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The goal of the dye study is to understand how well water mixes within the lock chamber, to quantify the amount of leakage into and out of the lock through the gates, and to determine how quickly the dye becomes diluted downstream once released from the lock. Such information is used by federal, state, and local agencies for various engineering applications.

The red dye—known as Rhodamine WT—will be injected into the filling system of the auxiliary lock and may be visible for about a mile downstream along the Iowa shoreline. More dye will be added periodically throughout the day. Rhodamine WT, which has been used in hydrologic studies for decades, is approved for use as a water tracer by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is harmless to people, fish, and plants at the concentration being used for this study. No impact to boats in the river is expected during or after the dye injection. During the study, dye concentrations will be measured at several points in the lock chamber and downstream of the lock by bank and boat-mounted equipment.

Researchers will measure the distribution of the dye in the auxiliary lock and map the dyed water downstream after the dyed water in the lock is released. This study is not expected to impact the operation of the main lock at Locks and Dam 14 or cause any navigation delays in the area.

 

Image of a red dye study conducted in the Brandon Road Lock on the Des Plaines River near Joliet, Illinois, in 2015. The upcoming study near Pleasant Valley, Iowa is anticipated to look similar. (Credit: USGS. Public domain.)

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This southeastern bat from Alabama shows signs of infection from the Pseudogymnoascus destructans fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center later confirmed WNS in this animal. (Credit: Dottie Brown, Ecological Solutions, Inc.)

The diseased bat was found in Shelby County, Alabama, at Lake Purdy Corkscrew Cave, by surveyors from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) Nongame Program; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Alabama Ecological Services Field Office; Ecological Solutions, Inc.; and the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc.

The cave is owned by the Birmingham Water Works and managed by the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to cave acquisition, conservation and management.

WNS in the southeastern bat was confirmed in the laboratory by the U.S. Geological Survey.

A fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, or Pd, causes WNS, which affects many, but not all bat species that come into contact with it. Of those affected, bat populations have declined by more than 90 percent.

“We are disappointed to find white-nose syndrome in another species, but hopeful that the southeastern bat may fare better than many of its more northern cousins based on how long it took to be diagnosed with the disease,” said Jeremy Coleman, national WNS coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “This discovery, along with the continued spread of Pd this year, reinforces the need for our continued vigilance in the face of white-nose syndrome.”

First detected in New York in 2007, WNS is now in 31 states and five Canadian provinces.

Other species confirmed with WNS include little brown, northern long-eared, Indiana, Eastern small-footed, gray, tricolored, big brown and Yuma myotis. All the affected species eat insects and hibernate during the winter. The northern long-eared bat was designated as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2015 primarily due to the threat of WNS.

Bats are an important part of our nation’s ecosystems, and provide significant pest control services to American farmers. Insectivorous bats likely save the United States agricultural industry at least $3 billion each year, or approximately $74 per acre for the average farmer. Alabama is home to 15 species of bats, including northern long-eared bats and federally endangered gray and Indiana bats.

Each winter the Alabama Bat Working Group (ABWG) surveys areas to inventory bat populations, discover important bat hibernation areas and document the advance of WNS. This year biologists from the ABWG surveyed 50 sites in 14 counties and found that numbers of tricolored bats and endangered Indiana bats had substantially declined.

Nick Sharp, a member of the ABWG and nongame biologist with the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, says the decline of tricolored bats has experts concerned. “Tricolored bats were once common in Alabama, but now seem to be disappearing due to WNS. We are troubled by the potential loss of the important ecosystem function this species provides in Alabama,” he said.

“Ongoing surveillance for the P. destructans fungus and white-nose syndrome provides critical information to resource managers about the occurrence of this disease in North American bats,” said David Blehert, a scientist with the USGS National Wildlife Health Center. “This information is essential to inform future response efforts.”

WNS was first documented in Alabama in 2012 in Jackson County, and since has been confirmed in bats in Jackson, Lawrence, Limestone, Marshall, Morgan and, now, Shelby counties. In addition to finding the diseased southeastern bat this season, the ABWG swabbed more than 100 bats statewide, adding Blount, Bibb and Madison to the list of counties where WNS fungus has been documented. Calhoun, Colbert and Lauderdale tested Pd-positive in previous years.

For additional information on WNS, please visit www.whitenosesyndrome.org.

This photo shows a colony of southeastern bats, or Myotis austroriparius. As of 2017, the species joins eight other hibernating bat species in North America that are afflicted with the deadly bat fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome.(Credit: Pete Pattavina, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.)

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Biologists have confirmed white-nose syndrome in the southeastern bat, or Myotis austroriparius, for the first time. The species joins eight other hibernating bat species in North America that are afflicted with the deadly bat fungal disease.

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Water Monitoring Fact Sheets for Spring seasons in 2014, 2015, and 2016 are available at http://lakeerie.ohio.gov/

A map at http://arcg.is/21i9CUF shows the locations of sites and users can access daily mean loads and concentrations data by clicking on each site. 

 

(Public domain.)

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The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is measuring streamflow and collecting nutrient and sediment samples at stream gages in the Western Lake Erie Basin in Northwest Ohio.  

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The United States Geological Survey (USGS) operates a network of real-time streamgages that continually record stage and streamflow every 15 to 60 minutes. Streamflow information from streamgages have a wide variety of uses, including flood prediction, water management and allocation, engineering design, scientific research, and recreation.  Streamgage data are available online through the National Water Information System (NWIS) and USGS WaterWatch Web sites. 

NWIS Michigan          NWIS Ohio          USGS WaterWatch

Our most recently added real-time sites in Michigan:

04044003 Dead River at Marquette, MI

04044755 Miners River near Munising, MI  

04097528 Prairie River at Orland Road near Bronson, MI

04122001 Muskegon River at Bridge Street at Newaygo, MI

04122025 Muskegon River at Bridgeton, MI

04127200 Boardman River at Beitner Road near Traverse City, MI

04166700 Johnson Creek at 7 Mile Road at Northville, MI 

Our most recently added real-time sites in Ohio:

03118050 East Branch Nimishillen Creek at Louisville, OH

03118131 East Branch Nimishillen Creek at Trump Ave near Canton, OH

03118209 West Branch Nimishillen Creek at North Canton, OH

03118258 Zimber Ditch at North Canton, OH

03118299 West Branch Nimishillen Creek at Tuscarawas Street at Canton, OH

405536081192600 Precipitation gage near Hartville, OH

03131898 Clear Fork Reservoir near Lexington, OH

03131982 Clear Fork Mohican River at Bellville, OH

03138791 Little Killbuck Creek near Burbank, OH

04201400 West Branch Rocky River at West View, OH

04201404 Baker Creek at Olmstead Falls, OH

04201409 Unnamed Tributary to West Branch Rocky River near Berea, OH

04201423 Plum Creek near Olmsted Falls, OH

04201429 Unnamed Tributary to West Branch Rocky River near Olmsted Falls, OH

04201484 East Branch Rocky River near Strongsville, OH

04201495 Baldwin Creek at Strongsville, OH

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This information is critical in helping resource managers mitigate effects of an Asian carp invasion. Great Lakes fisheries generate economic activity of approximately $7 billion annually in the United States alone. Due to the introduction or invasion of many non-native species, Lake Michigan’s ecosystem has already undergone broad and rapid change in fish and other aquatic life. If bighead and silver carp were to populate Lake Michigan, they have the potential to adversely affect the ecosystem and fishing industry.

Scientists used predictive models to simulate fish growth and food consumption to determine the suitability of the Great Lakes to Asian carp invasions. USGS scientists used satellite imagery of Lake Michigan showing near-surface algae to determine how much food would be available for Asian carp. Green algae and blue-green algae, specifically floating algal blooms that can be seen on the surface, are a preferred food source for Asian carp. The water temperatures and algal concentrations detected in Lake Michigan from 2009-2011 show that the bighead and silver carp populations could not only live in this environment, but continue to grow.

 “Most areas of the lake had insufficient algal food for bighead and silver carp, but the model indicates that nearshore areas and embayments had plenty of algal food to support survival and growth,” said Karl Anderson, USGS scientist and lead author of the study.

These findings imply that if bighead and silver carp were to invade Lake Michigan, they might not spread randomly across the lake; rather follow coastlines where sufficient algal food exists. Coastal areas are particularly important not only for fisheries and biological reasons, but also because human activity is more common near shore than in the vast open areas of Lake Michigan. Silver carp often react to boats by jumping; this activity is a nuisance because silver carp often jump into boats, harming people and property. Concentration of silver carp near the coastline would enhance the propensity of such nuisance interactions with boaters. 

Food availability and water temperature are the greatest sources of uncertainty for predicting fish growth potential. Water temperature is a key factor in determining how much bighead and silver carps need to eat. Models developed by USGS scientists helped determine how much algae carps need to eat to survive.

Silver carp are known for their leaping ability, especially when excited by boats. 

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This deer shows visible signs of chronic wasting disease. (Credit: Terry Kreeger, Wyoming Game and Fish and Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance.)

Scientists with the USGS and partners developed a novel scientific model to forecast the growth and spread of chronic wasting disease, or CWD, in white-tailed deer in southwestern Wisconsin. The model showed that CWD prevalence increased rapidly during the latter portion of the 2002-2014 study period, particularly among older male animals, and that the trend will likely continue throughout affected areas.

