@article{cope_bergeron_archambault_jones_beaty_lazaro_shea_callihan_rogers_2021, title={Understanding the influence of multiple pollutant stressors on the decline of freshwater mussels in a biodiversity hotspot}, volume={773}, DOI={10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144757}, abstractNote={The Clinch River watershed of the upper Tennessee River Basin of Virginia and Tennessee, USA supports one of North America's greatest concentrations of freshwater biodiversity, including 46 extant species of native freshwater mussels (Order Unionida), 20 of which are protected as federally endangered. Despite the global biological significance of the Clinch River, mussel populations are declining in some reaches, both in species richness and abundance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the exposure of adult resident mussels to a suite of inorganic and organic contaminant stressors in distinct sections of the Clinch River that encompassed a range of mussel abundance and health. To provide insight into the potential role of pollutants in the decline of mussels, including within a previously documented “zone of mussel decline”, the mainstem Clinch River (8 sites) and its tributaries (4 sites) were examined over two consecutive years. We quantified and related metals and organic contaminant concentrations in mussels to their associated habitat compartments (bed sediment, suspended particulate sediment, pore water, and surface water). We found that concentrations of organic contaminants in resident mussels, particularly the suite of 42 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) analyzed, were related to PAH concentrations in all four habitat (media) compartments. Further, PAH concentrations in mussel tissue (range 37.8–978.1 ng/g dry weight in 2012 and 194.3–1073.7 ng/g dry weight in 2013) were negatively related to the spatial pattern in mussel densities (rs = −0.64, p ≤ 0.05 in 2012 and rs = −0.83, p ≤ 0.05 in 2013) within the river, and were highest in the “zone of mussel decline”. In contrast, the suite of 22 metals analyzed in resident mussels were largely unrelated to the spatial pattern of variation of metals in the four habitat compartments except for Manganese (Mn; range 3630.5-23,749.2 μg/g dry weight in 2012 and 1540.4-12,605.8 μg/g dry weight in 2013) in surface water (rs = 0.58, p < 0.1) and pore water (rs = 0.76, p ≤ 0.05). This study revealed that PAHs and Mn are important pollutant stressors to mussels in the Clinch River and that they are largely being delivered through the Guest River tributary watershed. Accordingly, future conservation and management efforts would benefit by identifying, and ideally mitigating, the sources of PAHs, Mn, and other current or legacy mining-associated pollutants to the mainstem river and its tributaries.}, journal={SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT}, author={Cope, W. Gregory and Bergeron, Christine M. and Archambault, Jennifer M. and Jones, Jess W. and Beaty, Braven and Lazaro, Peter R. and Shea, Damian and Callihan, Jody L. and Rogers, Jennifer J.}, year={2021}, month={Jun}, pages={144757} }
 @article{buttermore_cope_kwak_cooney_shea_lazaro_2018, title={Contaminants in tropical island streams and their biota}, volume={161}, ISSN={["1096-0953"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85038027709&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1016/j.envres.2017.11.053}, abstractNote={Environmental contamination is problematic for tropical islands due to their typically dense human populations and competing land and water uses. The Caribbean island of Puerto Rico (USA) has a long history of anthropogenic chemical use, and its human population density is among the highest globally, providing a model environment to study contaminant impacts on tropical island stream ecosystems. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, historic-use chlorinated pesticides, current-use pesticides, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), and metals (mercury, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, zinc, and selenium) were quantified in the habitat and biota of Puerto Rico streams and assessed in relation to land-use patterns and toxicological thresholds. Water, sediment, and native fish and shrimp species were sampled in 13 rivers spanning broad watershed land-use characteristics during 2009-2010. Contrary to expectations, freshwater stream ecosystems in Puerto Rico were not severely polluted, likely due to frequent flushing flows and reduced deposition associated with recurring flood events. Notable exceptions of contamination were nickel in sediment within three agricultural watersheds (range 123-336ppm dry weight) and organic contaminants (PCBs, organochlorine pesticides) and mercury in urban landscapes. At an urban site, PCBs in several fish species (Mountain Mullet Agonostomus monticola [range 0.019-0.030ppm wet weight] and American Eel Anguilla rostrata [0.019-0.031ppm wet weight]) may pose human health hazards, with concentrations exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consumption limit for 1 meal/month. American Eel at the urban site also contained dieldrin (range < detection-0.024ppm wet weight) that exceeded the EPA maximum allowable consumption limit. The Bigmouth Sleeper Gobiomorous dormitor, an important piscivorus sport fish, accumulated low levels of organic contaminants in edible muscle tissue (due to its low lipid content) and may be most suitable for human consumption island-wide; only mercury at one site (an urban location) exceeded EPA's consumption limit of 3 meals/month for this species. These results comprise the first comprehensive island-wide contaminant assessment of Puerto Rico streams and biota and provide natural resource and public health agencies here and in similar tropical islands elsewhere with information needed to guide ecosystem and fisheries conservation and management and human health risk assessment.}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH}, author={Buttermore, Elissa N. and Cope, W. Gregory and Kwak, Thomas J. and Cooney, Patrick B. and Shea, Damian and Lazaro, Peter R.}, year={2018}, month={Feb}, pages={615–623} }
