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Geology topics

L. Sileo

Publications and source records attributed to L. Sileo.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1998

Retrospective study of the diagnostic criteria in a lead-poisoning survey of waterfowl

Between 1983 and 1986 the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) conducted a nationwide study of lead poisoning of waterfowl from federal and state refuges. This survey was done to assist in identifying zones with lead-poisoning problems. One thousand forty one moribund or dead waterfowl were collected and examined. The presence or absence of 13 gross lesions selected as indicators of lead poisoning and 3 lesions indicating body condition was recorded. Lead-poisoning diagnoses were based on the finding of at least 6 8 ppm (wet weight) lead in the liver and either lead shot in the gizzard content or at least one convincing gross lesion indicative of lead poisoning. Four hundred and twenty-one of these waterfowl were diagnosed as lead-poisoned. The NWHC survey provided a comprehensive basis for estimating the sensitivities, specificities, and likelihood ratios of the gross lesions of lead poisoning and the associated hepatic lead concentrations for several species of waterfowl. Some of the 13 defined gross lesions were more common than others; frequencies ranged from 3% to 80% in the 421 lead-poisoned waterfowl. The most reliable indicators of lead poisoning were impactions of the upper alimentary tract, submandibular edema, myocardial necrosis, and biliary discoloration of the liver. Each of the 13 lesions occurred more frequently in the lead-poisoned birds, but each of the lesions also occurred in waterfowl that died of other causes. The number of lead shot present in a bird?s gizzard was only weakly correlated with its hepatic lead concentration; however, this weak correlation may have been adequate to account for differences in hepatic lead concentrations among species, once the weights of the species were taken into account. Although lead-poisoned ducks tended to have higher hepatic mean lead concentrations than did lead-poisoned geese or swans, the differences were probably a result of a greater dose of shot per body weight than to kinetic differences between species. Hepatic lead concentrations were independent of age and sex. Ninety-five percent of waterfowl diagnosed as lead-poisoned had hepatic lead concentrations of at least 38 ppm, dry weight (10 ppm, wet weight). Fewer than 1% of the waterfowl that died of other causes had a concentration that high. This 5th percentile, of 38 ppm dry weight (10 ppm wet weight), is a defensible criterion for identifying lead-poisoned waterfowl when interpreting hepatic lead concentrations in the absence of pathological observations.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗
USGS1996

Reproductive success, developmental anomalies and environmental contaminants in double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus)

To test an association between environmental contaminants and the prevalence of congenital anomalies in colonial waterbirds, we collected representative eggs for chemical analysis from double-crested cormorant nests at colonies in Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, USA, and Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba, Canada, and periodically revisited the nests to determine the hatching success, survivorship of hatchlings, and number of deformed hatchlings in the remainder of each clutch. Total concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in eggs were determined by capillary gas chromatography. The combined activity of planar chlorinated hydrocarbons (PCHs) in the eggs was measured in an in vitro bioassay based on the induction of ethoxyresorufin- O -deethylase (EROD) activity in rat hepatoma cells. The combined EROD induction activity was expressed as 2,3,7,8–tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin equivalents (TCDD-EQ). Total concentrations of PCBs and TCDD-EQ were seven to eight times greater in eggs from Lake Michigan (7.8 μg/g and 138 pg/g, respectively) than in those from Lake Winnipegosis (1.0 μg/g and 19 pg/g, respectively). The proportion of eggs hatching at the Lake Michigan colony (59%) was less ( p < 0.05) than at Lake Winnipegosis (70%), and the prevalence of hatchlings with deformed bills was greater ( p < 0.001) at Lake Michigan (0.79 vs. 0.06%). However, within the Lake Michigan colony, concentrations of PCBs and TCDD-EQ were not correlated with either hatching success or the occurrence of deformities in nestlings.

Manitoba, Wisconsin↗
USGS1996

Technique for implanting radio transmitters subcutaneously in day-old ducklings

We developed and evaluated a surgical procedure for implanting radio transmitters in 1-d-old Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) ducklings. Transmitters (1.5 g) were implanted subcutaneously on the back of ducklings while under a general anesthetic, isoflurane, within a few hours of hatching. Evaluations indicate that the procedure is a reliable method for radio-marking ducklings.

