Multi-omic responses of fish exposed to complex chemical mixtures in the Shenandoah River watershed.

To evaluate relationships between different anthropogenic impacts, contaminant occurrence, and fish health, we conducted in situ fish exposures across the Shenandoah River watershed at five sites with different land use. Exposure water was analyzed for over 500 chemical constituents, and organismal, metabolomic, and transcriptomic endpoints were measured in fathead minnows. Adverse reproductive outcomes were observed in fish exposed in the upper watershed at both wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent- and agriculture-impacted sites, including decreased gonadosomatic index and altered secondary sex characteristics.

Effects-based monitoring of bioactive compounds associated with municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge to the South Platte River, Colorado, USA.

Previous studies have detected numerous organic contaminants and in vitro bioactivities in surface water from the South Platte River near Denver, Colorado, USA. To evaluate the temporal and spatial distribution of selected contaminants of emerging concern, water samples were collected throughout 2018 and 2019 at 11 sites within the S. Platte River and surrounding tributaries with varying proximities to a major wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).

Evaluation of targeted and untargeted effects-based monitoring tools to assess impacts of contaminants of emerging concern on fish in the South Platte River, CO.

Rivers in the arid Western United States face increasing influences from anthropogenic contaminants due to population growth, urbanization, and drought. To better understand and more effectively track the impacts of these contaminants, biologically-based monitoring tools are increasingly being used to complement routine chemical monitoring. This study was initiated to assess the ability of both targeted and untargeted biologically-based monitoring tools to discriminate impacts of two adjacent wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) on Colorado's South Platte River.

Tools to minimize interlaboratory variability in vitellogenin gene expression monitoring programs.

The egg yolk precursor protein vitellogenin is widely used as a biomarker of estrogen exposure in male fish. However, standardized methodology is lacking and little is known regarding the reproducibility of results among laboratories using different equipment, reagents, protocols, and data analysis programs. To address this data gap we tested the reproducibility across laboratories to evaluate vitellogenin gene (vtg) expression and assessed the value of using a freely available software data analysis program.