Environmental Contaminants In Wildlife

Discussing the interpretation of tissue concentrations of contaminants in wildlife, this updated edition of a bestseller draws on current scientific research and includes new chapters and greater emphasis on aquatic organisms. Each chapter provides a summary and review of a specific chemical along with direction on research methods and the interpretation of conflicting or insufficient data. Chapters include a comprehensive history of contaminant interpretation in wildlife and fish, the use of tissue residues in ecological risk assessment, and detailed coverage of all bioaccumulative contaminants and their physiologic affects.

Many books have been written about the effects of toxic chemicals on wildlife, but none has focused on the practical question, "How much of a chemical in the tissues of an animal is harmful?" This book deals exclusively with that question. This comprehensive reference will certainly become the standard resource on the topic, offering authoritative and sound advice on many environmental contaminants. With chapters written by outstanding experts in their respective fields, this is not only a scholarly collection of discussions on different chemicals, but, for those who have the day-to-day task of evaluating the harm of environment contaminants to wildlife, this book will provide answers on, for example, how to interpret 1 ppm lead in the liver of a duck or fish. The authors explain the snags of interpreting data that are sometimes conflicting or insufficient, providing the reader with helpful advice on how to cope with such data. Each chapter reviews literature on a specific chemical, followed by a easy-to-understand summary providing technical guidance. For many years this book will remain the preeminent reference on how to interpret contaminant levels of organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, dioxins, PAHs, metals, selenium, and fluorides in wildlife.

Examining tissue residues of contaminants in biota reveals the movement of contaminants within organisms and through food chains as well as the context for understanding and quantifying injuries to organisms and their communities. Yet tissue concentrations of some contaminants are especially challenging to interpret and the ability of today’s analytical chemists to provide reliable analytical data of most important environmental contaminants often surpasses the ability of ecotoxicologists to interpret those data. Offering guidance on the ecotoxicologically meaningful interpretation of tissue concentrations, Environmental Contaminants in Biota, Interpreting Tissue Concentrations, Second Edition is updated with current data and new ways of analyzing those data as well as additional contaminants not previously considered. Beginning with a history of wildlife toxicology and data interpretation, chapters cover a wide range of contaminants and their hazardous and lethal concentrations in various animals including DDT, Dioxins, PCBs, and PBDEs in aquatic organisms; methylmurcury, selenium, and trace metals in fishes and aquatic invertebrates; and pharmaceuticals and organic contaminants in marine mammals. The book considers the impact of Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Dibenzo-p-Dioxins and Dibenzofurans, and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers; cyclodiene; and other organochlorine pesticides in birds and mammals. Later chapters examine the effects and analysis of lead, cadmium, and radionuclides in biota. With thousands of published research papers reporting tissue concentrations each year, Environmental Contaminants in Biota, Interpreting Tissue Concentrations, Second Edition gives ecotoxicologists the ability to draw actionable value regarding the toxicological consequences of those concentrations and relate tissue concentrations quantitatively to injury: the core of ecotoxicology.

Updating the extremely successful Wildlife Toxicology and Population Modeling (CRC Press, 1994), Wildlife Toxicology: Emerging Contaminant and Biodiversity Issues brings together a distinguished group of international contributors, who provide a global assessment of a range of environmental stressors, including pesticides, environmental contaminant

Studying animals in the environment may be a realistic and highly beneficial approach to identifying unknown chemical contaminants before they cause human harm. Animals as Sentinels of Environmental Health Hazards presents an overview of animal-monitoring programs, including detailed case studies of how animal health problemsâ€"such as the effects of DDT on wild bird populationsâ€"have led researchers to the sources of human health hazards. The authors examine the components and characteristics required for an effective animal-monitoring program, and they evaluate numerous existing programs, including in situ research, where an animal is placed in a natural setting for monitoring purposes.