Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Chesapeake Watershed CESU

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US Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner to investigate molecular effects of contaminants on wildlife. A recent review by the US EPA, USGS and US Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife summarized the extent and severity of occurrence of toxic contaminates in the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. The review identified a critical knowledge gap in our understanding of possible sub-lethal effects of numerous classes of contaminates that are found in Bay waters and in tissues of Bay wildlife. The contaminants of interest to the USGS include chemicals of emerging concern, such as alternative brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and newer classes of pesticides (e.g. neonicotinoid insecticides). Neonicotinoids are the most widely used class of insecticides worldwide and are applied in both agricultural and urban settings through foliar sprays, seed coatings, and other methods. Sublethal effects on genomic, neurobehavioral, growth and reproductive endpoints have been observed in vertebrates in chronic exposure laboratory trials, but the hazards remain poorly characterized. Likewise, although polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants are being phased out and replaced by non-PBDE alternatives, recent studies have demonstrated that many of the alternative flame retardants share properties and similar environmental fates to those they replaced, and are therefore also bioaccumulating in the environment and wildlife. The use of these alternative BFRs is projected to increase. Although evidence for the presence of many of these compounds in tissues of avian and other wildlife is building, limited data are available on their potential adverse effects in exposed wildlife, particularly at the molecular level.

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