The scientists also found that the model outperformed traditional prediction methods, can be applied to many other diseases throughout the country and can help forecast the spread of invasive species.

This map shows the distribution of chronic wasting disease in North America as of March 2017. 

“This tool is valuable because, by predicting where threats might emerge and how areas are affected, it can help wildlife managers apply proactive strategies before the threats arrive and develop effective control programs if they establish,” said Daniel Walsh, a USGS scientist and an author of the study. “Such strategies can help protect critical resources and save money that would be needed for mitigation.”

CWD is a fatal nervous system disease affecting elk, moose, white-tailed deer and mule deer throughout the United States and Canada. It’s costly to manage, but is not known to affect humans or livestock.

Landscape features such as rivers, forests and human development influence deer movements and CWD expansion. Using the model, scientists found that CWD could spread nearly two times faster within the Wisconsin River corridor when compared to an area outside of the corridor, and will likely grow faster in highly forested areas than in areas of low forest cover.

The tool can help scientists and managers forecast the spread of other dangerous diseases, including human diseases. It can also be used to better understand and manage the dispersal of invasive species, which scientists estimate cost over $120 billion in damages annually to the U.S. economy.

The USGS partnered with Kansas State University, Colorado State University and Utah State University on the new study.

For more information about USGS wildlife disease research, please visit the USGS National Wildlife Health Center website.

Cervids, such as this healthy, male white-tailed deer, are susceptible to chronic wasting disease. (Scott Bauer, USDA)

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A new tool, which predicted the recent, rapid growth and continued spread of chronic wasting disease in deer, can help forecast and manage other costly biological threats to humans, animals and the environment, according to a recently published U.S. Geological Survey study.

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Potash is produced in only 13 countries, making it one of the most tightly controlled commodities in the world. 

The deposit is estimated to be worth $65 billion, which could make it a major source of revenue for the State of Michigan.
“If we didn’t have the data preservation program, no one would have known the deposits were here,” said John Yellich, a geologist and the director of the Michigan Geological Survey. 

The program Yellich references is the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP). Enacted by Congress in 2005, the program was created to promote the archiving and cataloging of geological samples and data in the United States, most of which were acquired during oil, gas, and mineral exploration. Preservation of these materials and data promotes further research and the discovery of valuable resources. 

William Harrison of Western Michigan University holds a potash core sample. Photograph credit: Mike Lanka, Western Michigan University(Public domain.)

Run by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the program provides funds to State geological agencies to help them preserve and inventory their geological samples and data. This includes digitally cataloging and describing these data and materials into the National Digital Catalog, a centralized database managed by the NGGDPP that is accessible to the public. 

“Basically, the database reveals to geologists, researchers, and government agencies where natural resources such as minerals, oil, gas, and fossils could be located,” said Natalie Latysh, associate program coordinator for the USGS’s NGGDPP. 

“Not everyone has $4 million dollars to drill a well to determine what is in the ground,” she said. “Instead, the database can be used to inform users of previous work, including the existence and location of important resources.” 

In 2008, Dr. William Harrison, a professor and the director of Western Michigan University’s Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education (MGRRE), received a call from a potash mining company in Hersey, Michigan, offering to donate rock cores of potash extracted during the 1980s. 

The company was preparing to shut-down and could no longer store the 4,000 boxes of core samples. MGRRE houses a comprehensive collection of Michigan’s rock cores and samples and maintains extensive online databases.

Funding from the USGS’s NGGDDP enabled MGRRE to acquire the potash cores and begin compiling the data and logging them into the National Digital Catalog. Annually, NGGDPP funds are awarded to States for proposed preservation projects, like this one, through a competitive grant process.

“USGS’s funding was the impetus for making [those] data available so that the industry could become aware of the potash deposit,” Yellich said.

Access to the national catalog alerted mining companies and investors about the collection of samples. 

One company in particular, Michigan Potash, teamed up with MGRRE in 2013 to analyze the cores and confirm, through chemical tests, the amount of potassium contained in the potash samples. Analysis revealed the richest grade of potash ever produced globally, even richer than deposits produced in Canada and Russia. 

“Because of the core samples, we were able to get a geological picture of what was down beneath the surface,” Yellich said. 

The mineral deposit composes the Borgen Bed, which lies under 14,500 acres in Mecosta and Osceola Counties in western Michigan. Michigan Potash is working on breaking ground in 2017 on a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. 

“This discovery benefits agriculture, resource development, and the economy in Michigan and beyond, which would have been much more difficult to realize, if at all, were it not for the NGGDPP,” Yellich said.

Potash contains a key plant nutrient, which makes it an important resource for the production of agricultural fertilizer. Photograph credit: Pk Cascio, USGS(Public domain.)

For more information, contact Kevin Gallagher, USGS Associate Director for Core Science Systems, at kgallagher@usgs.gov.

Read more stories about USGS science in action.

Click here for the print version.

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The value of the nonfuel mineral industry in each of the 50 states for 2016. (Public domain.)

Every year, the USGS National Minerals Information Center releases its Mineral Commodity Summaries, a resource roundup of 90 different mineral commodities that includes a snapshot of the global industry, worldwide reserves and production, and information on how these minerals are used.

Also included is an analysis of the domestic mineral industry of the United States, along with summaries of state mineral production. So today, we thought we would share the top five mineral-producing states by value from 2016.

A banded iron formation in the Precambrian of Minnesota. Image by James St. John - Jaspilite banded iron formation (Soudan Iron-Formation, Neoarchean, ~2.69 Ga; Stuntz Bay Road outcrop, Soudan Underground State Park, Soudan, Minnesota, USA) 16, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41615999(Public domain.)

Number 5: Minnesota

First up is the Land of 10,000 Lakes at number five. Minnesota slipped a place this year, falling from fourth overall in 2015. Iron ore is the primary mineral commodity by value in Minnesota, which leads the country in iron ore production.

Mineral Industry Value: $3.27 billion Percent of U.S. Total Value: 4.38 Principal minerals in order of value: Iron ore, sand and gravel (construction), sand and gravel (industrial), stone (crushed), stone (dimension). The Rio Tinto Borax Mine pit in California, a significant source of the mineral form of boron. Image by Marcin Wichary - Flickr: [1], CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23193363
(Public domain.)

Number 4: California

California ranks number 4 overall, up two places from 2015. California’s unique contribution in the minerals world is boron, for which it is the only producing state in the United States. Considering that the United States and Turkey lead the world in boron production, California’s contribution is significant. Boron’s primary use, at least domestically, is in glass and ceramics, where it helps the glass or ceramic survive intense heat. For this reason it’s used a lot in glassware for baking and laboratory use.

Mineral Industry Value: $3.52 billion Percent of U.S. Total Value: 4.71 Principal minerals in order of value: Sand and gravel (construction), cement (portland), boron minerals, stone (crushed), soda ash. Granite is an igneous rock that is frequently used as a crushed stone building material. Credit: Alex Demas, USGS (Public domain.)

Number 3: Texas

Maintaining its place as the bronze medal winner of mineral production value is the Lone Star State. The vast majority of Texas’ mineral industry goes toward the construction of buildings, such as homes and offices. As one of the states with a high population growth over the past few years, Texas has kept pace by building new accommodations for its growing number of people.

Mineral Industry Value: $4.84 billion Percent of U.S. Total Value: 6.48 Principal minerals in order of value: Stone (crushed), cement (portland), sand and gravel (construction), sand and gravel (industrial), salt. A sample of native copper. Photograph credit: USGS (Public domain.)

Number 2: Arizona

Also holding its 2015 rank is Arizona, which takes the silver medal for mineral production value. Arizona leads the country in copper production and is one of the primary sources of molybdenum as well. In fact, Arizona’s molybdenum wealth is largely related to its copper wealth, as the molybdenum is recovered as a byproduct of the copper mining.

Mineral Industry Value: $5.56 billion Percent of U.S. Total Value: 7.45 Principal minerals in order of value: Copper, sand and gravel (construction), molybdenum concentrates, cement (portland), stone (crushed). A sample of native gold. Sample provided by Carlin Green, USGS. (Credit: Carlin Green, USGS. Public domain.)

Number 1: Nevada

And last, but certainly not least, the Silver State takes the gold medal for mineral production value in 2016, just as it did in 2015. Much of the value of Nevada’s mineral industry comes from its precious metal production, as it leads the Nation in gold mining. Much of the silver comes from the same mining operation as the gold, as does some of Nevada’s copper.

Mineral Industry Value: $7.65 billion Percent of U.S. Total Value: 10.26 Principal minerals in order of value: Gold, copper, sand and gravel (construction), stone (crushed), silver.

So there are the top five states for mineral production value for 2016! Check back next year to see who ranked in the top five for 2017. It’s likely that you’ll see familiar faces...but every now and again, there will be a surprise...

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Image of the VTEM Plus AEM system from Geotech Ltd. in flight. A similar system will be flown during the upcoming USGS AEM study.
(Public domain.)

Yes, 10,000 feet in the air might not be where you’d expect to find underground mineral research being done, but believe it or not, this is an important part of figuring out where mineral deposits might be found.

