Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

VIMS Articles

Environmental Sciences

Aquatic Health Sciences Peer-Reviewed Articles

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Single-Use Plastics And Covid-19: Scientific Evidence And Environmental Regulations, Robert C. Hale, Bk Song Jun 2020

Single-Use Plastics And Covid-19: Scientific Evidence And Environmental Regulations, Robert C. Hale, Bk Song

VIMS Articles

Waste plastics are a serious and growing environmental problem. Less than 10% of plastics are recycled, with most discarded in landfills, incinerated, or simply abandoned.1 Single-use plastics constitute about half of plastic waste. While most plastics are used and initially disposed of on land, much eventually enters aquatic ecosystems.2 Wildlife mortalities result from encounters (e.g., ingestion and entanglement) with large debris, including plastic bags. Such bags are excluded from many recycling programs, as they can entangle machinery. Most plastics do not readily biodegrade in the environment. However, they can be embrittled by UV exposure and fragment into microplastics (mm) and …


Current And Future Remote Sensing Of Harmful Algal Blooms In The Chesapeake Bay To Support The Shellfish Industry, Jl Wolny, Mc Tomlinson, S Schollaert Uz, Ta Egerton, Jr Mckay, A Meredith, Ks Reece, Gp Scott, Rp Stumpf May 2020

Current And Future Remote Sensing Of Harmful Algal Blooms In The Chesapeake Bay To Support The Shellfish Industry, Jl Wolny, Mc Tomlinson, S Schollaert Uz, Ta Egerton, Jr Mckay, A Meredith, Ks Reece, Gp Scott, Rp Stumpf

VIMS Articles

Harmful algal bloom (HAB) species in the Chesapeake Bay can negatively impact fish, shellfish, and human health via the production of toxins and the degradation of water quality. Due to the deleterious effects of HAB species on economically and environmentally important resources, such as oyster reef systems, Bay area resource managers are seeking ways to monitor HABs and water quality at large spatial and fine temporal scales. The use of satellite ocean color imagery has proven to be a beneficial tool for resource management in other locations around the world where high-biomass, nearly monospecific HABs occur. However, remotely monitoring HABs …


Microplastics Affect Sedimentary Microbial Communities And Nitrogen Cycling, Meredith E. Seeley, Bk Song, Renia Passie, Robert C. Hale Jan 2020

Microplastics Affect Sedimentary Microbial Communities And Nitrogen Cycling, Meredith E. Seeley, Bk Song, Renia Passie, Robert C. Hale

VIMS Articles

Microplastics are ubiquitous in estuarine, coastal, and deep sea sediments. The impacts of microplastics on sedimentary microbial ecosystems and biogeochemical carbon and nitrogen cycles, however, have not been well reported. To evaluate if microplastics influence the composition and function of sedimentary microbial communities, we conducted a microcosm experiment using salt marsh sediment amended with polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride(PVC), polyurethane foam (PUF) or polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics. We report that the presence of microplastics alters sediment microbial community composition and nitrogen cycling processes. Compared to control sediments without microplastic, PUF- and PLA-amended sediments promote nitrification and denitrification, while PVC amendment inhibits …


Scientific Evidence Supports A Ban On Microbeads, Cm Rochman, Sm Kross, Jb Armstrong, Mt Bogan, Es Darling, Sj Green, Ar Smyth, D Verissimo Jan 2015

Scientific Evidence Supports A Ban On Microbeads, Cm Rochman, Sm Kross, Jb Armstrong, Mt Bogan, Es Darling, Sj Green, Ar Smyth, D Verissimo

VIMS Articles

No abstract provided.


Projected Hg Dietary Exposure Of 3 Bird Species Nesting On A Contaminated Floodplain (South River, Virginia, Usa), Jc Wang, Mc Newman Jan 2013

Projected Hg Dietary Exposure Of 3 Bird Species Nesting On A Contaminated Floodplain (South River, Virginia, Usa), Jc Wang, Mc Newman

VIMS Articles

Dietary Hg exposure was modeled for Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), Eastern song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), and Eastern screech owl (Otus asio) nesting on the contaminated South River floodplain (Virginia, USA). Parameterization of Monte-Carlo models required formal expert elicitation to define bird body weight and feeding ecology characteristics because specific information was either unavailable in the published literature or too difficult to collect reliably by field survey. Mercury concentrations and weights for candidate food items were obtained directly by field survey. Simulations predicted the probability that an adult bird during breeding season would ingest specific amounts of Hg during daily foraging …


Liver Carcinogenesis In A Non-Migratory Fish: The Association With Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, M. A. Unger Jan 2006

Liver Carcinogenesis In A Non-Migratory Fish: The Association With Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, M. A. Unger

VIMS Articles

Field and laboratory studies indicate a strong positive association between exposure to chemical pollutants in aquatic environments and development of neoplasia in fishes. This brief communication reviews some of the more important North American and European studies that have been conducted on this relationship. We then review work conducted on a small nonmigratory estuarine cyprinodontid teleost fish, the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) in the industrialized Elizabeth River, Virginia USA. Histopathological surveys of mummichogs from variously degraded habitats indicate an association between PAH exposure and development of neoplasia. We have observed non-neoplastic lesions, preneoplasms and hepatic, biliary, exocrine pancreatic and vascular neoplasms …


Characterization Of The Dust/Smoke Aerosol That Settled East Of The World Trade Center (Wtc) In Lower Manhattan After The Collapse Of The Wtc 11 September 2001, Paul J. Lioy, Clifford P. Weisel, Et Al, Robert C. Hale Jul 2002

Characterization Of The Dust/Smoke Aerosol That Settled East Of The World Trade Center (Wtc) In Lower Manhattan After The Collapse Of The Wtc 11 September 2001, Paul J. Lioy, Clifford P. Weisel, Et Al, Robert C. Hale

VIMS Articles

The explosion and collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) was a catastrophic event that produced an aerosol plume impacting many workers, residents, and commuters during the first few days after 11 September 2001. Three bulk samples of the total settled dust and smoke were collected at weather-protected locations east of the WTC on 16 and 17 September 200 1; these samples are representative of the generated material that settled immediately after the explosion and fire and the concurrent collapse of the two structures. We analyzed each sample, not differentiated by particle Size, for inorganic and organic composition. In the …


Research Needs For The Risk Assessment Of Health And Environmental Effects Of Endocrine Disruptors: A Report Of The Us Epa-Sponsored Workshop, Rj Kavlock, Gp Daston, C Derosa, P Fennercrisp, Le Gray, S Kaattari, Et Al Aug 1996

Research Needs For The Risk Assessment Of Health And Environmental Effects Of Endocrine Disruptors: A Report Of The Us Epa-Sponsored Workshop, Rj Kavlock, Gp Daston, C Derosa, P Fennercrisp, Le Gray, S Kaattari, Et Al

VIMS Articles

The hypothesis has been put forward that humans and wildlife species have suffered adverse health effects after exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Reported adverse effects include declines in populations, increases in cancers, and reduced reproductive function. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sponsored a workshop in April 1995 to bring together interested parties in an effort to identify research gaps related to this hypothesis and to establish priorities for future research activities. Approximately 90 invited participants were organized into work groups developed around the principal reported health effects-carcinogenesis, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and immunotoxicity--as well as along the risk assessment paradigm--hazard identification, dose-response …