This survey was completed to examine any differences in stream benthic communities....
White suckers (Catostomus commersoni) were collected for tissue residue analyses between 2003 and 2006 from the West Branch of the Sheepscot River, Ducktrap River, Cove Brook, Narraguagus River, Pleasant River, Machias River,...
A trap and skeet shooting range gun club is located on the North Platte River, below the Guernsey Reservoir in Wyoming. In 1999, we obtained sediment samples to determine if lead shot from shooting activities was present and ...
The US Environmental Protection Agency is developing a national water quality criterion for selenium that is based on concentrations of the element in fish tissue. Although this approach offers advantages over the current wat...
A search of the Contaminant Exposure and Effects-Terrestrial Vertebrates (CEE-TV) database revealed that 70% of the 839 Chesapeake Bay records deal with avian species. Studies conducted on waterbirds in the past 15 years indi...
Introduction: Availability of clean water sources is critical to the daily survival of wild bird species, while migratory species are dependent on water sources as they labor to reach their wintering or breeding grounds. Wate...
The October 2007 issue of the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry has a special
section on the pollutant sensitivity of freshwater mussels. Scientists with U.S. Geological Survey
and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servic...
Documented declines in Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) populations may be caused by several factors, including reduced reproductive success or survival from exposure to environmental contaminants during winter, migration, or br...
Concentrations of 20 trace elements (V, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Mo, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, Hg, Tl, Pb, and Bi) were measured in livers of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) collected from Northern and Western Alaska from ...
Most sturgeon species worldwide have been in steep decline since the 1900s. This research evaluated shovelnose sturgeon health, reproduction, and exposure to environmental contamination in the lower Platte River. Shovelnose s...
The Cape Fear shiner (Notropis mekistocholas) is a recently described cyprinid species endemic to the Cape Fear River Basin of North Carolina, USA. Only five populations of the fish remain; thus, it is listed as endangered by...
This technical report is an assessment of water quality requirements for aquatic species and aquatic-dependent
species (e.g., shore birds) that have been listed (or proposed for listing) in Texas as threatened
or endangered...
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined in adipose tissue of adult and subadult female polar bears sampled between 1999 and 2002 from sub-populations in Arctic Canada, eastern Greenland, and Svalbard, and in ma...
We conducted a pilot study to screen mercury (Hg) levels in Gulf of Maine seabirds in an effort to determine which species are most at risk, are the most appropriate bioindicators, and to refine sampling methods. From 13 Gulf...
On July 19, 2003 an addled osprey (Pandion haliaetus) egg was collected from a nest at the northern end of Upper Richardson Lake in western Maine. The egg was analyzed by the USFWS for organochlorine compounds and trace elem...
The west-side and southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in California is often poorly drained and infiltration of saline water into the root zone of crops affects a significant portion of the area. One option available to gr...
We exposed larval southern leopard frogs (Rana sphenocephala) to lead-contaminated sediments to determine the lethal and sublethal effects of this metal. Tadpoles were laboratory-raised from early free-swimming stage through ...
For approximately 50 years, beginning in the 1920s, hazardous wastes were disposed in an 11-hectare area of the Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico, Virginia, USA known as the Old Landfill. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and D...
During the last century, the Christina River, the major estuarine river system in New Castle County (DE, USA), has received loadings of organic and inorganic chemicals, primarily from manufacturing facilities. Among the most ...
Mummichogs Fundulus heteroclitus were collected in 2002ﾖ2004 from six locations within the Delaware Estuary watershed and examined histopathologically. The objective was to compare the prevalence of skin and liver tumors in f...
Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) is a synergist of pyrethroid pesticides found in many products for structural pest control, mosquito control, and home and garden uses. Because both PBO and pyrethroid residues potentially co-occur in...
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined in adipose tissue of adult and subadult female polar bears sampled between 1999 and 2002 from sub-populations in Arctic Canada, eastern Greenland, and Svalbard, and in ma...
Perfluoroalkyl substances are globally distributed anthropogenic contaminants. Their production and use have increased dramatically from the early 1980s. While many recent publications have reported concentrations of perfluor...