When we’re up there, we’re looking for all kinds of things that help us determine what kinds of minerals might exist in an area. One thing we often measure for is the magnetic properties of the rock layers we fly over.

You’ve probably heard that some metals are magnetic, like iron or nickel. But another, very valuable set of minerals can be found by looking for magnetism: rare-earth elements. Most of our modern electronics depend on rare-earth elements, and the United States imports 100% of the amount we use each year, so finding where they might be in the United States is an important goal of ours. We’ve conducted these flights over the Upper Midwest, Iowa, Missouri and even Upstate New York.

The airplane that will be doing overflights in Essex and Clinton Counties, flying a grid pattern at low altitude for a few weeks in December. 
(Public domain.)

Another tool we use to study the mineral potential of the country is hyperspectral imaging. Basically, we use lasers to create a map of different signatures, and then compare them to the signatures for certain rock types that contain valuable minerals. The primary places USGS has used hyperspectral imaging to study minerals are Alaska and Afghanistan.

So if you look up one day and see a small plane flying back and forth along a grid, or see a helicopter dragging a couple of hula hoops around, check your local paper to see if it’s us seeing what kind of minerals might be in your backyard!

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Both irrigation wells and municipal wells affect water levels in the Little Plover River, Wisconsin. (Credit: Ken Bradbury, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey)

The Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey have released the results of a three-year project to develop a groundwater flow model for an area around the Little Plover River in Wisconsin’s Central Sands agricultural region. The model is a state-of-the-art scientific tool that can be used to help make informed decisions about high-capacity well placement and pumping, as well as land use in the region, which stretches from southern Adams County to north of Stevens Point.

The project was carried out jointly by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and the USGS Wisconsin Water Science Center. In addition to the groundwater flow model, researchers developed a report (Bulletin 111) and a user’s guide to the model.

The groundwater flow model was commissioned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources with the goal of demonstrating the scientific relationships among groundwater, lakes and streams and high-capacity well withdrawals. The Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association also contributed funding and information for the project.

“This model is a tool for testing and evaluating different ways to manage the groundwater in the Central Sands region,” said Ken Bradbury, state geologist and one of the authors of the report.

The model includes all high-capacity wells in the region installed before 2013, when modeling began, and simulates seasonal variations in groundwater recharge, irrigation needs and well pumping.

“The techniques and data combined in this project illustrate how groundwater modeling can be used for resource management in other similar areas of Wisconsin and the nation in the future,” said Michael Fienen, a USGS hydrologist and one of the report authors.

The Little Plover basin covers only a small portion of the Central Sands region, but was selected for the model because a great deal of background data was available there. The study concludes that the techniques used for the Little Plover area are readily transferrable to building a model for the rest of the Central Sands region.

The completed model serves as a powerful tool for testing and demonstrating alternative water-management scenarios. For example, it can simulate how the cumulative impacts of pumping and land-use changes have affected flow in the Little Plover River. It can also be used to predict which wells and well locations would have the greatest impact on nearby lakes and streams.

The new model is a sophisticated tool intended for use by environmental professionals such as DNR staff, consultants and academic groups. It provides a uniform, unbiased starting point for investigations of different water management alternatives.

The report and model are available on the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey website.

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This image shows sea lampreys in their larvae phase. Slower sea lamprey growth rates during the larval phase of development may increase the odds of sea lampreys becoming male, according to a USGS study. Sea lampreys are an invasive, parasitic species of fish damaging the Great Lakes. (Credit: R. McDaniels, Great Lakes Fishery Commission)

Scientists with the USGS and Michigan State University, funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, found that slower sea lamprey growth rates during the larval phase of development may increase the odds of sea lampreys becoming male. During the study, environments lacking plentiful food were male-skewed, with 78 percent of sea lampreys becoming male after three years, whereas environments more conducive to growth produced only 56 percent males.

This discovery could be a critical step in developing advanced technologies to control sea lamprey.

“Remarkably, we didn’t set out to study sex determination in sea lampreys – we were planning to study environmental effects on growth rates only,” said Nick Johnson, a USGS scientist and the lead author of the study. “We were startled when we discovered that these data may also reveal how sex is determined because mechanisms of sex determination in lamprey are considered a holy grail for researchers.”

Sea lampreys are imperiled in Europe and the Pacific Northwest, where they are native, but are invasive and destructive in the North American Great Lakes. With their blood-sucking capability and gaping round mouths, sea lampreys feed on the blood and fluids of native fish, causing population declines in commercially and recreationally important species that are essential to the Great Lakes’ multi-billion dollar per year fishery.

USGS sea lamprey expert Nick Johnson demonstrates the ridge of tissue, called a rope, along the back of a mature male sea lamprey. (Credit: Andrea Miehls, USGS.)

Between 2005 and 2007, the scientists tagged and released sea lamprey larvae into unproductive lakes and productive streams. These environments included tributaries of Lakes Huron and Michigan and areas of those lakes near stream mouths. The researchers then recaptured the tagged fish as adults during their spawning migrations.

The sex ratios in productive and unproductive environments were initially similar but quickly diverged, with unproductive lakes becoming increasingly male-dominated. Once the larvae changed into their parasitic adult stage, their sex did not shift, and their survival rates generally did not differ between productive versus unproductive environments.

“The results of this study could be a critical step toward developing advanced technologies to control sea lampreys in the Great Lakes, which have caused unparalleled damage to fisheries,” said David Ullrich, chair of the GLFC. “Although sea lamprey populations have been reduced by 90 percent, innovation will be key to maintaining strong control into the future. The results of this study could open paths forward to novel technologies that can disrupt or modify gender in sea lampreys, providing the commission with other means to control this noxious predator.”

Invasive sea lamprey prey on commercially important fish species, living off of the blood and body fluids of adult fish. (Credit: Marisa Lubeck, USGS.)

Some sea lamprey populations have skewed sex ratios, but the reasons why have remained a biological mystery for decades. The new study, with its unanticipated sex determination findings, begins to answer a scientific question that has previously eluded researchers.

This study, "Indication that sex determination in sea lamprey is influenced by larval growth rate," is published in the journal Royal Society Proceedings B.

For more information about sea lamprey research in the Great Lakes, please visit the USGS Great Lakes Science Center website and the GLFC website.

 

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Scientists with the USGS and U.S. Department of Agriculture tested 290 water samples from eight rivers in the Great Lakes Basin from February 2011 to June 2013. The two most frequently detected pathogens were human adenovirus C, D and F in nine percent of samples, which can cause minor respiratory illnesses in people, and bovine polyomavirus in 11 percent of samples.

“Fecal contamination by human pathogens is a potential human health hazard when present in recreational or drinking water, and bovine pathogens can be a health hazard for dairy operations,” said Peter Lenaker, a USGS scientist and the lead author of the study. “Results from our study can help managers develop effective water-quality management strategies to minimize pathogen exposure risks.”      

Human viruses were present in 16 percent of the total number of water samples. They occurred most often and at highest concentrations in the River Rouge in Michigan, followed by the Clinton River in Michigan and the Milwaukee River in Wisconsin. Samples from these three locations had greater than 25 percent urban influence and more than 2,900 people per square kilometer (km2).

Bovine viruses were most common in the Manitowoc and Milwaukee Rivers in Wisconsin. These two sampling locations had greater than 40 percent agricultural land influence and cattle densities greater than 50 cattle per km2. Overall, viruses from cattle occurred in 14 percent of the samples collected.

Human viruses can come from a variety of sources, including wastewater treatment run-off, failing wastewater infrastructure, malfunctioning sanitary sewers and septic systems. Bovine viruses can have sources that include direct cattle access to streams, and runoff flow from barnyards, pastures and manure application.

“Gastrointestinal viruses tend to be very specific to the animal they infect,” said Dr. Mark Borchardt, head of the USDA Agricultural Research Service laboratory that tested the samples. “When we find these viruses in the environment we know the exact source of the fecal pollution.”

The scientists also found that:

Human and bovine viruses occurred more frequently in spring and winter seasons than during the fall and summer; Precipitation, snowmelt and low-flow water conditions all contributed to the delivery of human and bovine viruses to streams; Other human viruses that were found in at least one water sample were adenovirus A, GI and GII norovirus and enterovirus; and Other cattle viruses detected were bovine rotavirus A, enterovirus and bovine viral diarrhea virus type 2.

For more information about water quality in the Great Lakes Basin, please visit the USGS Wisconsin Water Science Center website.

Human and bovine, or cattle, viruses were detected in a small percentage of some Great Lakes Basin streams, with human viruses more prevalent in urban streams and bovine viruses more common in streams in agricultural areas. (Credit: Ben Siebers, USGS. Public domain.)

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Human and bovine, or cattle, viruses were detected in a small percentage of some Great Lakes Basin streams, with human viruses more prevalent in urban streams and bovine viruses more common in streams in agricultural areas, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey-led study.

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Driveways in a residential subdivision are coated with black coal-tar-based sealcoat, contrasting with the white cement sidewalk. (Public domain)

Runoff from pavement with coal-tar-based sealant is the primary source of toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, to streambed sediments in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to a U.S. Geological Survey and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District study published today.