Journal of Field Ornithology↗
USGS1993

Diagnostic riddles

A bridled white-eye ( Zosterops conspicillata ) was captured in a mist net on the island of Saipan and transported to the island of Guam for an experimental study. Beginning on day three, it was immunosuppressed by intramuscular injections of dexamethasone. It was unexpectedly found dead on day 20, at which time it had lost 0.9 g (12.9% of initial body weight). Gross Pathology: Despite the weight loss, the white-eye was in good flesh, with abundant subcutaneous and visceral fat. The spleen was 3 x 11 mm, about 5 times normal size. The striatum of the forebrain was congested. There were no other lesions. Histopathology: There were microscopic abnormalities in skeletal muscle, brain, and gizzard (Figs. 1 and 2; Figure 2 is from a different white-eye which had virtually identical gizzard lesions).

Wildlife Disease Newsletter↗
USGS1992

Polychlorinated biphenyl residues and egg mortality in double-crested cormorants from the Great Lakes

We evaluated the overall potency of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-containing extracts from double-crested cormorant ( Phalacrocorax auritis ) eggs with an in vitro bioassay system, the H4IIE rat hepatoma cell bioassay. Results from the H4IIE bioassay were strongly correlated with the hatching success of eggs in the colonies, whereas conventional methods of PCB analysis correlated poorly with hatching success of eggs from the same colonies. These observations suggest that even though concentrations of total PCB residues have declined in almost all compartments of the environment, their effects are still being observed. The significance of this observation is that the adverse symptoms presently observed in certain Great Lakes fish-eating waterbird populations do not appear to be caused by some as yet unidentified industrial chemical or chemicals and seem not to be the result of pesticides, but rather to the dioxin-like activity of PCBs. Evidence is presented to suggest that the relative enrichment of the potency of PCBs in the environment may play a role in the persistence of the observed adverse symptoms.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗
USGS1992

Book review: Disease and Threatened Birds, edited by J. E. Cooper

Review of: Disease and threatened birds : based on the proceedings of a symposium held at the XIX World Conference of the International Council for Bird Preservation, June 1986, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Edited by J. E. Cooper. Cambridge, England : International Council for Bird Preservation, 1989. ICBP technical publication ; no. 10.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases↗
USGS1990

Causes of mortality of albatross chicks at Midway Atoll

As part of an investigation of the effect of plastic ingestion on seabirds in Hawaii, we necropsied the carcasses of 137 Laysan albatross (Diomedea immutabilis) chicks from Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean during the summer of 1987. Selected tissues were collected for microbiological, parasitological, toxicological or histopathological examinations. Dehydration was the most common cause of death. Lead poisoning, trauma, emaciation (starvation) and trombidiosis were other causes of death; nonfatal nocardiosis and avian pox also were present. There was no evidence that ingested plastic caused mechanical lesions or mortality in 1987, but most of the chicks had considerably less plastic in them than chicks from earlier years. Human activity (lead poisoning and vehicular trauma) caused mortality at Midway Atoll and represented additive mortality for pre-fledgling albatrosses.

Midway Atoll↗
USGS1989

Microcontaminants and reproductive impairment of the Forster's tern on Green Bay, Lake Michigan,1983

For the 1983 nesting season, Forster's tern ( Sterna forsteri ) reproductive success was significantly impaired on organochlorine contaminated Green Bay, Lake Michigan compared to a relatively uncontaminated inland location at Lake Poygan, Wisconsin. Compared with tern eggs from Lake Poygan, eggs from Green Bay had significantly higher median concentrations of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD), other polychlorinated dibenzo- p -dioxins (PCDDs), total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), total (three congeners) non-ortho, ortho' PCBs, five individual PCB congeners known to induce aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) and several other organochlorine contaminants. Conversions of analytical concentrations of TCDD and PCB congeners based on relative AHH induction potencies allowed for estimation of total 2,3,7,8-TCDD equivalents. Two PCB congeners, 2,3,3′,4,4′- and 3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PeCB) accounted for more than 90% of the median estimated TCDD equivalents at both Green Bay and Lake Poygan. The median estimated TCDD equivalents were almost 11-fold higher in tern eggs from Green Bay than in eggs from Lake Poygan (2175 and 201 pg/g). The hatching success of Green Bay sibling eggs from nests where eggs were collected for contaminant analyses was 75% lower at Green Bay than at Lake Poygan. Hatchability of eggs taken from other nests and artificially incubated was about 50% lower for Green Bay than for Lake Poygan. Among hatchlings from laboratory incubation, those from Green Bay weighed approximately 20% less and had a mean liver weight to body weight ratio 26% greater than those from Lake Poygan. In both field and laboratory, mean minimum incubation periods were significantly longer for eggs from Green Bay compared to Lake Poygan (8.25 and 4.58 days, respectively). Mean minimum incubation time for Green Bay eggs in the field was 4.37 days longer than in the laboratory. Hatchability was greatly improved when Green Bay eggs were incubated by Lake Poygan adults in an egg-exchange experiment, but was sharply decreased in Lake Poygan eggs incubated in Green Bay nests. Nest abandonment and egg disappearance were substantial at Green Bay but nil at Lake Poygan. Thus, not only factors intrinsic to the egg, but also extrinsic factors (parental attentiveness), impaired reproductive outcome at Green Bay. The epidemiological evidence from this study strongly suggested that contaminants were a causal factor. AHH-active PCB congeners (intrinsic effects) and PCBs in general (extrinsic effects) appeared to be the only contaminants at the concentrations measured in eggs, capable of producing the effects that were observed at Green Bay.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1988