Seagrass losses have been reported for the area of St. Andrew Bay known as West Bay, in Bay County, Florida. Utilizing both field density observations and aerial photography extrapolation for 1953, 1964, 1980, and 1992 images...
The Contaminant Exposure and Effects - Terrestrial Vertebrates (CEE-TV) database was developed to conduct simple searches for ecotoxicological information, examine exposure trends, and identify significant data gaps. The CEE-...
When hazardous substances enter the environment, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources can be injured. The Department of the Interior, along with State, Tribal and other Federal partners, act as "trustees" for these res...
The brown bullhead (Ameiurus
nebulosus) is a species of catfish that
lives in rivers, lakes, and ponds. In tidal
waters, they can tolerate salinities up
to about 15 parts per thousand (about
half that of the ocean). Bull...
In 1999, the Chesapeake Bay Program Toxics Subcommittee characterized the tidal tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay for their potential for adverse effects due to chemical contamination. One finding was that, due to a paucity ...
The South River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay flowing near Annapolis, Maryland.
In March 2005, brown bullheads were collected in a fyke net set about 1.25 km
downriver of the Route 50 Bridge. A total of 30 brown bull...
The central Platte River Valley provides crucial staging habitat for the endangered whooping crane (Grus americana) and the mid-continent population of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis). Platte River flow depletions and the c...
The North Platte National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) is located 8 miles northeast of Scottsbluff, in Nebraska's Panhandle. It was established by Executive Order in 1916, and was managed by the Bureau of Reclamation (BR) until 1...
Extraction of methane gas from coal seams has become a significant energy source in the Powder
River Basin of northeastern Wyoming. In Wyoming, coalbed methane (CBM) gas is extracted by
drilling wells into coal seams and re...
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Freshwater Mussels Recovery Plan (USFWS 2003) called for the evaluation of freshwater mussel habitat in the Ochlockonee River of Florida and Georgia to identify areas with factors ...
Many studies have evaluated selenium in the lower Colorado River, but none have reviewed selenium levels after river water has been directed into previously isolated backwaters. Radtke et al. (1988) hypothesized that the sour...
While the federally endangered Sonoran pronghorn (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis) population has plummeted on the Barry M. Goldwater Range in southwestern Arizona, biologists have questioned some range activities that may ...
This report describes work carried out under an interagency agreement between the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) (IAG 1445-1A09-95-
0179) to evaluate the process for ranking and p...
This study, Project ID No. 4N62, was initiated in September 2000. Habitat and fish community assessments were completed at seven sites in the Clarks River watershed in 2000. Composite young-of-year and whole-body fish and sed...
Runoff of leachate from East Lake and Dare County Construction and Demolition Debris landfills has the potential to impact wildlife resources at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, Dare and Hyde Counties, North Carolina...
The Appalacian elktoe (Alasmidonta raveneliana) is a federally-listed endangered unionid mussel whose range once included the Cumberland and Tennessee River drainages, but is now limited to the Tennessee River and its tributa...
Maine's coastal islands and beaches provide important nesting habitat for piping plover (Charadrius melodus), least tern (Sterna antillarum), common tern (Sterna hirundo), Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea), Atlantic puffin (Fra...
Recreational shooting of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) is a common activity at Thunder Basin National Grassland (TBNG), Wyoming. The prairie dog carcasses left in the area are scavenged by coyotes (Canis la...
Selenium (Se) is a trace element that occurs naturally in soils, water, biota, and food. It is nutritionally required, but Se in excess is toxic to aquatic-associated wildlife such as fish and birds. Exposure to Se primarily ...
Our objective was to compare the ability of brown bullheads Ameiurus nebulosus to tolerate the implantation of ultrasonic transmitters with different coatings. A total of 14 brown bullheads were surgically implanted with ultr...
Elevated liver and skin tumor prevalence has been reported in brown bullhead Ameiurus nebulosus from the tidal Anacostia River, Washington, D.C. Movement data are needed to effectively use tumor prevalence as an indicator of ...