Pavement sealant is a black, shiny liquid sprayed or painted on asphalt parking lots, driveways and playgrounds to improve appearance and protect the underlying asphalt. Pavement sealants that contain coal tar, a known human carcinogen, have extremely high levels of PAHs. Some PAHs are toxic to fish and other aquatic life and several are probable human carcinogens.

Scientists with the USGS collected sediment samples from 40 streambed sites and dust samples from six parking lot sites in the Milwaukee area to determine the likely sources and toxicity of PAHs in streams. They found that dust from coal-tar-sealant contributed about 42 to 94 percent of the PAHs to the samples, with the remainder of PAHs coming from sources such as coal combustion and vehicle emissions.  

Seventy-eight percent of the sediment samples collected had PAH levels that could adversely affect aquatic organisms like aquatic insects. Among the most toxic samples collected were those from sections of Lincoln Creek, Underwood Creek and the West Milwaukee Ditch.

“This study shows that PAHs pose a very real threat to aquatic organisms at the base of the food chain,” said Austin Baldwin, a USGS scientist and the lead author of the study. “In terms of toxicity to these organisms, PAHs are probably the most important contaminants in Milwaukee-area streams.”

Potential adverse effects of these PAHs on aquatic organisms include fin erosion, liver abnormalities, cataracts and immune system impairments.

“Our study did not test the human health effects of coal-tar-sealant or PAHs in the Milwaukee area,” Baldwin said. “PAHs do not easily accumulate within the food chain, so possible human-health risks associated with consumption of fish are low.”

However, Baldwin noted that previous studies have demonstrated risks associated with tracking coal-tar-sealant dust from driveways into homes. Exposure to children playing on sealed pavement could be another route.

Coal-tar sealants have significantly higher levels of PAHs and related compounds compared to asphalt-based pavement sealants and other urban sources, including vehicle emissions, used motor oil and tire particles. Stormwater runoff, wind and tires can disseminate PAH particles throughout the urban landscape.

The new USGS study is published in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

For more information about water-quality research in Wisconsin, please visit the USGS Wisconsin Water Science Center website. For more information about pavement sealants and PAHs, please visit the webpage about USGS research on PAHs and sealcoat.

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A tufted puffin, the species most affected by a recent seabird die-off in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. (Credit: Sarah Schoen, USGS)

A beach littered with bird carcasses is a sobering sight. Since mid-October, hundreds of dead seabirds have washed ashore the north and east sides of St. Paul Island, Alaska, an otherwise serene volcanic island landscape in the Bering Sea.

Most of the carcasses being found are tufted puffins, a charismatic species of seabird with striking, silky tassels of feathers positioned like ponytails behind their white-masked eyes. However, horned puffins, murres and crested auklets have washed ashore as well, according to biologists from the Aleut Community of the St. Paul Island Tribal Government Ecosystem Conservation Office (ACSPI ECO).

“Seabirds, including puffins, are important to local residents for their cultural and subsistence uses, and are appreciated by bird watchers from around the world,” said John Pearce, a scientist with the USGS Alaska Science Center. “Seabirds can also provide important signals about local conditions in the marine environment, such as the abundance and availability of forage fish.”

The ACSPI ECO and Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that as of November 17, the encounter rate of puffin carcasses over a three-week period was hundreds of times greater than normal compared to past surveys at St. Paul. In total, nearly 300 carcasses of a variety of beached seabird species have been counted since mid-October.

Only a fraction of birds that die at sea become beached, and of those, only a small portion are observed by people before they are removed by scavengers. As a result, many more birds may be affected by the die-off than has been recorded.

 

A horned puffin, one of the species affected by a recent seabird die-off in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska.(Credit: Sarah Schoen, USGS)

USGS Die-Off Detectives

To determine cause of death, eight puffin carcasses – six tufted puffins and two horned puffins – were collected by ASCPI ECO biologists and sent to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, where scientists conducted necropsies, or animal autopsies, on the birds. The USGS found that these fish-eating puffins were severely emaciated and likely died of starvation. The animals showed no sign of disease.

Starvation of the birds could be related to a lack of prey or changes in prey distribution as a result of abnormal sea temperatures. Unusually high sea surface temperatures were recorded in October for the Bering, Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Coupled with record low levels of sea ice, these temperatures could affect populations of forage fish and squid upon which seabirds like puffins depend.

In 2015-2016, the USGS and USFWS investigated and documented a large-scale die-off of common murres in the Gulf of Alaska with similar findings of starvation.

 

A Continuous, Coordinated Effort

The USGS is working with the USFWS, COASST, ACSPI ECO, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to determine the full extent of the St. Paul seabird die-off. Together, these partners will continue to investigate the seabird mortality event.

The public can help, too. According to the USFWS, people can report sick or dead birds to 1-866-527-3358 or AK_MBM@fws.gov. Please include the following information:

Time & Date Exact location (latitude/longitude, length of beach) Type of bird (species name or group e.g., murre, puffin, etc.) Estimated number of birds Photos

The USFWS warns that people should not touch or collect any sick or dead birds. Please leave the birds where they are when documenting a mortality event.

For more information about wildlife die-offs, please visit the USGS National Wildlife Health Center website. To learn more about seabirds and wildlife disease in Alaska, visit the USGS Alaska Science Center website.

February 2019 update: More information about the effects of harmful algal blooms on Alaska's seabirds is available at a 2018 USGS Fact Sheet.

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The timely removal of leaf litter can reduce harmful phosphorus concentrations in stormwater by over 80 percent in Madison, Wisconsin. (USGS)

The timely removal of leaf litter can reduce harmful phosphorus concentrations in stormwater by over 80 percent in Madison, Wisconsin, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey study.

Autumn leaf litter contributes a significant amount of phosphorus to urban stormwater, which then runs off into waterways and lakes. Excessive amounts of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen can cause eutrophication, or the depletion of oxygen in water, resulting in death of aquatic animals like fish. The USGS-led study found that without removal, leaf litter and other organic debris in the fall contributed 56 percent of the annual total phosphorus load in urban stormwater compared to only 16 percent when streets were cleared of leaves prior to a rain event.

“Our study found that leaf removal is one of the few treatment options available to environmental managers for reducing the amount of dissolved nutrients in stormwater,” said Bill Selbig, a USGS scientist and the author of the report. “These findings are applicable to any city that is required to reduce phosphorus loads from urban areas.”

The city of Madison used municipal leaf collection, street cleaning and leaf blowers to remove leaf litter from residential areas, and asked residents to pile their leaves adjacent to the street to limit excess debris. (USGS)

During April through November of 2013 through 2015, scientists compared concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen in stormwater from two residential catchments in western Madison that had similar tree cover. The city applied a leaf litter removal program from late September through mid-November at one site but not the other. The researchers found significantly lower amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen at the site where leaves were removed.

The study also found that stormwater nutrient levels were highest during the fall months when the amount of organic debris on streets was at its peak. This finding suggests that leaf removal programs are most effective during fall in Madison, and that sources other than leaves, such as street dirt and grass clippings, were likely the primary contributors of phosphorus and other nutrients during spring and summer.

“The efficiency, frequency and timing of leaf removal and street cleaning are the primary factors to consider when developing a leaf management program,” Selbig said.

During the study period, the city of Madison used municipal leaf collection, street cleaning and leaf blowers to remove leaf litter from residential areas, and asked residents to pile their leaves adjacent to the street to limit excess debris. Leaf collection and street cleaning occurred about every seven days from late September through mid-November.

The USGS collaborated with the City of Madison, the Fund for Lake Michigan and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on the study.

For more information about Wisconsin water research, please visit the USGS Wisconsin Water Science Center website.

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The health of the environment is a research priority for the U.S. Geological Survey, and some of the recent highlights of that research will be on display at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’s 2016 North American conference this Fall. For reporters interested in attending these presentations at the conference, or for following up with the scientists who did the research, please call or email Alex Demas at 703-648-4421 or apdemas@usgs.gov.

Maintaining the Aquatic Food Web

The largest subject area that USGS will have presentations and posters in is studies on the health of aquatic organisms, such as aquatic invertebrates. Although not as charismatic, aquatic invertebrates serve an essential function in the food web, and are often on the front lines of exposure to contaminants.

Some of those contaminants come from mine waste or drainage. Often these are metals, and they can have significant toxic effects on aquatic invertebrates. USGS is presenting studies that look at the effects of these metals on caged and wild crayfish, mussels, aquatic insects like caddisflies, and amphipods, which are tiny invertebrates that are an important food source for many other animals.

When one part of the food web is affected, it can ripple throughout the entire ecosystem. Thus, studies of the entire food web are important to show the true effects a contaminant can have. In one such example, USGS is presenting a study on how the insecticide bifenthrin can have significant impacts on aquatic food webs and even affect nearby land-based food webs.

Moving up the food web, USGS has studies on frog species’ exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticides clothianidin and thiamethoxam, as well as a study on the effects of the herbicide atrazine on fathead minnows. Although each of these species is not the target of the pesticide in question, they can still be affected, either through bioaccumulation in the food the species eat or exposure in the environment.

In the same vein of unintended consequences, natural disasters can have longer-reaching effects than the initial destruction they’re known for. USGS will be presenting studies on organic pollutants spread by Hurricane Sandy and their effects on bluefish and resident mussels.