Effects of zinc smelter emissions on farms and gardens at Palmerton, PA

In 1979, before the primary Zn smelter at Palmerton was closed due to excessive Zn and Cd emissions and change in the price of Zn, we were contacted by a local veterinarian regarding death of foals (young horses) on farms near the smelter. To examine whether Zn or Cd contamination of forage or soils could be providing potentially toxic levels of Zn or other elements in the diets of foals, we measured metals in forages, soils, and feces of grazing livestock on two farms near Palmerton. The farms were about 2.5 and about 10 km northeast of the East stack. Soils, forages, and feces were greatly increased in Zn and Cd. Soil, forage, and fecal Zn were near 1000 mg/kg and Cd, 10-20 mg/kg at farm A (2.5 km) compared to normal background levels of 43 mg Zn and 0.2 mg Cd/kg, respectively. Liver and kidney of cattle raised on Farm A were increased in Zn and Cd, indicating that at least part of the Zn and Cd in smelter contaminated forages was bioavailable. During the farm sampling, we obtained soil from one garden in Palmerton within 200 m of the primary (West) smelter. The Borough surrounds the smelter facility in a valley. Because soil Cd was near 100 mg/kg, we sampled garden soils and vegetables from over 40 gardens in 6 randomly selected blocks and in rural areas at different distances from the smelter during September, 1980. All homes were contacted on each sampled block. Nearly all homes had some garden, while at least 2 appeared to grow over 50% of their annual vegetable and potato consumption. Palmerton garden soils averaged 76 mg Cd/kg and 5830 mg Zn/kg. Gardeners had been taught to add limestone and organic fertilizers to counteract yield reduction and chlorosis due to the excessive soil Zn. Gardens with over 5000 mg Zn/kg were nearly allover pH 7, and many were calcareous. Because the smelter had not yet ceased operations in 1980, crops could have been polluted by aerosol Zn and Cd emitted by the smelter. Crop Zn and Cd were extremely high, about 100 times normal Cd levels. In more distant gardens, soil metals were not so high, and gardeners had not added as much limestone. Bean rotated with the potatoes and leafy vegetables often suffered chlorosis and visible yield reduction. Potatoes contained up to 6 mg Cd/kg dry wt. compared to backgrournd 0.20 mg/kg DW. An estimate of potential Zn and Cd intakes due to the contaminated crops was made using the teen-aged male diet model, and average Cd intakes would be 250 ug/day if diets contained 100% locally grown leafy and root vegetables and potatoes. Gardeners were warned to restrict consumption of garden grown leafy and root vegetables and potatoes, and to apply 22 T/A of limestone to restrict Cd uptake. Use of improved adult diet models, and increased understanding of the effect of Zn on Cd bioavailability indicate that little Cd risk may result from consuming garden vegetables grown at Palmerton. Individuals appear to be protected because Zn accompanied crop Cd, they grew only small amounts of vegetables in most cases, and aerosol pollution of crops has ceased. Reduced Zn emissions, and Cu supplementation have prevented further health effects on foals or cattle. Detailed examination of these risks is needed to develop remedial measures for both farms and gardens in the Zn + Cd polluted soils near Zn smelters at many locations in the United States and other countries. Remedial actions are necessarary to prevent chronic Zn toxicity to crops and livestock, and minimize the risk of chronic Cd toxicity to humans who consume locally grown garden crops.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1987