Despite serious water-quality problems and pollutant loading and retention, Delaware River and Bay (USA) provide important wildlife habitat. In 2002, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation of contaminant exposure and reprodu...
Assessment of contaminant impacts to federally identified endangered, threatened and candidate, and state-identified endangered species (collectively referred to as "listed" species) requires understanding of a species' sensi...
Toxicity tests using standard effluent test procedures described by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were conducted with Ceriodaphnia dubia, fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), and seven threatened and endangered (...
Attempts were made to reproduce avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM) in a number of test animals in order to determine the source of the causative agent for birds and to find a suitable animal model for future studies. Submerged...
The existence of two subpopulations of polar bears in Alaska, the Beaufort Sea and the Chukchi Sea populations, has been documented. In this study, differences in concentrations and profiles of organochlorine pesticides, poly...
Perfluoroalkyl substances were determined in liver tissues and blood of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from five locations in the North American Arctic and two locations in the European Arctic. Concentrations of perfluorooctan...
A suite of chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminants (CHCs) including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and by-products, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and methyl sulfone (MeSO2) PCB and p,p--dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,...
The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum (JHNWRT) is located along Darby Creek
near its confluence with the Delaware River, south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). The
Refuge hosts the largest freshwater tidal ...
Environmental scientists and managers often use tumor surveys with freshwater, estuarine, and
marine fish as indicators of habitat quality. In 2002-2004, we collected mummichogs (Fundulus
heteroclitus, > 70 mm total length,...
Patuxent Research Refuge (PRR) located in Laurel, Maryland (MD). The samples were analyzed for antimony (Sb), arsenic
(As), copper (Cu), and lead (Pb) using a field portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. Antimony, As, a...
Waste generated by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) may contain a variety of contaminants including nutrients, pathogens, trace elements, antibiotics, and hormones. In 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service be...
Potential removal of Dillsboro Dam, located on the Tuckasegee River near Sylva (Jackson County), North Carolina, has caused some concern for the potential mobilization of sediment-associated contaminants accumulated behind th...
Maine's coastal islands and beaches provide important nesting habitat for piping plover
(Charadrius melodus), least tern (Sterna antillarum), and common tern (Sterna hirundo).
These species are managed and regularly monitor...
In 1993 a screening-level contaminant survey was conducted on Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Elevated levels of Total PCBs were found in Baker Brook sediment samples (0.78 mg/kg dw) and high chromium levels (> 1...
Blackbird (family lcteridae) depredation on sunflower (Helianthus annuus) crops in the prairie states of the United States has motivated the proposed use of an avicide, DRC-1339 (3-chloro-4-methylaniline), to decrease their n...
Mining of the Permian Phosphoria Formation ﾗ a marine, oil-generating, phosphatic shale ﾗ provided the selenium (Se) source implicated in the recent deaths of livestock in southeast Idaho. Field studies and the geohydrologi...
Brown bullheads (Ameiurus nebulosus) were collected from 2 locations near Baltimore, Maryland, Back River and Furnace Creek, and 1 (reference) location, Tuckahoe River, to compare the prevalence of tumors (liver and skin) and...
The Chesapeake Bay osprey population has more than doubled in size since restrictions were placed on the production and use of DDT and other toxic organochlorine contaminants in the 1970s. Ospreys are now nesting in the most ...
We evaluated liver and skin tumor prevalence and biomarkers of exposure and response in brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) from three locations in the Anacostia River (Washington, DC, USA), a Chesapeake Bay region of concern...
Seagrass losses have been reported for the area of St. Andrew Bay known as West Bay, in Bay County, Florida. Utilizing both field density observations and aerial photography extrapolation for 1953, 1964, 1980 and 1992 images,...
A survey was conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assess habitat quality on the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Sediment samples were collected at 32 sites within (n = 14) or north (n = 18) of the NWR....
The Potomac River estuary, the second largest tributary to Chesapeake Bay, is an important
nursery and spawning area for both migratory and resident fish species of commercial and
recreational importance. The objective of t...