And finally, USGS plays an important role in the methodologies that go into studying the health of aquatic organisms. Strategies to address endocrine disruption in Chesapeake Bay fish and wildlife; the chronic toxicity of various chemicals to freshwater mussels; and the role of mesocosms in studying aquatic life are three presentations that USGS has on environmental health methodology.

The Science of Spills in Streams

In addition to studying the organisms that live in aquatic environments, USGS studies the health of the aquatic environments themselves. For instance, in addition to studying the actual effects of pesticides on aquatic organisms, USGS scientists study how the pesticides can reach the aquatic organisms in the first place.

This year, USGS has presentations on how an additive to the popular pesticide glyphosate can spread in the environment; what the effects of various pesticide mixtures are in Midwestern streams; and what levels of neonicotinoid insecticides are in certain agricultural and urban streams throughout the United States.

In addition, USGS looks at unintended spills of various chemicals, with presentations on diluted bitumen spills in the Kalamazoo River and the residual toxicity of NaOH-based ballast water treatment system for freshwater bulk freighters. Also, USGS has a presentation on what can happen to sediment toxicity during a dam’s removal.

Finally, just as with the aquatic organisms, USGS has valuable studies on how to research the health of aquatic environments. In addition to the well-established EPA MDL procedure, USGS examines how to estimate detection levels for multi-analyte methods, which is important for determining contaminant levels in streams. Also, USGS has taken a look at the use of the tool ToxCast to evaluate organic contaminant effects in Great Lakes Tributaries and whether or not reducing the amount of sulfate can mitigate the production of methylmercury in the Great Lakes.

Taking to the Sky

Aquatic organisms aren’t the only ones USGS studies. This year, there are a number of papers and posters that look at the health of birds, namely what chemicals and contaminants they’re exposed to and the effects they may experience.

Tree swallows received the most attention, with USGS and EPA looking at the distribution and effects of legacy contaminants on egg and nestling survival in Great Lakes Areas of Concern, as well as whether the swallows are appropriate bioindicators for other toxicants. In addition, they were also used to assess how effective various remedies were in those Areas of Concern.

Birds of prey were also studied, because their position at the higher end of the foodweb means they can be exposed to significant bioaccumulation of various contaminants. However, USGS research on ospreys showed that, at least in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, they largely have a clean bill of health.  Two other studies looked at American kestrels and what happens when they are exposed to persistent organic pollutants or priority flame retardants while developing in eggs.

The Science of Environmental Chemistry

Finally, USGS has several presentations about the science of environmental chemistry, including one on environmental chemistry perspectives from around the world. And, before the conference officially begins, USGS is giving a workshop on exploratory data analysis and plotting data with ggplot2 in R.

The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’s 2016 North American conference runs from November 6-10 in Orlando, Fla.

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The physical setting of lakes, which includes underlying geology, elevation and surrounding land use, is the most significant driver of lake-level changes in the Twin Cities, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study published today. 

Scientists with the USGS analyzed 96 lakes in the northeast metropolitan area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, to determine why water levels recently declined in some, including White Bear Lake, yet increased in others. They found that not all lakes in the area respond similarly to weather and groundwater pumping, and White Bear Lake is especially sensitive to lake-level changes because of its unique deep-water outlets.

"Water-level changes in White Bear Lake have been the largest of the northeast metro lakes monitored since 1925," said Perry Jones, a USGS scientist and lead author of the report. "Our study showed that water is flowing out of the lake at deeper depths, and this may be contributing to larger water-level changes."

The scientists studied lake levels during short-term (2002–2010) and long-term (1925–2014) periods, and compared them to landscape and geologic characteristics, climatic factors and local groundwater withdrawals. The study found that:

Closed-basin lakes, or those lacking an outlet like White Bear Lake, had more significant lake-level declines than flow-through lakes with an outlet; When closed-basin lake levels increased or decreased, groundwater levels reflected those changes; Water levels in flow-through lakes varied more when annual precipitation fluctuated; Lake-level declines were larger in higher-elevation areas; and The installation of water-flow control structures, such as culverts and weirs, helped moderate multiyear lake-level changes.

The study also showed that groundwater enters White Bear Lake from shallow sites near the shore, and leaves from deep-water sites at the bottom of the lake. When water flows out from these deep sites, it flows into aquifers beneath White Bear Lake. These deep-water outflows are uncommon in Minnesota lakes, and make the lake uniquely sensitive to water-level declines.

The USGS partnered with the Metropolitan Council and the Minnesota Department of Health on the new study.

For more information about water research in Minnesota, please visit the USGS Minnesota Water Science Center website.

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A common insecticide used in urban and agricultural areas, bifenthrin, is harmful to aquatic ecosystems at levels that were previously considered safe, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. The insecticide was measured in several streams in the Midwest at levels that caused harm to artificial aquatic ecosystems.

Bifenthrin is used to combat common household pests like ants and termites, to control mosquitos that could spread diseases like West Nile and Zika and on crops to kill aphids and other agricultural pests. About 1.2 million pounds of bifenthrin was used in the United States in 2013.

USGS scientists evaluated the effects of bifenthrin on natural communities of stream invertebrates, such as mayflies and midges, using artificial streams. Exposure to bifenthrin concentrations previously thought benign caused the insect populations to become less abundant and diverse, and caused an increase in algal growth as the larvae that feed on algae decreased. The insecticide also altered the timing of insect emergence from the larval state to become adults and complete their life cycle. The full study, reported in the scientific journal Environmental Science and Technology, is now available online.

There were obvious similarities between the data from the artificial stream test and data for 92 small streams in the Midwest studied by the USGS in 2013. The insect species that were most sensitive to bifenthrin in the artificial streams were less abundant or eliminated from Midwest streams with similar bifenthrin concentrations. About 40 percent of Midwest streams sampled had bifenthrin concentrations greater than levels that caused meaningful ecological change in the artificial stream study.

 “The results of this experiment demonstrate that not only do aquatic insects die at concentrations of bifenthrin previously thought nontoxic, but that bifenthrin changes the way that stream ecosystems function,” said Travis Schmidt, a USGS ecologist and the lead scientist on the study. “Bifenthrin disrupts the ability of insects to control algal blooms, and disrupts the emergence of flying aquatic insects that are a food source for bats, birds and other animals in and around rivers.”

Parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas were included in the study.

This study is the one of several regional stream-quality assessments by the USGS. Findings will provide the public and decision makers with information regarding which human and natural factors are the most critical in affecting stream quality. Regions studied include the Southeast (2014), the Pacific Northwest (2015), the Northeast (2016) and California (2017). 

Support for this work was provided by the USGS National Water Quality Assessment Project (NAWQA).

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Tiny pieces of harmful plastic, called microplastics, are prevalent in many rivers that flow into the Great Lakes, according to a study published today in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Results are also illustrated on a new USGS microplastics website.

Microplastics fall off decomposing bottles and bags, wear off of synthetic clothing and are manufactured into some toothpastes and lotions. Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and State University of New York at Fredonia studied 107 water samples collected from 29 Great Lakes tributaries in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and New York, and found microplastics in all samples. Together, these 29 tributaries account for approximately 22 percent of the total river water that flows into the Great Lakes.

Microplastics, organic material and other debris in a sample from the Milwaukee River, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Austin Baldwin, USGS, Public domain)

“These microplastics, which are harmful to animal and possibly human health, will continue to accumulate in the Great Lakes well into the future,” said Austin Baldwin, a USGS scientist and the lead author of the report. “Our findings can help water managers better understand the types and sources of microplastics in rivers, and which rivers are the most polluted with microplastics.”

Baldwin noted that the study underestimates the actual microplastic concentrations in the rivers because the scientists sampled large microplastics greater than 0.33 millimeters (mm). The majority of microplastics are smaller than 0.1 mm.

Key findings from the study include:

The highest concentration of microplastics was detected in the Huron River at Ann Arbor, Michigan, at 32 particles per cubic meter, or p/m3; High levels of microplastics were also detected in the Buffalo River at Buffalo, New York (31 p/m3), the Ashtabula River near Ashtabula, Ohio (23 p/m3), and the Clinton River near Mt. Clemens, Michigan (21 p/m3); The median concentration of microplastics in all samples was 1.9 p/m3; Urban watersheds had the highest concentrations of microplastics; and Microplastics were also present in streams in forested and agricultural areas.

The scientists found various forms of microplastics in the river samples: fibers, fragments, films, foams, and pellets or beads. Plastic fibers, which come from items such as synthetic clothes, diapers and cigarette butts, were the most common type detected, at 71 percent of the total particles. The least common form found in the river water was microbeads, which are the only form banned by the United States Congress. This ban has not yet taken effect.

“We were surprised by the small amount of plastic beads and high amount of fibers found in the samples,” Baldwin said. “These unexpected findings demonstrate how studies like ours are critical to better understanding the many forms and fates of microplastics in the environment.”

Ingested microplastics can cause digestive and reproductive problems, as well as death, in fish, birds and other animals. Unhealthy additives in the plastic, including flame retardants and antimicrobials, have been associated with cancer and endocrine disruption in humans. Also, pollutants such as pesticides, trace metals and even pathogens can accumulate at high concentrations on microplastic particles.

