Snake Fungal Disease in Free-Ranging Northern Pine Snakes () in New Jersey: Lesions, Severity of Sores and Investigator's Perceptions.

, the fungus causing snake fungal disease (SFD), has been identified in northern pine snakes () in New Jersey. In this paper, we (1) review the positivity rate of SFD on different locations on snakes' bodies, (2) determine the relationship between the sores and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) positivity rates, and (3) explore the relationship between the investigators' clinical evaluation of the severity of sores, their evaluation of the likelihood of the sores being positive, and the qPCR positivity of SFD for the sores. Swabbing the sores was more effective at determining whether the snakes tested positive for than ventrum swabbing alone.

Some metals and metalloids in the blood of three species of shorebirds increase while foraging during two-week migratory stopover in Delaware Bay, New Jersey.

Most migratory shorebird species are declining, some are endangered, and some may be vulnerable to contaminants on long distance travel between wintering grounds and high latitude breeding grounds. We examined whether shorebirds accumulated trace elements at the Delaware Bay (New Jersey) stopover by testing the null hypothesis that there was no difference in the levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, and selenium in blood of three species of shorebirds collected early in their stopover compared to levels in blood collected about two weeks later near the end of the stopover, before departing for breeding grounds. There were significantly higher levels of all metals and metalloids in the blood of ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) later in May than earlier.

Prevalence of Ophidiomyces ophidiicola and epizootiology of snake fungal disease in free-ranging Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus) in New Jersey.

Snake fungal disease, caused by Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, is recognized as a potential concern for North American snakes. We tested skin swabs from Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus) in the New Jersey pinelands for the presence of O. ophidiicola before emergence from hibernation.

Combining ecological, eco-cultural, and environmental justice parameters to create Eco-EJ indicators to monitor cultural and environmental justices for diverse communities around contaminated sites.

Assessing environmental quality often requires selection of indicators that can be employed over large spatial scales and over long-time periods to assess the health and well-being of species, natural communities, and ecosystems, and to detect changes warranting intervention. Typically, the ecologic environment and the human environment are evaluated separately and selection of indicators and monitoring approaches are not integrated even though ecological indicators may also provide information on risk to human consumers from contaminants (e.g.

Role of uncertainties in protecting ecological resources during remediation and restoration.

Cleanup of contaminated waste sites is a National priority to protect human health and the environment, while restoring land to productive uses. While there are uncertainties with understanding risk to individuals from exposure, the aim of this study was to focus on uncertainties and complexities for ecological systems, complicated by hundreds of species occupying any remediation site which participate in multiple-interacting food webs. The ability to better predict the effectiveness of remediation in fostering future ecosystems might facilitate remedy selection and improve strategic environmental management.

Risk to ecological resources following remediation can be due mainly to increased resource value of successful restoration: A case study from the Department of Energy's Hanford Site.

Many nations are faced with the need to remediate large contaminated sites following World War II, the Cold War, and abandoned industrial sites, and to return them to productive land uses. In the United States, the Department of Energy (DOE) has the largest cleanup challenge, and its Hanford Site in the state of Washington has the most extensive and most expensive cleanup task. Ideally, the risk to ecological resources on remediation sites is evaluated before, during, and after remediation, and the risk from, or damage to, ecological resources from contaminants should be lower following remediation.

A paradigm for protecting ecological resources following remediation as a function of future land use designations: a case study for the Department of Energy's Hanford Site.

Since the late 1980s, there has been a US federal mandate to clean up contaminated sites remaining from the Second World War, the Cold War, and abandoned industries. One determinant of cleanup standards for remediation is future land use-how will the land be used and by whom? Land use decisions may be consensus documents developed by site owners, state and federal agencies, and local stakeholders. Often there are competing views and/or claims on how remediated sites should be used, including as open or green space.

Importance of buffer lands to determining risk to ecological resources at legacy contaminated sites: A case study for the Department of Energy's Hanford Site, Washington, USA.

Contaminated lands remain from World War II, the Cold War, and industrial development. The U.S.

Heavy Metals in Biota in Delaware Bay, NJ: Developing a Food Web Approach to Contaminants.

Understanding the relationship between heavy metal and selenium levels in biota and their foods is important, but often difficult to determine because animals eat a variety of organisms. Yet such information is critical to managing species populations, ecological integrity, and risk to receptors (including humans) from consumption of certain prey. We examine levels of cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium in biota from Delaware Bay (New Jersey, USA) to begin construction of a "springtime" food web that focuses on shorebirds.

