Geology topics

Mary Ann Ottinger

Publications and source records attributed to Mary Ann Ottinger.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2026

Co-producing coastal bird research on the Gulf Coast through structured decision making (SDM) and constructed value of information (CVoI)

Conservation practitioners face the complex challenge of addressing global biodiversity threats within social-ecological systems with multiple jurisdictions, numerous interest groups, and changing environmental conditions. Bridging the research-to-implementation gap between scientists and managers, which integrates diverse perspectives that represent the variety of considerations impacting management outcomes can help to inform efficient and effective conservation. Avian conservation programs along the U.S. Gulf Coast exemplify these challenges, as management decisions must address diverse threats to declining coastal bird populations across large breeding, wintering, and migratory ranges while facing uncertainty surrounding the efficacy of large-scale strategies. This provides opportunities for improving management through co-produced research with structured decision making (SDM). We present a case study that demonstrates the application of co-production principles and SDM to collaboratively develop high-priority research questions informing effective avian conservation and management. Additionally, we applied a constructed value of information (CVoI) framework to identify and prioritize which uncertainties to reduce and better understand how research questions impact management actions. The integration of SDM’s five-step decision making framework ensured key principles of co-production were met, while co-production enhanced SDM outcomes by incorporating diverse perspectives and knowledge bases. CVoI further allowed participants to collectively determine final high-priority research questions in the face of complexity and uncertainty. Together, these approaches supported co-produced knowledge-generation, strategic hypothesis prioritization, and identification of research questions most likely to improve conservation decisions. This case study from the U.S. Gulf Coast demonstrates how co-produced research through SDM offers a broadly applicable approach for navigating ecological complexity and bridging the research-to-implementation gap in avian conservation.

Gulf Coast↗

USGS2023

Structured decision making to prioritize regional bird monitoring needs

Conservation planning for large ecosystems has multiple benefits but is often challenging to implement because of the multiple jurisdictions, species, and habitats involved. In addition, decision making at large spatial scales can be hampered because many approaches do not explicitly incorporate potentially competing values and concerns of stakeholders. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, establishing baselines was challenging because of (1) variation in study designs, (2) inconsistent use of explicit objectives and hypotheses, (3) inconsistent use of standardized monitoring protocols, and (4) variation in spatial and temporal scope associated with avian monitoring projects before the spill. Herein, we show how the Gulf of Mexico Avian Monitoring Network members used structured decision making to identify bird monitoring priorities. We used multiple tools and techniques to clearly define the problem and stakeholder objectives and to identify bird monitoring priorities at the scale of the entire northern Gulf of Mexico region. Although our example is specific to the northern Gulf of Mexico, this approach provides an example of how stakeholder values can be incorporated into the coordination process of broad-scale monitoring programs to address management, restoration, and scientific questions in other ecosystems and for other taxa.

INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics↗

USGS2019

Toward sustainable environmental quality: Priority research questions for North America

Anticipating, identifying, and prioritizing strategic needs represent essential activities by research organizations. Decided benefits emerge when these pursuits engage globally important environment and health goals, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, horizon scanning efforts can facilitate identification of specific research needs to address grand challenges. We report and discuss 40 priority research questions following engagement of scientists and engineers in North America. These timely questions identify the importance of stimulating innovation and developing new methods, tools, and concepts in environmental chemistry and toxicology to improve assessment and management of chemical contaminants and other diverse environmental stressors. Grand challenges to achieving sustainable management of the environment are becoming increasingly complex and structured by global megatrends, which collectively challenge existing sustainable environmental quality efforts. Transdisciplinary, systems‐based approaches will be required to define and avoid adverse biological effects across temporal and spatial gradients. Similarly, coordinated research activities among organizations within and among countries are necessary to address the priority research needs reported here. Acquiring answers to these 40 research questions will not be trivial, but doing so promises to advance sustainable environmental quality in the 21st century.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗

USGS2018

Embryonic effects of an environmentally relevant PCB mixture in the domestic chicken