Painted Turtle Pond is a 1.1-hectare (2.7-acre) man-made pond located on the Occoquan Bay
National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Woodbridge, Virginia. This 234-hectare (579-acre) refuge is
part of the Potomac River NWR Complex. Th...
Ospreys are very tolerant of humans and will
fish and nest close to populated communities.
They often line their nests with a variety of
natural and manmade materials. Some of the
manmade materials ospreys pick up include...
The Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) program identifies and
evaluates the effects of environmental contaminants on lands and biological resources managed
by the Department of the Interior (DOI). The p...
Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, Sarcocystis neurona, and S. canis are related protozoans
that can cause mortality in many species of domestic and wild animals. Recently, T. gondii and S.
neurona were recognized to caus...
The influence of the Nyanza Chemical Waste Dump Superfund Site on the Sudbury River, Massachusetts, was assessed by analysis of sediment, fish prey organisms, and predator fish from four locations in the river system. Whiteha...
Reason for Concern
The Service helps conserve habitat through the National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuges), the worldﾒs largest and most diverse collection of lands set aside specifically for the conservation of wildlife. T...
Over the past five years, comprehensive annual surveys by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) personnel have identified sites with a high prevalence of abnormal native amphibians. A number of these sites are located within...
Numerous studies have documented the decline of amphibian populations over the past decade and no single factor has been the linked to these widespread declines. Determining the causes of declining amphibian populations world...
The endangered Wyoming toad is confined to Mortenson National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Wyoming. Pesticide aerial drift from mosquito control activities adjacent to the refuge may be partially responsible for the toad's de...
A method for the determination of 146 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), including four non-ortho- and eight mono-ortho-substituted congeners, and 26 chlorinated pesticides is described. The method consists of ultrasonic extra...
Located in the headwaters of a small tributary of Little Walnut Creek, 5.5 miles north of Sliver City, in Grant County, New Mexico is the Cleveland Mill Superfund Site. This Site is an abandoned lead, zinc and copper mine an...
Vacuolar myelinopathy was confirmed by light and electron microscopic examination of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), ring-necked ducks (Aythya collaris), and buffleheads (Bucephala albeola) collected during an epizootic at Lak...
Ammonia toxicity data for freshwater mussels (Unionidae), a significantly imperiled taxa, were used to derive estimates of concentrations that would not likely be harmful in acute and chronic exposures and to assess the prote...
Avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM) is a disease of unknown etiology, which has been diagnosed in a variety of birds from surface water reservoirs in the southeastern United States. Pathology suggests a natural or anthropogenic...
Avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM)
is a neurologic disease that has been diagnosed
in free-ranging birds in the southeastern United
States. Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leuocephalus),
American coots (Fulica americana), and
mal...
A survey was conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assess habitat quality on the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Sediment samples were collected at 32 sites within (n = 14) or north (n = 18) of the NWR....
A sediment quality survey was conducted in the Florida Panhandle (Panhandle) over a period of 10 years (1992 to 2001). The survey examined which dioxin and furan compounds may be present in sediments of the bay systems, their...
Effluent toxicity is regularly assessed with Ceriodaphnia dubia short-term chronic and Vibrio fischeri toxicity tests. Condition factor and hemotocrit of fish have recently been used to assess fish health following exposure t...
The endangered Wyoming toad (Bufo baxteri) is a glacial relict species confined to the Laramie
Plains of southeastern Wyoming. Once common in the area, it declined dramatically in the 1970's
and was subsequently listed unde...
Department of Environmental Quality's (WDEQ) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit program. Wyoming is one of a few states that allows the discharge of oil field
produced water into surface waters f...
Four bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) eggs from three nests on the Penobscot River, Maine,
were analyzed for organochlorine contaminants and mercury. Eggs were collected in June 2000 within
two weeks of nest abandonmen...
The Signatories to the Maine Atlantic Salmon Technical Advisory Committee
(TAC), in a letter to the TAC chair, requested guidance to resolve the issue whether water
quality issues are a concern for the management of Atlanti...
Excess selenium (Se) in the aquatic food chain is embryotoxic and teratogenic to avocets, stilts, and other waterbirds. American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) and black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) eggs were collect...