A paradigm for information needed to protect at-risk species: northern pine snake () in the pine barrens as a case study.

New methods of examining the risk to endangered, threatened and rare species are required to identify vulnerability. A paradigm for examining risk is presented that describes anthropogenic threats, species activities, and vulnerabilities, and uses Northern pine snakes () in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a case study. The paradigm includes (1) conceptual model of natural, anthropogenic, and interactive stressors, (2) template of the functional attributes of threats from human activities, and (3) template of effects from different human activities.

Metal and metalloid levels in blood of semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) from Brazil, Suriname, and Delaware Bay: Sentinels of exposure to themselves, their prey, and predators that eat them.

Identifying animals as sentinels for humans and other animal species is an excellent method for understanding exposure to environmental contamination at different times and places. Shorebirds are useful sentinels because they have a world-wide distribution, eat a range of prey, and are eaten by a range of other species, including humans. We collected blood from semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) wintering in northern (Suriname N = 71) and northeastern (Brazil N = 61) South America to examine levels of heavy metals and metalloids (arsenic, selenium), and compare them to blood levels in sandpipers at a heavily used stopover site in New Jersey (N = 30; Delaware Bay, NJ).

Evaluation of ecological resources at operating facilities at contaminated sites: The Department of Energy's Hanford Site as a case study.

The U.S. and other developed nations are faced with many contaminated sites remaining from World War II, the Cold War, and abandoned industries, that require remediation and restoration to allow future land uses with minimum acceptable risk to humans and ecological resources.

Risk valuation of ecological resources at contaminated deactivation and decommissioning facilities: methodology and a case study at the Department of Energy's Hanford site.

Many countries are faced with monumental cleanup tasks remaining from World War II and the Cold War and consistent methodologies are essential to assess the risk from pollutants and the risk from cleanup. In the USA, the Department of Energy (DOE), and other federal and state agencies need to be able to rapidly evaluate the risk to ecological resources for remediation projects. While ecological risk assessments for radionuclides and other contaminants can be performed for different species, evaluations of species assemblages, communities, and ecosystems is more difficult.

Mercury, Lead, Cadmium, Cobalt, Arsenic and Selenium in the Blood of Semipalmated Sandpipers () from Suriname, South America: Age-related Differences in Wintering Site and Comparisons with a Stopover Site in New Jersey, USA.

It is essential to understand contaminant exposure and to compare levels of contaminants in organisms at different ages to determine if there is bioaccumulation, and to compare levels encountered in different geographical areas. In this paper, we report levels of mercury, lead, cadmium, cobalt, arsenic and selenium in the blood of semipalmated sandpipers () wintering in Suriname as a function of age, and compare them to blood levels in northbound migrants at a stopover in Delaware Bay, New Jersey. We found (1) young birds had higher levels of cadmium, cobalt, and lead than adults (after second year birds); (2) there were no age-related differences for arsenic, mercury and selenium; (3) only four of the possible 16 inter-metal correlations were significant, at the 0.

Habitat risk: Use of intertidal flats by foraging red knots (Calidris canutus rufa), ruddy turnstones, (Arenaria interpres), semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla), and sanderling (Calidris alba) on Delaware Bay beaches.

Shorebirds usually forage on intertidal flats that are exposed during low tide, and roost on higher areas when the tidal flats are covered with water. During spring migration on Delaware Bay (New Jersey) shorebirds mainly forage on horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs that are concentrated at the high tide line. However, they also use other habitats for foraging.

Responses of a vulnerable Hispanic population in New Jersey to Hurricane Sandy: Access to care, medical needs, concerns, and ecological ratings.

Recent increases in hurricanes led to a need to evaluate access to medical care, medical needs, and personal and community impact on vulnerable populations, particularly elderly, low income, and minority communities. This investigation examined (1) access to care, (2) interruptions in medical services, (3) personal impact from Hurricane Sandy, and (4) agreement with ecological statements related to storms, flooding, and damages in Hispanic/Latino patients receiving health care at Federally Qualified Health Centers in New Jersey. Only 10% of 335 Hispanic interviewees were US born.

Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, Mercury and Selenium Concentrations in Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) from the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

Top trophic level predators are at risk from bioaccumulation of heavy metals from their prey. Using nondestructively collected tissues as a method of assessing metal concentrations in snakes is useful for populations that are threatened or declining. This paper reports concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and selenium (Se) in tissues of Northern pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) from the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a relatively pristine, undisturbed habitat.

Stakeholder contributions to assessment, monitoring, and conservation of threatened species: black skimmer and red knot as case studies.

Stakeholder contributions to conservation projects often occur during the problem formulation stage, yet the role of stakeholders throughout the process is seldom considered. We examine the diversity of state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, other non-governmental organizations, environmental justice communities, consultants, industry, and the general public in the conservation of red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) and black skimmer (Rynchops niger) in New Jersey. We suggest that (1) governmental agencies provide the legal, regulatory, and management framework, but it is often the universities, conservation organizations, consultants, and the public that conduct the research and perform activities that lead to increased research and conservation efforts; (2) departments within agencies may have conflicting mandates, making it difficult to resolve differences in actions; (3) there is often conflict among and within state agencies and conservation organizations about roles and priorities; and (4) the role of the public is critical to ongoing research and conservation efforts.

A Methodology to Evaluate Ecological Resources and Risk Using Two Case Studies at the Department of Energy's Hanford Site.

An assessment of the potential risks to ecological resources from remediation activities or other perturbations should involve a quantitative evaluation of resources on the remediation site and in the surrounding environment. We developed a risk methodology to rapidly evaluate potential impact on ecological resources for the U.S.

Functional remediation components: A conceptual method of evaluating the effects of remediation on risks to ecological receptors.

Governmental agencies, regulators, health professionals, tribal leaders, and the public are faced with understanding and evaluating the effects of cleanup activities on species, populations, and ecosystems. While engineers and managers understand the processes involved in different remediation types such as capping, pump and treat, and natural attenuation, there is often a disconnect between (1) how ecologists view the influence of different types of remediation, (2) how the public perceives them, and (3) how engineers understand them. The overall goal of the present investigation was to define the components of remediation types (= functional remediation).

Environmental Assessment for Sustainability and Resiliency for Ecological and Human Health.

Considerable attention has been devoted to environmental assessment and monitoring, primarily by physical and biological scientists, and more recently by social scientists. However, population growth and global change have resulted in an imperative to assess the resiliency of the environment to adapt to large scale changes and to continue to produce goods and services for future generations (sustainability). Changing land use needs or expectations may require the remediation and restoration of degraded or contaminated land.

Perceptions of Climate Change, Sea Level Rise, and Possible Consequences Relate Mainly to Self-Valuation of Science Knowledge.

This study examines perceptions of climate change and sea level rise in New Jersey residents in 2012 and 2014. Different surveys have shown declines in interest and concern about climate change and sea level rise. Climate change and increasing temperatures have an anthropogenic cause, which relates to energy use, making it important to examine whether people believe that it is occurring.

A post-remediation assessment in Jersey City of the association of hexavalent chromium in house dust and urinary chromium in children.

Although all chromite ore processing residue (COPR) sites near residential neighborhoods in Jersey City, New Jersey have undergone remediation, recent studies found widespread, but low levels of hexavalent chromium (Cr(+6)) in house dust both in Jersey City and in communities with no known sources of Cr(+6). This study was designed as a follow-up to determine whether there is an association between current Cr(+6) levels in house dust and urinary chromium concentrations in young children. Dust samples (N=369) were collected from 123 homes.

Effect of Providing Information on Students' Knowledge and Concerns about Hydraulic Fracking.

Governmental agencies, regulators, health professionals, and the public are faced with understanding and responding to new development practices and conditions in their local and regional environment. While hydraulic fracking (fracking) for shale gas has been practiced for over 50 years in some states, it is a relatively recent event in the northeastern United States. Providing environmental health information to the public about fracking requires understanding both the knowledge base and the perceptions of the public.

Metals in tissues of migrant semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) from Delaware Bay, New Jersey.

There is an abundance of field data on levels of metals for feathers in a variety of birds, but relatively few data for tissues, especially for migrant species from one location. In this paper we examine the levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury and selenium in muscle, liver, brain, fat and breast feathers from migrant semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) collected from Delaware Bay, New Jersey. Our primary objectives were to (1) examine variation as a function of tissue, (2) determine the relationship of metal levels among tissues, and (3) determine the selenium:mercury molar ratio in different tissues since selenium is thought to protect against mercury toxicity.