Studies were conducted to develop methods to assess the effects of a complex mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the domestic chicken ( Gallus domesticus ). Treatments were administered by egg injection to compare embryonic effects of an environmentally relevant PCB congener mixture in the domestic chicken over a range of doses. Chicken eggs were injected with the PCB mixture with a profile similar to that found in avian eggs collected on the upper Hudson River, New York, USA, at doses that spanned 0 to 98 μg/g egg. Eggs were hatched in the laboratory to ascertain hatching success. In the domestic chicken, the median lethal dose was 0.3 μg/g. These data demonstrate adverse effects of an environmentally relevant PCB mixture and provide the basis for further work using in vitro and other models to characterize the potential risk to avian populations.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗

USGS2016

Chesapeake Bay fish–osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ) food chain: Evaluation of contaminant exposure and genetic damage

From 2011 to 2013, a large-scale ecotoxicological study was conducted in several Chesapeake Bay (USA) tributaries (Susquehanna River and flats, the Back, Baltimore Harbor/Patapsco Rivers, Anacostia/ middle Potomac, Elizabeth and James Rivers) and Poplar Island as a mid-Bay reference site. Osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ) diet and the transfer of contaminants from fish to osprey eggs were evaluated. The most bioaccumulative compounds (biomagnification factor > 5) included p,p′ -dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), total polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and bromodiphenyl ether (BDE) congeners 47, 99, 100, and 154. This analysis suggested that alternative brominated flame retardants and other compounds (methoxytriclosan) are not appreciably biomagnifying. A multivariate analysis of similarity indicated that major differences in patterns among study sites were driven by PCB congeners 105, 128, 156, 170/190, and 189, and PBDE congeners 99 and 209. An integrative redundancy analysis showed that osprey eggs from Baltimore Harbor/Patapsco River and the Elizabeth River had high residues of PCBs and p,p ′-DDE, with PBDEs making a substantial contribution to overall halogenated contamination on the Susquehanna and Anacostia/middle Potomac Rivers. The redundancy analysis also suggested a potential relation between PBDE residues in osprey eggs and oxidative DNA damage in nestling blood samples. The results also indicate that there is no longer a discernible relation between halogenated contaminants in osprey eggs and their reproductive success in Chesapeake Bay. Osprey populations are thriving in much of the Chesapeake, with productivity rates exceeding those required to sustain a stable population.

Chesapeake Bay↗

USGS2016

Spatial modeling of wild bird risk factors to investigate highly pathogenic A(H5N1) avian influenza virus transmission

One of the longest-persisting avian influenza viruses in history, highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) A(H5N1), continues to evolve after 18 years, advancing the threat of a global pandemic. Wild waterfowl (family Anatidae), are reported as secondary transmitters of HPAIV, and primary reservoirs for low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses, yet spatial inputs for disease risk modeling for this group have been lacking. Using GIS and Monte Carlo simulations, we developed geospatial indices of waterfowl abundance at 1 and 30 km resolutions and for the breeding and wintering seasons for China, the epicenter of H5N1. Two spatial layers were developed: cumulative waterfowl abundance (WAB), a measure of predicted abundance across species, and cumulative abundance weighted by H5N1 prevalence (WPR), whereby abundance for each species was adjusted based on prevalence values then totaled across species. Spatial patterns of the model output differed between seasons, with higher WAB and WPR in the northern and western regions of China for the breeding season and in the southeast for the wintering season. Uncertainty measures indicated highest error in southeastern China for both WAB and WPR. We also explored the effect of resampling waterfowl layers from 1 km to 30 km resolution for multi-scale risk modeling. Results indicated low average difference (less than 0.16 and 0.01 standard deviations for WAB and WPR, respectively), with greatest differences in the north for the breeding season and southeast for the wintering season. This work provides the first geospatial models of waterfowl abundance available for China. The indices provide important inputs for modeling disease transmission risk at the interface of poultry and wild birds. These models are easily adaptable, have broad utility to both disease and conservation needs, and will be available to the scientific community for advanced modeling applications.