Scientists have found microplastics nearly everywhere. Aside from rivers, microplastics are also common in lakes and oceans, in freshwater and marine fish, oysters and mussels, and in sediment. They are deposited onto land and water surfaces from the atmosphere.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funded the new study. For more information on USGS microplastics research, please visit the USGS Great Lakes Restoration Initiative website.

USGS scientists Pete Lenaker and Nic Buer collect a microplastic sample at the Manitowoc River, Manitowoc, Wisconsin. (Austin Baldwin, USGS, Public domain) Collecting a microplastics sample using a neuston net, Milwaukee River, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.(Austin Baldwin, USGS, Public domain)

 

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An international team of scientists led by the U.S. Geological Survey, recently documented widespread mercury contamination in air, soil, sediment, plants, fish, and wildlife at various levels across western North America. They evaluated potential risk from mercury to human, fish, and wildlife health, and examined resource management activities that influence this risk.

Wetland habitats, such as the Great Salt Lake wetlands, provide critical feeding areas for many fish and wildlife species.Collin Eagles-Smith, USGSPublic domain

“Mercury is widespread in the environment, and under certain conditions poses a substantial threat to environmental health and natural resource conservation,” said Collin Eagles-Smith, USGS ecologist and team lead. “We gathered decades of mercury data and research from across the West to examine patterns of mercury and methylmercury in numerous components of the western landscape. This effort takes an integrated look at where mercury occurs in western North America, how it moves through the environment, and the processes that influence its movement and transfer to aquatic food chains.”

More than 80 percent of fish consumption advisories posted in the United States and Canada are wholly or partially because of mercury.  Fish consumption provides many health benefits to people, but the presence of mercury at high concentrations in fish can reduce some of those benefits. Balancing the protection of human health from mercury while also communicating health benefits associated with fish consumption requires detailed information about the distribution of mercury among fish species and across various aquatic systems.

Vegetation patterns affect both soil moisture and the amount of sunlight that reaches the soil, two factors associated with mercury release from soils. USFWS photo.

“The movement of mercury through the western landscape - traveling between the air, ground, and water to plants, animals, and ultimately humans, is extremely complex,” said Eagles-Smith. “This series of articles helps further our understanding of the processes associated with that complexity in western North America, highlights where knowledge gaps still exist, and provides information to resource managers that will help with making informed, science-based management and regulatory decisions.”

Effective management of environmental health risks associated with mercury goes beyond controlling the sources, and could be improved by development of tools to control the production of methylmercury and its bioaccumulation through the food web, ultimately affecting animals and humans.

”This effort provides critical information on mercury pathways to humans and wildlife that government regulators, lawmakers, and the public can use to make decisions,” adds David Evers, Executive Director of Biodiversity Research Institute and co-organizer of the effort. “It builds upon the Northeastern and Great Lakes regional efforts that collected and analyzed environmental mercury data that were often separated by sample type.”

Densely forested areas, such as those found along the Oregon Coastal Range, collect substantial amounts of mercury because they receive high amounts of precipitation.  Used with permission from Kelly J. James Photography.

Key findings of the report include:

Methylmercury contamination in fish and birds is common in many areas throughout the West, and climate and land cover are some important factors influencing mercury contamination and availability to animals Fish and birds in many areas were found to have mercury concentrations above levels that have been associated with toxic effects Patterns of methylmercury exposure in fish and wildlife across the West differed from patterns of inorganic mercury on the landscape Some ecosystems and species are more sensitive to mercury contamination, and local environmental conditions are important factors influencing the creation and transfer of methylmercury through the food web Forest soils typically contain more inorganic mercury than soils in semi-arid environments, yet the highest levels of methylmercury in fish and wildlife occurred in semi-arid areas Vegetation patterns strongly influence the amount of mercury emitted to the atmosphere from soils Forested areas retain mercury from the atmosphere, whereas less vegetated areas tend to release mercury to the atmosphere Land disturbances, such as urban development, agriculture, and wildfires, are important factors in releasing inorganic mercury from the landscape, potentially making it available for biological uptake Land and water management activities can strongly influence how methylmercury is created and transferred to fish, wildlife, and humans

 

Mercury and Methylmercury

Mercury, also known by its chemical symbol Hg, is a naturally-occurring metal that can pose a threat to humans, fish, and wildlife when exposed to high levels of its most toxic form, methylmercury. Methylmercury is created from inorganic mercury in aquatic ecosystems by bacteria. This is a complex process that only occurs under the right conditions for the bacteria to thrive. Therefore, the movement of inorganic mercury from the atmosphere or land to the water does not always result in equivalent levels of methylmercury in fish and wildlife unless the environmental condition is favorable for methylmercury production.

Methylmercury is easily accumulated by fish, wildlife, and humans from their diet; primarily affecting the nervous and reproductive systems, and is particularly harmful during the developmental stages of life. It increases in concentration up the food chain, reaching its highest levels in predators and long-lived species. Because methylmercury readily accumulates through the food chain, exposure patterns in fish and wildlife reflect where local conditions favor the creation of methylmercury.  

 

The western landscape is defined by extremes in climate, land cover, and habitat type. 

Sources, Storage, Transport, and Re-release

In the West, the distribution of mercury is a reflection of the diversity of sources combined with a landscape defined by extremes in climate, land cover, and habitat type. These characteristics of the western landscape influence mercury storage, chemical transformation, and buildup through the food chain.

Mercury enters the landscape from the atmosphere, natural geologic sources, historic mining activities, and re-released mercury stored in vegetation and soils. Atmospheric mercury sources are primarily direct natural emissions, such as volcanic eruptions; direct man-made emissions, such as fossil fuel emissions; and re-release from plants and soils. Mercury from the atmosphere makes its way back to earth through precipitation, dust particles, or direct uptake by plants through their leaves.

Densely forested areas, such as those found along the Pacific coastal mountain ranges, collect substantial amounts of mercury because they receive high amounts of precipitation. The deposited mercury easily binds to vegetation and rich forest soils. Soil mercury concentrations in these forests are on average 2.5 times higher than those in dry semi-arid environments. Similarly, waterbodies located in these forests have among the highest concentrations of inorganic mercury in their sediments.

Mercury Released from Soils

Soil-bound mercury can also move in the opposite direction, from land to the atmosphere. Much of the mercury emitted from the soil is re-release from previously deposited or “old” mercury. The amount of mercury released from soils varies across the region and is dependent upon vegetation patterns, which are important because these patterns affect both soil moisture and the amount of sunlight that reaches the soil – two factors associated with mercury release from soils.

In drier regions with less plant cover, the amount of mercury deposited from the atmosphere is similar to the amount released from soils, suggesting that these areas do not store mercury. In contrast, densely forested areas receive several times more mercury through atmospheric deposition than what is re-emitted to the atmosphere. As a result, western forests tend to provide long-term storage for inorganic mercury whereas much of the mercury deposited across the vast areas of sparsely vegetated semi-arid lands throughout the West either returns back into the atmosphere or becomes available for transport to aquatic ecosystems.

Mercury Released from Wildfires

Wildfire is one of the largest sources of re-released soil mercury to the atmosphere. The amount of mercury released during a wildfire depends on the size of the burned area, the amount of mercury stored in plants and soil, and the severity of burning. High severity fires, or  fires that cause greater physical change in an area, release greater amounts of mercury than low severity fires because they burn more fuel and make the soil hotter. Although high severity fires release more stored mercury into the atmosphere, lower severity fires may leave behind mercury in soils in a form that can more easily be moved to aquatic ecosystems and converted to methylmercury. With the increasing rate and severity of wildfires in the West associated with a changing climate, there could be an increase in movement of mercury that has been stored for centuries.

Historical mining and ore processing used mercury to extract precious metals such as gold and silver, releasing extensive amounts of mercury into the environment. Malakoff Diggins, Nevada County, California. Hearst Mining Collection of Views. Used with Permission of the Bancroft Library, The University of California - Berkeley.

Legacy Mining in the West

The West has rich geologic deposits of naturally occurring mercury, as well as gold and silver, where mercury was historically used to extract these valuable elements from rock formations. Historical mining and ore processing for these metals released extensive amounts of mercury into the environment, contaminating lake and river sediments downstream of mining operations. As a result, many of the highest levels of sediment mercury concentrations across the West are associated with legacy gold, silver, and mercury mines. However, the influence of mining on downstream mercury concentrations is most noticeable in small watersheds, because the amount of mercury from mining in larger watersheds is a fraction of what is contributed by other sources and processes such as atmospheric deposition, land disturbance, and erosion of less contaminated soils.

Land Use and Development

Agriculture and urban land development are more widespread across the West than mining, and those land uses have a large influence on the amount of mercury released from soils. As a result, lakes receiving runoff from agricultural or urbanized watersheds show higher rates of mercury accumulation in their sediments than lakes in undisturbed areas. The accumulation rate of mercury in lake sediments, calculated from sediment cores dated from to 1800-2010,  showed the highest rate during the last decade (2000-2010) than at any time since the industrial revolution, and approximately five times higher than during pre-industrial times (1800 to 1850).