Paint chip poisoning of Laysan albatross at Midway Atoll

Epizootic mortality occurred in Laysan albatross (Diomedea immutabilis) fledgings at Midway Atoll in 1983. Heavy metal toxicity from ingestion of weathered paint chips was one of the causes. Sick albatrosses were unable to retract their wings, causing a 'droop-wing' appearance. Five normal and 12 droop-winged fledglings were captured, killed, and examined. Paint chips found in the proventriculus of the affected fledglings contained up to 144,000 ppm lead. Blood, liver, and kidney concentrations of lead in affected birds were higher than in normal fledglings, and acid-fast intranuclear inclusion bodies were present in the kidneys. Degenerative lesions were present in the myelin of some brachial nerves. Weathered paint samples collected from 12 buildings contained up to 247,250 ppm lead and 101 ppm mercury. Lead poisoning was diagnosed in 10 of the droop-winged albatrosses and was one of the causes of morbidity. Mercury toxicosis and plastic impaction were other possible causes.

Midway Atoll↗
USGS1987

Ingestion of plastic debris by Laysan albatrosses and wedge-tailed shearwaters in the Hawaiian Islands

Surveys of Laysan Albatross and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters on Midway and Oahu Island, Hawaii, identified a high proportion of birds with plastic in the upper gastrointestinal tract, representing hazards to the health of adult birds and their chicks. Fifty Laysan Albatross chicks were examined for plastic items lodged within the upper digestive tract. Forty-five (90%) contained plastic, including 3 chicks having proventricular impactions or ulcerative lesions. Plastic items in 21 live albatross chicks weighed a mean of 35.7 g chicka??1 (range 1a??175 g). Four dead birds contained 14a??175 g (mean 76.7 g). Two of four adult albatross examined contained plastic in the gut. Laysan albatross chicks have the highest reported incidence and amount of ingested plastic of any seabird species. Twelve of 20 adult Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (60%) contained plastic particles 2a??4 mm in diameter. Impaction did not appear to be a significant hazard for adult shearwaters. Shearwater chicks were not examined. Chemical toxicity of plastic polymers, plasticizers and antioxidant additives is low, although many pigments are toxic and plastics may serve as vehicles for the adsorption of organochlorine pollutants from sea water, and the toxicity of plastics is unlikely to pose significant hazard compared to obstruction and impaction of the gut.

Hawai'i↗
USGS1986

Discrimination learning in adult bobwhite quail fed paraquat

Adult male bobwhite quail ( Colinus virginianus ) were fed a diet containing 0, 25 or 100 ppm paraquat dichloride. After 60 d on treated diets, discrimination learning was evaluated with acquisition and reversal tests. The three groups performed similarly on these tests. Dose-related histopathological lesions were not found in liver, kidney or lung tissues.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗
USGS1986

Effects of environmental contaminants on snapping turtles of a tidal wetland

Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) were collected from a brackish-water and a nearly freshwater area in the contaminated Hackensack Meadowlands of New Jersey and an uncontaminated freshwater area in Maryland to determine the effects of environmental contaminants on a resident wetland species. No turtles were observed or caught in the Meadowlands at two trapping sites that were the most heavily contaminated by metals. Snapping turtles from the brackish-water area had an unusually low lipid content of body fat and reduced growth compared to turtles from the fresh-water areas in New Jersey and Maryland. Despite the serious metal contamination of the Hackensack Meadowlands, the metal content of kidneys and livers from New Jersey turtles was low and not greatly different from that of the Maryland turtles. Organochlorine pesticide concentrations in body fat were generally low at all three study areas. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) concentrations in fat were highest in male turtles from the New Jersey brackish-water area. Analysis of blood for amino-levulinic acid dehydratase, albumin, glucose, hemoglobin, osmolality, packed cell volume, total protein, triglycerides, and uric acid failed to reveal any differences among groups that would indicate physiological impairment related to contaminants.

Maryland, New Jersey↗
USGS1986

Inclusion body disease of cranes: Comparison of pathologic findings in cranes with acquired vs. experimentally induced disease

Inclusion body disease of cranes was the cause of death in 17 immature and mature cranes of 5 different species in Wisconsin. A herpesvirus of unknown origin was the apparent cause. An isolate of this herpesvirus was used to experimentally infect 3 species of cranes. Macroscopic and microscopic lesions associated with naturally acquired and experimentally induced disease were essentially identical. Multifocal hepatic and splenic necrosis was found in all cranes evaluated. Necrosis of the gastrointestinal tract, thymus, and bursa of Fabricius also was seen in some of the cranes. Eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies often were commonly associated with hepatic lesions, sometimes with the splenic lesions, and rarely with the thymic or gastrointestinal tract lesions. The lesions of this inclusion body disease were similar to those reported for cranes in Austria from which a crane herpesvirus was isolated.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1985

