Environmental Health and Protection Commons^™

A Framework For Linking Population Model Development With Ecological Risk Assessment Objectives, Sandy Raimondo, Matthew Etterson, Nathan Pollesch, Kristina Garber, Andrew Kanarek, Wade Lehmann, Jill Awkerman

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

The value of models that link organism-level impacts to the responses of a population in ecological risk assessments (ERAs) has been demonstrated extensively over the past few decades. There is little debate about the utility of these models to translate multiple organism-level endpoints into a holistic interpretation of effect to the population; however, there continues to be a struggle for actual application of these models as a common practice in ERA. Although general frameworks for developing models for ERA have been proposed, there is limited guidance on when models should be used, in what form, and how to interpret model …

Factors Associated With Bat Mortality At Wind Energy Facilities In The United States, Maureen Thompson, Julie A. Beston, Matthew Etterson, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Scott R. Loss

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

Hundreds of thousands of bats are killed annually by colliding with wind turbines in the U.S., yet little is known about factors causing variation in mortality across wind energy facilities. We conducted a quantitative synthesis of bat collision mortality with wind turbines by reviewing 218 North American studies representing 100 wind energy facilities. This data set, the largest compiled for bats to date, provides further evidence that collision mortality is greatest for migratory tree-roosting species (Hoary Bat [Lasiurus cinereus], Eastern Red Bat [Lasiurus borealis], Silver-haired Bat [Lasionycteris noctivagans]) and from July to October. Based …

Model Application Niche Analysis: Assessing The Transferability And Generalizability Of Ecological Models, Jessica B. Moon, Theodore H. Dewitt, Melissa N. Errend, Randall J. F. Bruins, Mary E. Kentula, Sarah J. Chamberlain, M. Siobhan Fennessy, Kusum J. Naithani

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

The use of models by ecologists and environmental managers, to inform environmental management and decision-making, has grown exponentially in the past 50 yr. Due to logistical, economical, and theoretical benefits, model users frequently transfer preexisting models to new sites where data are scarce. Modelers have made significant progress in understanding how to improve model generalizability during model development. However, models are always imperfect representations of systems and are constrained by the contextual frameworks used during their development. Thus, model users need better ways to evaluate the possibility of unintentional misapplication when transferring models to new sites. We propose a method …

Mechanistic Modeling Of Insecticide Risks To Breeding Birds In North American Agroecosystems, Matthew Etterson, Kristina Garber, Edward Odenkirchen

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

Insecticide usage in the United States is ubiquitous in urban, suburban, and rural environments. There is accumulating evidence that insecticides adversely affect non-target wildlife species, including birds, causing mortality, reproductive impairment, and indirect effects through loss of prey base, and the type and magnitude of such effects differs by chemical class, or mode of action. In evaluating data for an insecticide registration application and for registration review, scientists at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) assess the fate of the insecticide and the risk the insecticide poses to the environment and non-target wildlife. Current USEPA risk assessments for pesticides …

Factors That Influence Vital Rates Of Seaside And Saltmarsh Sparrows In Coastal New Jersey, Usa, Samuel G. Roberts, Rebecca A. Longenecker, Matthew A. Etterson, Katharine J. Ruskin, Chris S. Elphick, Brian J. Olsen, W. Gregory Shriver

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

As saltmarsh habitat continues to disappear, understanding the factors that influence the population dynamics of saltmarsh breeding birds is an important step in the conservation of these declining species. Using 5 yrs (2011–2015) of demographic data, we evaluated and compared apparent adult survival and nest survival of Seaside (Ammodramus maritimus) and Saltmarsh (A. caudacutus) sparrows at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, USA. We determined the effect of site management history (unditched vs. ditched marshes) on adult and nest survival to aid in prioritizing future management or restoration actions. Apparent adult …

Statistical Survey Of Persistent Organic Pollutants: Risk Estimations To Humans And Wildlife Through Consumption Of Fish From U.S. Rivers, Angela L. Batt, John B. Wathen, James M. Lazorchak, Anthony R. Olsen, Thomas M. Kincaid

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

U.S. EPA conducted a national statistical survey of fish tissue contamination at 540 river sites (representing 82 954 river km) in 2008−2009, and analyzed samples for 50 persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including 21 PCB congeners, 8 PBDE congeners, and 21 organochlorine pesticides. The survey results were used to provide national estimates of contamination for these POPs. PCBs were the most abundant, being measured in 93.5% of samples. Summed concentrations of the 21 PCB congeners had a national weighted mean of 32.7 μg/kg and a maximum concentration of 857 μg/kg, and exceeded the human health cancer screening value of 12 μg/kg …

A Photosynthesis-Based Two-Leaf Canopy Stomatal Conductance Model For Meteorology And Air Quality Modeling With Wrf/Cmaq Px Lsm, Limei Ran, Jonathan Pleim, Conghe Song, Larry Band, John T. Walker, Francis S. Binkowski

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

A coupled photosynthesis-stomatal conductance model with single-layer sunlit and shaded leaf canopy scaling is implemented and evaluated in a diagnostic box model with the Pleim-Xiu land surface model (PX LSM) and ozone deposition model components taken directly from the meteorology and air quality modeling system—WRF/CMAQ (Weather Research and Forecast model and Community Multiscale Air Quality model). The photosynthesis-based model for PX LSM (PX PSN) is evaluated at a FLUXNET site for implementation against different parameterizations and the current PX LSM approach with a simple Jarvis function (PX Jarvis). Latent heat flux (LH) from PX PSN is further evaluated at five …

Atp Binding Cassette Sub-Family Member 2 (Abcg2) And Xenobiotic Exposure During Early Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation, Mitchell B. Rosen, Susan C. Jeffay, Harriette P. Nichols, Maria R. Hoopes, E. Sidney Hunter Iii

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

Background: ATP binding cassette sub-family member 2 (ABCG2) is a welldefined efflux transporter found in a variety of tissues. The role of ABCG2 during early embryonic development, however, is not established. Previous work which compared data from the ToxCast screening program with that from in-house studies suggested an association exists between exposure to xenobiotics that regulate Abcg2 transcription and differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC), a relationship potentially related to redox homeostasis.

Methods: mESC were grown for up to 9 days. Pharmacological inhibitors were used to assess transporter function with and without xenobiotic exposure. Proliferation and differentiation were …

Weight Of Evidence Evaluation Of A Network Of Adverse Outcome Pathways Linking Activation Of The Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor In Honey Bees To Colony Death, Carlie A. Lalone, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Judy Wu-Smart, Rebecca Y. Milsk, Keith Sappington, Kristina V. Garber, Justin Housenger, Gerald T. Ankley

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

Ongoing honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony losses are of significant international concern because of the essential role these insects play in pollinating crops. Both chemical and non-chemical stressors have been implicated as possible contributors to colony failure; however, the potential role(s) of commonly-used neonicotinoid insecticides has emerged as particularly concerning. Neonicotinoids act on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the central nervous system to eliminate pest insects. However, mounting evidence indicates that neonicotinoids also may adversely affect beneficial pollinators, such as the honey bee, via impairments on learning and memory, and ultimately foraging success. The specificmechanisms linking activation …