 @article{cope_holliman_kwak_oakley_lazaro_shea_augspurger_law_henne_ware_et al._2011, title={Assessing water quality suitability for shortnose sturgeon in the Roanoke River, North Carolina, USA with an in situ bioassay approach}, volume={27}, ISSN={["0175-8659"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-78751690460&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1111/j.1439-0426.2010.01570.x}, abstractNote={Summary 
 
The aim of this study was to determine the suitability of water quality in the Roanoke River of North Carolina for supporting shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum, an endangered species in the United States. Fathead minnows Pimephales promelas were also evaluated alongside the sturgeon as a comparative species to measure potential differences in fish survival, growth, contaminant accumulation, and histopathology in a 28-day in situ toxicity test. Captively propagated juvenile shortnose sturgeon (total length 49 ± 8 mm, mean ± SD) and fathead minnows (total length 39 ± 3 mm, mean ± SD) were used in the test and their outcomes were compared to simultaneous measurements of water quality (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, total ammonia nitrogen, hardness, alkalinity, turbidity) and contaminant chemistry (metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides, current use pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls) in river water and sediment. In the in situ test, there were three non-riverine control sites and eight riverine test sites with three replicate cages (25 × 15-cm (OD) clear plexiglass with 200-μm tear-resistant Nitex® screen over each end) of 20 shortnose sturgeon per cage at each site. There was a single cage of fathead minnows also deployed at each site alongside the sturgeon cages. Survival of caged shortnose sturgeon among the riverine sites averaged 9% (range 1.7–25%) on day 22 of the 28-day study, whereas sturgeon survival at the non-riverine control sites averaged 64% (range 33–98%). In contrast to sturgeon, only one riverine deployed fathead minnow died (average 99.4% survival) over the 28-day test period and none of the control fathead minnows died. Although chemical analyses revealed the presence of retene (7-isopropyl-1-methylphenanthrene), a pulp and paper mill derived compound with known dioxin-like toxicity to early life stages of fish, in significant quantities in the water (251–603 ng L−1) and sediment (up to 5000 ng g−1 dry weight) at several river sites, no correlation was detected of adverse water quality conditions or measured contaminant concentrations to the poor survival of sturgeon among riverine test sites. Histopathology analysis determined that the mortality of the river deployed shortnose sturgeon was likely due to liver and kidney lesions from an unknown agent(s). Given the poor survival of shortnose sturgeon (9%) and high survival of fathead minnows (99.4%) at the riverine test sites, our study indicates that conditions in the Roanoke River are incongruous with the needs of juvenile shortnose sturgeon and that fathead minnows, commonly used standard toxicity test organisms, do not adequately predict the sensitivity of shortnose sturgeon. Therefore, additional research is needed to help identify specific limiting factors and management actions for the enhancement and recovery of this imperiled fish species.}, number={1}, journal={JOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY}, author={Cope, W.G. and Holliman, F.M. and Kwak, T.J. and Oakley, N.C. and Lazaro, P.R. and Shea, Damian and Augspurger, T. and Law, J.M. and Henne, J.P. and Ware, K.M. and et al.}, year={2011}, month={Feb}, pages={1–12} }
 @article{bringolf_cope_barnhart_mosher_lazaro_shea_2007, title={Acute and chronic toxicity of pesticide formulations (atrazine, chlorpyrifos, and permethrin) to glochidia and juveniles of Lampsilis Siliquoidea}, volume={26}, ISSN={["1552-8618"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-35348815483&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1897/06-555R.1}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={10}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY}, author={Bringolf, Robert B. and Cope, W. Gregory and Barnhart, M. Chris and Mosher, Shad and Lazaro, Peter R. and Shea, Damian}, year={2007}, month={Oct}, pages={2101–2107} }
 @article{bringolf_cope_eads_lazaro_barnhart_shea_2007, title={Acute and chronic toxicity of technical-grade pesticides to glochidia and juveniles of freshwater mussels (Unionidae)}, volume={26}, ISSN={["1552-8618"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-35348863633&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1897/06-522R.1}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={10}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY}, author={Bringolf, Robert B. and Cope, W. Gregory and Eads, Chris B. and Lazaro, Peter R. and Barnhart, M. Christopher and Shea, Damian}, year={2007}, month={Oct}, pages={2086–2093} }
 @article{hewitt_cope_kwak_augspurger_lazaro_shea_2006, title={Influence of water quality and associated contaminants on survival and growth of the endangered Cape Fear shiner (Notropis mekistocholas)}, volume={25}, ISSN={["0730-7268"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-33750596805&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1897/05-569r.1}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={9}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY}, author={Hewitt, Amanda H. and Cope, W. Gregory and Kwak, Thomas J. and Augspurger, Tom and Lazaro, Peter R. and Shea, Damian}, year={2006}, month={Sep}, pages={2288–2298} }