Avian Diseases↗

USGS2015

Composition, shell strength, and metabolizable energy of Mulinia lateralis and Ischadium recurvum as food for wintering surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata)

Decline in surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) waterfowl populations wintering in the Chesapeake Bay has been associated with changes in the availability of benthic bivalves. The Bay has become more eutrophic, causing changes in the benthos available to surf scoters. The subsequent decline in oyster beds (Crassostrea virginica) has reduced the hard substrate needed by the hooked mussel (Ischadium recurvum), one of the primary prey items for surf scoters, causing the surf scoter to switch to a more opportune species, the dwarf surfclam (Mulinia lateralis). The composition (macronutrients, minerals, and amino acids), shell strength (N), and metabolizable energy (kJ) of these prey items were quantified to determine the relative foraging values for wintering scoters. Pooled samples of each prey item were analyzed to determine composition. Shell strength (N) was measured using a shell crack compression test. Total collection digestibility trials were conducted on eight captive surf scoters. For the prey size range commonly consumed by surf scoters (6-12 mm for M. lateralis and 18-24 mm for I. recurvum), I. recurvum contained higher ash, protein, lipid, and energy per individual organism than M. lateralis. I. recurvum required significantly greater force to crack the shell relative to M. lateralis. No difference in metabolized energy was observed for these prey items in wintering surf scoters, despite I. recurvum's higher ash content and harder shell than M. lateralis. Therefore, wintering surf scoters were able to obtain the same amount of energy from each prey item, implying that they can sustain themselves if forced to switch prey.

PLoS ONE↗

USGS2015

Decadal re-evaluation of contaminant exposure and productivity of ospreys ( Pandion haliaetus ) nesting in Chesapeake Bay Regions of Concern

The last large-scale ecotoxicological study of ospreys ( Pandion haliaetus ) in Chesapeake Bay was conducted in 2000-2001 and focused on U.S. EPA-designated Regions of Concern (ROCs; Baltimore Harbor/Patapsco, Anacostia/middle Potomac, and Elizabeth Rivers). In 2011-2012, ROCs were re-evaluated to determine spatial and temporal trends in productivity and contaminants. Concentrations of p,p '-DDE were low in eggs and below the threshold associated with eggshell thinning. Eggs from the Anacostia/middle Potomac Rivers had lower total PCB concentrations in 2011 than in 2000; however, concentrations remained unchanged in Baltimore Harbor. Polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants declined by 40%, and five alternative brominated flame retardants were detected at low levels. Osprey productivity was adequate to sustain local populations, and there was no relation between productivity and halogenated contaminants. Our findings document continued recovery of the osprey population, declining levels of many persistent halogenated compounds, and modest evidence of genetic damage in nestlings from industrialized regions.

Virginia↗

USGS2014

Exposure and food web transfer of pharmaceuticals in ospreys (Pandion haliaetus): Predictive model and empirical data

The osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ) is a well-known sentinel of environmental contamination, yet no studies have traced pharmaceuticals through the water–fish–osprey food web. A screening-level exposure assessment was used to evaluate the bioaccumulation potential of 113 pharmaceuticals and metabolites, and an artificial sweetener in this food web. Hypothetical concentrations in water reflecting “wastewater effluent dominated” or “dilution dominated” scenarios were combined with pH-specific bioconcentration factors (BCFs) to predict uptake in fish. Residues in fish and osprey food intake rate were used to calculate the daily intake (DI) of compounds by an adult female osprey. Fourteen pharmaceuticals and a drug metabolite with a BCF greater than 100 and a DI greater than 20 µg/kg were identified as being most likely to exceed the adult human therapeutic dose (HTD). These 15 compounds were also evaluated in a 40 day cumulative dose exposure scenario using first-order kinetics to account for uptake and elimination. Assuming comparable absorption to humans, the half-lives (t 1/2 ) for an adult osprey to reach the HTD within 40 days were calculated. For 3 of these pharmaceuticals, the estimated t 1/2 in ospreys was less than that for humans, and thus an osprey might theoretically reach or exceed the HTD in 3 to 7 days. To complement the exposure model, 24 compounds were quantified in water, fish plasma, and osprey nestling plasma from 7 potentially impaired locations in Chesapeake Bay. Of the 18 analytes detected in water, 8 were found in fish plasma, but only 1 in osprey plasma (the antihypertensive diltiazem). Compared to diltiazem detection rate and concentrations in water (10/12 detects, <method detection limits [MDL]–173 ng/L), there was a lower detection frequency in fish (31/233 detects, <MDL–2400 ng/L); however when present in fish, all values exceeded the maximum diltiazem concentration found in water. Diltiazem was found in all 69 osprey plasma samples (540–8630 ng/L), with 41% of these samples exceeding maximum concentrations found in fish. Diltiazem levels in fish and osprey plasma were below the human therapeutic plasma concentration (30 000 ng/L). Effect thresholds for diltiazem are unknown in ospreys at this time, and there is no evidence to suggest adverse effects. This screening-level exposure model can help identify those compounds that warrant further investigation in high-trophic level species.

Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management↗

USGS2013

Mapping risk of avian influenza transmission at the interface of domestic poultry and wild birds

Emergence of avian influenza viruses with high lethality to humans, such as the currently circulating highly pathogenic A(H5N1) (emerged in 1996) and A(H7N9) cause serious concern for the global economic and public health sectors. Understanding the spatial and temporal interface between wild and domestic populations, from which these viruses emerge, is fundamental to taking action. This information, however, is rarely considered in influenza risk models, partly due to a lack of data. We aim to identify areas of high transmission risk between domestic poultry and wild waterfowl in China, the epicenter of both viruses. Two levels of models were developed: one that predicts hotspots of novel virus emergence between domestic and wild birds, and one that incorporates H5N1 risk factors, for which input data exists. Models were produced at 1 and 30 km spatial resolution, and two temporal seasons. Patterns of risk varied between seasons with higher risk in the northeast, central-east, and western regions of China during spring and summer, and in the central and southeastern regions during winter. Monte-Carlo uncertainty analyses indicated varying levels of model confidence, with lowest errors in the densely populated regions of eastern and southern China. Applications and limitations of the models are discussed within.

Frontiers in Public Health↗

USGS2010

Absorption and biotransformation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers DE-71 and DE-79 in chicken (Gallus gallus), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), American kestrel (Falco sparverius) and black-crowned night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) eggs

We recently reported that air cell administration of penta-brominated diphenyl ether (penta-BDE; DE-71) evokes biochemical and immunologic effects in chicken (Gallus gallus) embryos at very low doses, and impairs pipping (i.e., stage immediately prior to hatching) and hatching success at 1.8 ug g-1 egg (actual dose absorbed) in American kestrels (Falco sparverius). In the present study, absorption of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners was measured following air cell administration of a penta-BDE mixture (11.1 ug DE-71 g-1 egg) or an octa-brominated diphenyl ether mixture (octa-BDE; DE-79; 15.4 ug DE-79 g-1 egg). Uptake of PBDE congeners was measured at 24 h post-injection, midway through incubation, and at pipping in chicken, mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and American kestrel egg contents, and at the end of incubation in black-crowned night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) egg contents. Absorption of penta-BDE and octa-BDE from the air cell into egg contents occurred throughout incubation; at pipping, up to 29.6% of penta-BDE was absorbed, but only 1.40-6.48% of octa-BDE was absorbed. Higher brominated congeners appeared to be absorbed more slowly than lower brominated congeners, and uptake rate was inversely proportional to the log Kow of predominant BDE congeners. Six congeners or co-eluting pairs of congeners were detected in penta-BDE-treated eggs that were not found in the dosing solution suggesting debromination in the developing embryo, extraembryonic membranes, and possibly even in the air cell membrane. This study demonstrates the importance of determining the fraction of xenobiotic absorbed into the egg following air cell administration for estimation of the lowest-observed-effect level.

Chemosphere↗