Wildfire is one of the largest sources of re-released mercury to the atmosphere and a component to the widespread movement of inorganic mercury to aquatic sediments.Public domain

Landscape disturbance; such as wildfire, resource extraction, and land development, is a major component to the widespread movement of inorganic mercury to aquatic sediment throughout waterbodies of the West. However, mercury levels in fish and wildlife do not always match the levels of inorganic mercury because of the requirement for inorganic mercury to be converted to methylmercury before accumulating up the food chain.

“Methylmercury production is a complex microbial process that requires specific environmental conditions,” said Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, USGS microbiologist and co-organizer of the synthesis. “Only a small amount of the inorganic mercury is available to be made into methylmercury by bacteria, and under the right conditions even this small amount can result in methylmercury levels that pose a threat to fish, aquatic birds, and human health.”

As a result, sediment inorganic mercury concentrations alone often do not accurately indicate how much mercury makes its way into the animals living in the associated environment and ultimately, humans who may consume those animals.

 

Fish are indicators of methylmercury contamination because they are an important link in the food chain for both wildlife and humans.  USFS photo.

Managing Mercury Risk to Wildlife and Humans

Western North America supports many fish and wildlife communities, several of which are threatened by habitat loss or other factors, including exposure to methylmercury. Fish are indicators of methylmercury contamination because they are an important link in the food chain for both wildlife and humans. Fish and wildlife also are indicators of methylmercury availability over many months to years in the food chain. Mercury contamination of fish and birds is widespread across the West, but the patterns of exposure do not fully match patterns of inorganic mercury distribution in soils and sediments. Although the highest levels of inorganic mercury in soil are found in forested areas, the highest levels of methylmercury in fish and wildlife tend to occur in more arid regions of the West such as the Great Basin. Many existing guidelines and regulations around mercury focus on inorganic mercury in soils and sediments. The combination of inorganic mercury movement, methylmercury creation, and how long mercury stays in the food chain are some of the challenges to managing methylmercury risk to animals and humans.

More than half of the land, lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands in the West are publically owned or managed, much by the federal government. Natural resource management for both conservation and resource extraction can have a particularly strong influence on how mercury is transported over land, through water, and transferred to fish, wildlife, and humans.

Water and its management is a defining characteristic of the western landscape. It is among the continent’s most complex and widespread resource management challenges and has greatly influenced land use, development, and natural resource conservation. The need to store and transport water for shared ecological, agricultural, and human needs has resulted in complex networks of dams and man-made waterways that have transformed the western landscape and dramatically changed the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of river systems, and in some cases influenced the movement of mercury through these systems.

Wetlands, lakes, and rivers can all promote the creation of methylmercury, and seasonal flow and flood patterns of the West result in numerous locations where methylmercury can be created. These habitats are also often important environments that are critical feeding areas for many fish and wildlife species. Management of water flows and storage throughout the West can influence methylmercury creation in these aquatic habitats and can have a strong impact on the degree of mercury exposure throughout local food webs.

Management of water flows and storage through structures such as Foster Dam in Oregon can influence methylmercury creation in aquatic habitats. USACE image.

"We found mercury contamination of birds was common in many areas throughout western North America, some at levels above what is considered toxic to birds,” said Josh Ackerman, USGS wildlife biologist and lead author of one of the articles on bird mercury exposure. “Certain ecological characteristics, such as the type of habitat the birds live in, and their diet were important factors influencing bird mercury concentrations and their risk to mercury toxicity."

This body of work was conducted as part of the Western North America Mercury Synthesis Working Group and supported by the USGS John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis. The Working Group is comprised of partners from other U.S. and Canadian federal, state, and provincial agencies, as well as academic institutions and non-governmental organizations. Primary funding support was provided by the USGS, National Park Service, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with additional support from the individual authors’ organizations.

Findings are found in a 2016 special issue of Science of The Total Environment:  Mercury in Western North America—Spatiotemporal Patterns, Biogeochemistry, Bioaccumulation, and Risks

 

More Information:

Special Issue

USGS Environmental Health Science Feature

University of Michigan News Release

Biodiversity Research Institute News Release

 

Original Article

USGS.gov

USGS.gov

https://www.usgs.gov/news/comprehensive-study-finds-widespread-mercury-contamination-across-western-north-america

USGS.gov

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Mercury contamination is widespread, at various levels across western North America in air, soil, sediment, plants, fish and wildlife.

Original Article

Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Upper Midwest Water Science Center

http://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/comprehensive-study-finds-widespread-mercury-contamination-across-western-north

ssoileau@usgs.gov

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This essay examines the New Left’s impact on the Canadian labour movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Specifically, it argues that in large industrial unions such as the UAW, New Left ideas that were popular amongst the rank and file were stifled by the more conservative labour bureaucrats. However, in public sector unions and unions unaffiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress, New Left ideas were often able to flourish, and these more radical unions were sometimes able to obtain substantial gains for their members throughout the 1970s while also fostering a broader sense of class consciousness in Canadian society -- culminating most notably in the Common Front’s general strikes in Quebec. Furthermore, this essay suggests that New Left ideas were more popular in public sector and independent unions because these unions had a larger proportion of women in comparison to other unions, and women at this time had a greater incentive to embrace transformative ideologies than men.

Original Article

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/gljuh/vol4/iss1/5

Sean P. Antaya

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The question of why it took the United States so long to aid in Europe during the Holocaust has been widely debated in history, due to confusion over what groups knew about the atrocity taking place and just how much information was available. When did the United States government understand the destruction that was being done to the Jewish populations overseas? Did specific organizations try to help to raise awareness? As early as the mid-1800s, Cleveland, Ohio became home to its own active Jewish society. Making a new home, but keeping their former ideals, these groups still stayed connected to what was happening back home. Acknowledging what the government was not, these Cleveland Jewish groups tried to bring the American population up to speed by exposing Hitler’s destruction to their people. These Jewish populations had a greater understanding of the horrific treatment happening to their own in Europe. However, within the Jewish population opposing ideologies about how to bring awareness to the issue existed, thus hindering their full ability to prompt the need of the United States to give aid. Through the use of primary sources such as newspapers from Ohio, official government documents, and secondary sources ranging from basic and brief histories to giving understanding of the different Jewish groups, this paper will discuss the Jewish Cleveland groups who tried to raise awareness to the United States government about the Holocaust. I argue that through these specific Jewish groups in Cleveland, as well as other, the United States was well aware of the monstrous acts being administered by Adolf Hitler before intervening.

Original Article

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/gljuh/vol4/iss1/4

Megan Moledor

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This essay analyzes why the comfort women were not mentioned until recent decades. The essay starts with an overview of Japan’s colonization and formation of the Comfort Women system; next, the history of the women and a comparison between the Korean and Dutch comfort women are being compared before going into the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. It discusses historical blindness through the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. There are three factors into how the United States government officials, including General Douglas MacArthur and Joseph Berry Keenan, manipulated the trials: United States government’s conduct, the general view on gender crimes, and the Cold War Discourse. General Douglas MacArthur and Joseph Berry Keenan manipulated the trials to gain an ally in the Far East. Their actions led to the silence of comfort women and other atrocities during World War II.

Original Article

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/gljuh/vol4/iss1/3

Kathryn J. Witt Ms.

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This essay looks at the Chatham All-Stars, an all-black baseball team from Chatham, Ontario that won the Ontario Baseball Association championship in 1934. In particular, this essay shall investigate the practice of barnstorming, which was significant in showcasing teams like the All-Stars and increasing their revenues. The essay argues that barnstorming was important in the All-Stars success in the Ontario Baseball Association, and that barnstorming also secured financial opportunities for many of the All-Star players. In addition, barnstorming was important not only to entertain communities at this time, but also to tighten relationships amongst communities. Furthermore, this essay highlights the widespread racism that the All-Stars, and teams similar to the All-Stars, faced at this time. Ultimately, this essay discusses the importance of athletics in shaping Canadian society through taking into account race, ethnicity, and socio-economic background.

The Chatham Coloured All-Stars can now be found online at:

http://cdigs.uwindsor.ca/BreakingColourBarrier/

Original Article

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/gljuh/vol4/iss1/2

Lauren A. Miceli

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Having established itself as a beacon of historiographical under- standing and undergraduate ambition, one can only imagine my excitement when presented with the opportunity to become Editor- in-Chief of e Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History. How- ever, to say that this process was not also intimidating would be incorrect. Readership and participation in the Journal has extended beyond the University of Windsor’s History department, into the wider Great Lakes region and around the world. e fear of doing an injustice to the outstanding individuals who have helped make this journal such a success was, at times, overbearing. However, I have discovered through this year-long endeavour that the limitations undergraduate students (like myself ) face are largely self-imposed, emerging from a fear of failure. is self-doubt is indeed conquer- able. e very existence of the Journal, which thrives on the enthu- siasm of undergraduate students, rea rms this fact; it is limitless in both its scope, and evolution into the multi-platform exploit that it is today, as a result of their exceptionalism.

Original Article

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/gljuh/vol4/iss1/1

Salma Abumeeiz

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There is an elevated incidence of skin and liver tumors among White Suckers caught in certain Wisconsin rivers that flow into Lake Michigan according to a U.S. Geological Survey study recently published in the Journal of Fish Diseases.