Metal contamination in wildlife living near two zinc smelters

Wildlife in an oak forest on Blue Mountain was studied 10 km upwind (Bake Oven Knob site) and 2 km downwind (Palmerton site) of two zinc smelters in eastern Pennsylvania, USA. Previous studies at sites near these smelters had shown changes in populations of soil microflora, lichens, green plants and litter-inhabiting arthropods. The 02 soil litter horizon at Palmerton was heavily contaminated with Pb (2700 mg kg −1 ), Zn (24 000 mg kg −1 ), and Cd (710 mg kg −1 ), and to a lesser extent with Cu (440 mg kg −1 ). Various kinds of invertebrates (earthworms, slugs and millipedes) that feed on soil litter or soil organic matter were rare at, or absent from, the Palmerton site. Those collected at Bake Oven Knob tended to have much higher concentrations of metals than did other invertebrates. Frogs, toads and salamanders were very rare at, or absent from, the Palmerton site, but were present at Bake Oven Knob and at other sites on Blue Mountain farther from the smelters. Metal concentrations (dry wt) in different organisms from Palmerton were compared. Concentrations of Pb were highest in shrews (110 mg kg −1 ), followed by songbirds (56 mg kg −1 ), leaves (21 mg kg −1 ), mice (17 mg kg −1 ), carrion insects (14 mg kg −1 ), berries (4·0 mg kg −1 ), moths (4·3 mg kg −1 ) and fungi (3·7 mg kg −1 ). Concentrations of Cd, in contrast, were highest in carrion insects (25 mg kg −1 ), followed by fungi (9·8 mg kg −1 ), leaves (8·1 mg kg −1 ), shrews (7·3 mg kg −1 ), moths (4·9 mg kg −1 ), mice (2·6 mg kg −1 ), songbirds (2·5 mg kg −1 ) and berries (1·2 mg kg −1 ). Concentrations of Zn and Cu tended to be highest in the same organisms that had the highest concentrations of Cd. Only a small proportion of the metals in the soil became incorporated into plant foliage, and much of the metal contamination detected in the biota probably came from aerial deposition. The mice from both sites seemed to be healthy. Shrews had higher concentrations of metals than did mice, and one shrew showed evidence of Pb poisoning; its red blood cell ALAD activity was greatly reduced, one kidney contained acid-fast intranuclear inclusion bodies, and the other kidney had 280 mg kg −1 Pb (wet wt). The livers from two cuckoos from Palmerton had elevated Pb concentrations (18 and 25 mg kg −1 , wet wt). Most of the songbirds seemed to be healthy.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1984

Subchronic organophosphorus ester-induced delayed neurotoxicity in mallards

Eighteenweek-old mallard hens received 0, 10, 30, 90, or 270 ppm technical grade EPN (phenylphosphonothioic acid O -ethyl- O -4-nitrophenyl ester) in the diet for 90 days. Ataxia was first observed in the 270-ppm group after 16 days, in the 90-ppm group after 20 days, in the 30-ppm group after 38 days; 10 ppm failed to produce ataxia. By the end of 90 days all 6 birds in the 270-ppm group exhibited ataxia or paralysis whereas 5 of 6 birds in the 90-ppm group and 2 of 6 birds in the 30-ppm group were visibly affected. Treatment with 30 ppm or more resulted in a significant reduction in body weight. Brain neurotoxic esterase activity was inhibited by averages of 16, 69, 73, and 74% in the 10-, 30-, 90-, and 270-ppm groups, respectively. Brain acetylcholinesterase, plasma cholinesterase, and plasma alkaline phosphatase were significantly inhibited as well. Distinct histopathological effects were seen in the 30-, 90-, and 270-ppm groups which included demyelination and degeneration of axons of the spinal cord. Additional ducks were exposed in a similar manner to 60-, 270-, or 540-ppm leptophos (phosphonothioic acid O -4-bromo-2,5-dichlorophenyl- O -methylphenyl ester) which resulted in similar behavioral, biochemical, and histopathological alterations. these findings indicate that adult mallards are probably somewhat less sensitive than chickens to subchronic dietary exposure to organophosphorus insecticides that induce delayed neurotoxicity.

Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology↗