Contaminant Biology Program, USGS Biology

Biology - Contaminant Biology Program

Welcome to USGS Contaminant Biology Program

The USGS Contaminant Biology Program investigates the effects and exposure of environmental contaminants to the Nation's living resources, particularly those under the stewardship of the Department of the Interior. This information helps to:

Establish cleanup levels and restoration goals,
Assess risk and damage to natural resources,
Discern the role of contaminants in species declines and mortality, and
Monitor changes resulting from restoration or natural processes.

Major research components of the program include:Chemistry, Toxicology, Contaminated Habitats, Integration and Assessment of Ecological Stressors

Research Highlights

Black-necked stilt

(Himantopus mexicanus). [Photo from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ]

Mercury Contamination and Shorebird Chick Survival

American avocets and black-necked stilts forage and nest in shallow-water wetland habitats along South San Francisco Bay’s margins where methymercury production is relatively high. In a recent study by the USGS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, scientists used radio telemetry to estimate chick survival in relation to mercury concentrations in down feathers at hatching, which are an index of a chick’s whole-body burden of mercury at hatching. The researchers also compared mercury concentrations in chicks that were found dead at colonies to those in randomly sampled live chicks of similar age. Although they found no effect of mercury on chick survival from hatching to fledging, they found that mercury concentrations in down feathers of dead chicks were higher than those in randomly-sampled live chicks.

American avocet (Recurvirostra americana). The radio-marked bird will be released and tracked to determine movements and habitat use. [Photo by Scott Demers, USGS]

These findings were published in the 2008 article, Mercury contamination and effects on survival of American avocet and black-necked stilt chicks in San Francisco Bay, Ecotoxicology 17:103-116 (abstract)

Publication Brief for Resource Managers: Mercury Contamination and Effects on Avocet and Stilt Chick Survival presents main findings of this study and their management implications.

In the Spotlight

San Francisco Bay Salt Pond Restoration: On March 27, Steven Schwarzbach, Director of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center, introduced and discussed a new USGS DVD video product "Wetland Revival" during a public presentation in Menlo Park, California. For the past 150 years south San Francisco Bay salt ponds have been producing commercial salt in areas once heavily populated by wildlife. The new DVD, USGS General Information Product 61, features USGS biologists, hydrologists, and geologists working to provide science support for the restoration of 15,000 acres of salt ponds to more natural wetland habitats. A video archive of his presentation is online at: http://online.wr.usgs.gov/calendar/current.html (scroll down the lecture web page to the March lecture and click on play video)

Featured Publication

Research led by USGS scientist Vicki Blazer shows that a high incidence of intersex in smallmouth bass occurs in the Potomac watershed at sites where farming is most intense and where human population density is highest. The study also shows the greatest prevalence of this form of intersex, known as testicular oocytes (TO), occurs in the spring, just before and during the spawning season. There results are published in the the Journal of Aquatic Animal Health ( Blazer V.S., Iwanowicz L.R., Iwanowicz D.D., Smith D.R., Young J.A., et al. (2007) Intersex (Testicular Oocytes) in Smallmouth Bass from the Potomac River and Selected Nearby Drainages.)
For more information, read recent USGS press release: Intersex in Smallmouth Bass Coincident with Population and Agriculture in Potomac Watershed.

Meetings and Conferences

SETAC Europe 18th Annual Meeting
World under stress: scientific and applied issues
Warsaw, Poland 25 - 29 May 2008

SETAC 5th World Congress
Sydney Convention Centre, Sydney, Australia 3-7 August 2008

SETAC North America 29th Annual Meeting
Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, Florida, USA. 16 - 20 November 2008.

Related USGS Programs

USGS Home :: Geology :: Geography :: Water

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: biology.usgs.gov/contaminant/index.html
Page Contact Information: gs-b_biology_web@usgs.gov
Page Last Modified: Friday, 25-Apr-2008 11:24:46 MDT