Epizootic avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM) was first recognized as a neurologic
disease in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and American coots (Fulica americana) in Arkansas,
USA in 1994 and 1996, respectively, but a...
ABSTRACT: Following the 1989 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, we studied the status of recovery of harlequin duck Histrionicus histrionicus populations during 1995 to 1998. We evaluated potential cons...
Adak Island is a remote island in the Aleutian Island archipelago of Alaska (USA) and home to various military activities since World War II. To assess the contaminant burden of one of Adak Island's top predators, livers and ...
Population declines in four species of eider; common (Somateria mollissima), king (Somateria spectabilis), spectacled (Somateria fischeri) and Steller's (Polysticta stelleri), have raised concerns about exposure to contaminan...
Snow cores were collected over sea ice from four northwest Alaskan Arctic estuaries that represented the annual snowfallfrom the 1995ﾖ1996 season. Dissolved trace metals, major cationsand anions, total mercury, and organochl...
Concentrations of 2378-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (DFs) and non- and mono-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (dioxin-like PCBs) were measured in livers of polar bears from th...
This technical support document is aimed at informing decision makers, general academia, and the public on the scientific foundation and relevance to the United States of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Polluta...
The toxicity and estrogenicity of a final treated municipal effluent was examined while flowing through a constructed wetland in north-central Texas, USA. Fish data were collected, and a baseline wetland characterization was ...
Vitellogenin is a frequently used biomarker in fish models to assess estrogenicity. Male fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas, were exposed to undiluted wastewater effluent for one, two or three weeks. Vitellogenin induction ...
Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is located in the Sandhills of western Nebraska, an area which contains the largest remaining tract of mid-grass and tall-grass prairie in North America. Land use surrounding the r...
Petit Manan Island is a 3.5-hectare (~ 9 acre) island that lies approximately 4-kilometers
(2.5-miles) from the coastline of Petit Manan Point, Steuben, Washington County, Maine.
It is one of nearly 40 coastal islands withi...
Remedial investigations associated with the Superfund Program of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) found highly elevated levels of mercury in sediment and fish samples from the Sudbury
River, Massachusetts.
Ou...
This report documents levels and potential effects of trace element and organochlorine
pesticide concentrations in four bats species collected from four abandoned mines on Imperial
National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and from th...
Blubber samples were collected from 8 male and 19 female Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) taken during a 1991 joint USA/USSR cruise traveling widely through the Bering Sea. Dieldrin was found at a level similar to...
The objectives of this study were to compare refinery-related petroleum hydrocarbon
concentrations in nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and nestling house wrens
(Troglodytes aedon) at sites along the North Platte...
Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) was added to the National Wildlife Refuges system in 1992. During public involvement in acquisition planning, the Service committed to opening the Refuge to recreational fi...
Water, soil, vegetation, grasshoppers (Family Acrididae), bird eggs and bird livers collected at a 23.5
hectare (58 acres) grassland irrigated with wastewater from an in situ uranium mine (Study Area)
and a reference site i...
The 9,337-acre Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Town of Milford,
Maine. The refuge is bisected by Sunkhaze Stream, the areaﾒs major watercourse, and includes
extensive tracts of regionally-unique ...
Remedial investigations associated with the Superfund Program of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) found highly elevated levels of several trace elements in sediment samples from Grove
Pond and Plow Shop Pond i...
Homeowners use up to 10 times more
chemical pesticides per acre on their
lawns than farmers use on crops, and they
spend more per acre, on average, to
maintain their lawns than farmers spend
per agricultural acre. During...
Following the Exxon-Valdez oil spill, hepatic rates of EROD activity and thus, P450 1A expression, were significantly higher in harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) and Barrowﾒs goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica) from oi...
Effects of chemical contaminant exposure may be contributing to the decline of spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri) nesting in coastal areas of western Alaska. We evaluated chemical exposure and potential effects in 20 male...
Skin and blubber samples of ten adult male Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) from Alaska were used to investigate the relationship between organochlorine (OC) levels in skin and blubber of individuals. For analys...