The three-year study looked at White Sucker tumor prevalence in the Sheboygan River and Milwaukee Estuary, which have both been listed as “Areas of Concern” under the International Joint Commission Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada. According to this agreement, “an AOC is a geographic area designated by the [the United States and Canada] where significant impairment of beneficial uses has occurred as a result of human activities at the local level.”

In accordance with the agreement, any part of the Great Lakes, or it’s tributary rivers, can be listed as an AOC if special criteria are met. One of the 14 criteria used for labeling an AOC is the pervasiveness of tumors on certain species of fish, including White Sucker.

 Lip tumor diagnosed as a papilloma on a White Sucker, USGS

Once an AOC has been listed, the agreement requires a Remedial Action Plan to be developed that will restore impacted areas. As part of a remedial action plan, the State of Wisconsin asked the USGS to acquire data about the status of White Sucker within the two AOCs that were used in the study. During the research period, which lasted from 2012-2014, approximately 200 adult suckers were collected at each site during the fish’s migration periods. Fish were also collected in two non-AOCs, the Root River and Kewaunee Rivers, for comparison.

After compiling the study data, researchers revealed there was an abundance of liver tumors and skin lesions on the bodies, fins and lips of fish collected from three of the four sites.

“There was an elevated prevalence of skin and liver tumors on fish from both Areas of Concern as well as one of the non-Areas of Concern,” said Vicki Blazer, USGS Research Fish Biologist and lead author of the study.

Discovering elevated levels of fish tumors in an area not designated as an AOC was not unexpected, said Blazer. The research scientist said this non-AOC, the Root River, is close to the Milwaukee River, which has similar land and industrial runoff as the two AOCs.

However, the research team did discover something they weren’t initially looking for as they were examining their specimens.

Some of the male fish collected at both AOCs had testicular tumors in addition to the skin and liver tumors the scientists were documenting. The data collected did not show a correlation to the frequency of liver and skin tumors between male and female suckers, therefore, the testicular tumor finding was the only discovery directly related to the sex of tested fish.  

While the rates of liver and skin tumors seem to be equal between male and female fishes, the age of the fish does seem to play an important role in tumor development.

“Many of the fish with the skin and liver tumors were fairly old,” said Blazer. “The question remains if the risk factors causing the tumors on these older fish, could also be harming the younger fish in other ways, such as early mortality or lack of reproduction. We really don’t know right now.”

Another unknown is the cause of these tumors.

Blazer said there are some studies that suggest exposure to certain chemicals can cause liver tumors in fish, but there is still more research needed to determine the exact cause. 

“The fact of the matter is that tumors in fish, just like tumors in humans, are multifactorial and we really need more research to identify what the risk factors behind these tumors are,” said Blazer.

Several sediment cleanup projects to remove legacy contaminants from AOCs have been completed in Sheboygan and Milwaukee since the time the USGS study was initiated, and additional sediment cleanup projects are underway in Milwaukee. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources anticipates that additional studies will be needed to monitor the levels of liver tumors as AOC recovery occurs over time.

For more information on this study - which was conducted in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin, with funding by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - click here to read the complete report.

Original Article

USGS.gov

USGS.gov

https://www.usgs.gov/news/high-rate-tumors-found-white-sucker-some-wisconsin-rivers

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A hibernating little brown bat with a white muzzle typical of white-nose syndrome. (Greg Turner, Pennsylvania Game Commission, public domain)

The bat-killing fungus recently detected for the first time in western North America is genetically similar to strains found in the eastern United States and did not likely originate in Eurasia, according to a study published today in the journal mSphere.  

The findings have implications for resource managers battling the spread of the devastating disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) in North American bats.

Results of the U.S. Geological Survey and USDA Forest Service study provide clues about the origin of this strain of the Pseudogymnoascus destructans fungus, or Pd. This fungus causes WNS and was recently found on a bat near North Bend, Washington, about 1,300 miles from the previous westernmost detection in Nebraska. Because Pd is also present in Eurasia and North Bend is located near an international port, the scientists studied DNA from the Washington fungus to determine if it had roots abroad.

“Although it remains unclear how Pd reached Washington, this finding guides us to look to North America as the source,” said Jonathan Sleeman, director of the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), where the Washington bat was confirmed Pd positive. “Now that Pd has been identified in the western U.S., it’s critical to continue working with resource managers to help conserve imperiled bat species, which are worth billions of dollars per year to North American agriculture and forestry.”

In March 2016, a little brown bat found sick near North Bend tested positive for WNS. Following this discovery, the USGS NWHC provided DNA from the fungus on the bat’s skin to a laboratory at the Forest Service’s Northern Research Station (NRS) for genetic analysis.

“The severity and potential ecosystem-level effects of WNS in North America make it one of the most serious wildlife diseases ever recorded,” said Daniel Lindner, a research plant pathologist with the Forest Service’s NRS and a co-author on the study. “We have made a lot of progress in understanding WNS and in monitoring its spread, but more work is needed to determine how disease impacts will vary among bat populations in eastern and western North America.”

Scientists at the Forest Service’s NRS sequenced DNA from multiple strains of Pd, including the fungus cultured from the Washington bat, to determine that it most closely matched fungal strains from eastern North America.

White-nose syndrome was first documented in New York state in 2006 and has rapidly spread westward in North America to neighboring states and into Canada. The disease has killed millions of beneficial, insect-eating bats and threatens several formerly abundant bat species with extinction.

Bats showing signs of infections with Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. (Kim Miller, USGS, public domain)

Based on the current understanding of Pd distribution in North America, scientists cannot determine if the fungus reached Washington from the east by bat movements or through human activities. However, ongoing surveillance efforts coordinated through the multiagency WNS response effort continues to provide insights on the spread of WNS, the impacts of this disease on bat populations and the potential for population recovery.

The national WNS response effort is coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and involves federal, state and non-governmental organizations, including representatives from the bat conservation and caving communities.

"These results confirm that Pd is capable of movement far across North America. They do not, however, change the importance of taking precautions to reduce the risk of spread by humans,” said Jeremy Coleman, National WNS Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “There's much we don’t know about how Pd will affect populations of western bats, so it is critical to limit spread as much as possible until we can improve survival of susceptible bats."

WNS is not known to pose a threat to humans, pets, livestock or other wildlife.

For more information about WNS, please visit the USGS National Wildlife Health Center and Forest Service’s Northern Research Station websites.

Original Article

USGS.gov

USGS.gov

https://www.usgs.gov/news/deadly-bat-fungus-washington-state-likely-originated-eastern-us

mlubeck@usgs.gov

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While exposure was low at most sites, USGS scientists found high concentrations of dioxins and furans in tree swallow eggs from Midland, Michigan, and from the Saginaw River and Bay.​​​​​​​ (Thomas W. Custer, USGS)

Birds at most study sites in the Great Lakes basin were minimally exposed to most environmental contaminants, with the exception of high exposure to dioxins and furans in central Michigan, according to research published today.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey collected tree swallow eggs from 69 sites across the Great Lakes in 2010-2015, including 27 sites designated as Areas of Concern, or AOCs, by the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. They tested the eggs for 26 pesticides and other contaminants that could have harmful effects on bird reproduction and development. While exposure was low at most sites, the scientists found high concentrations of dioxins and furans in eggs from Midland, Michigan, and from the Saginaw River and Bay AOC downstream of Midland.

“Our findings are valuable for wildlife managers tasked with protecting birds in the Great Lakes basin, and can be used to assess Beneficial Use Impairments at AOCs across the Great Lakes,” said Christine Custer, a USGS scientist and the lead author of the study.

Scientists tested the eggs for industrial products that can negatively affect animal health, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. The findings showed that:

Only six AOCs exceeded the PCB concentration of two micrograms per gram (mg/g), which is considered elevated;  Mean concentrations of PCBs in the eggs were 10 to over 20 times below the lower limit at which egg hatching begins to be affected, which is 20 mg/g; Other organic contaminants, including p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, or DDE; mirex; heptachlor; chlordane; and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, were at or below background concentrations, or did not differ between AOCs and non-AOCs. 

Dioxins and chlorinated dibenzo furans are a pollutant that results from high temperature burning, such as incinerators, and during the production of some industrial chemicals such as PCBs and herbicides. The findings specific to Midland and the Saginaw River and Bay AOC included:

The mean concentration of dioxins and furans was highest in Midland eggs at 475 picograms per gram (pg/g). For comparison, the lower limit for hatching effects is 181 pg/g; The mean concentration of dioxins and furans in eggs from a site in the Saginaw River and Bay was 242 pg/g; The other 67 Great Lakes sites had mean dioxin and furan concentrations below 87 pg/g; and High dioxin and furan exposure at these locations confirms earlier reports.

“Remediation efforts are planned, underway or completed by U.S. EPA at numerous AOCs, which should further reduce bird exposure to many of these pollutants,” Custer said.

Over 90 collaborators assisted with the project, including all levels of government, private companies and corporations, non-governmental organizations and private citizens.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the USGS Contaminant Biology Program funded the study, which was published today in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.                                             

For more information on bird health in the Great Lakes region, please visit the USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center website.

Original Article

USGS.gov

USGS.gov

https://www.usgs.gov/news/low-levels-contaminants-found-great-lakes-tree-swallow-eggs

mlubeck@usgs.gov