• Develop a framework document that analyzes the needs and opportunities to further waterbird conservation in the region through monitoring
• Identify opportunities to integrate waterbird monitoring with other avian, habitat and wildlife monitoring efforts
• Promote strategic implementation of monitoring programs and pilot projects with our partners
Please link to http://www.nebirdmonitor.org/ for futher information.

WildNet

Animals in nature are increasingly confronted with chemical contaminants in their environment. The release of synthetic chemicals by industry, agriculture, and other activities has increased by 20% over the past two decades. Nearly 74,000 chemicals are in commercial use (GAO 2001). There is increasing evidence of acute and/or lethal exposure of wildlife to toxic chemicals in the environment (e.g. Grue et al. 1983, Mineau et al. 1999). Population level impacts have been documented in several species (Fox 2000). It has been estimated that 67 million wild birds are killed annually in the U.S. by legal pesticide use (Pimental et al. 1992).

Photo by Dave Twitchell

Although difficult to document, sublethal exposure of animals to chemicals is also of concern. For every animal killed by pesticides, a potentially much larger number may be sublethally poisoned. For example, cholinesterase inhibiting compounds, such as organophosphate and carbamate pesticides, exert their toxicity by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an important neurotransmitter involved in nerve transmission in animals. Loss of AChE activity can cause numerous physiological problems for non-target wildlife such as inability to thermoregulate (Grue et al. 1983, 1997). Reductions in reproductive success and survival may result when exposure is expressed through subtle changes such as loss of predator avoidance behaviors. Large-scale monitoring of wading birds in the northeast has revealed multiple pathologies linked to water quality loss across a range of urban, suburban and rural estuaries (Parsons 1994, Parsons et al. 2000, 2001).

Because anthropogenic contaminants have become ubiquitous in the environment and influence the ecology of wild species, wildlife managers and scientists are increasingly required to consider chemical disturbances as an essential component of habitat. Therefore to understand and protect wildlife populations, wildlife professionals must acquire skills and knowledge necessary to determine the exposure and effects of contaminants experienced by wildlife in their region of interest.

WildNet—Wildlife/Contaminants Monitoring Network is a cooperative project that seeks to facilitate ecotoxicological monitoring of wildlife. WildNet disseminates standardized methodological information and relevant scientific information to researchers and managers. The network, comprised of cooperating researchers and managers and coordinated by Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, contributes ecotoxicological information to an online database. The database provides a reference framework necessary for interpreting field data since toxicity data generated in preparation for registering chemicals by the EPA are typically available for a very small number of laboratory animals (e.g. mallard and quail). WildNet potentially facilitates broad-scale monitoring although initial efforts are focused on exposure and sublethal effects of anti-cholinesterase chemicals in birds and reptiles.

REFERENCES

Fox, G.A. 2000. Perturbations in terrestrial vertebrate populations: contaminants as a cause. Pp 19-60 in Environmental contaminants and terrestrial vertebrates: effects on populations, communities, and ecosystems (P.H. Albers, G. H. Heinz, and H. M. Ohlendorf, Eds.). SETAC, Pensacola, FL.

GAO. 2001. Chemical Risk Assessment. Report to congressional requesters, Washington, DC GAO-01-810.

Grue, C. E., W. J. Fleming, D. G. Busby, and E. F. Hill. 1983. Assessing hazards of organophosphate pesticides to wildlife. Trans. N. Am. Wildl. Nat. Res. Conf. 48: 200-220.

Grue, C. E., P. L. Gibert, and M. E. Seeley. 1997. Neurophysiological and behavioral changes in non-target wildlife exposed to organophosphate and carbamate pesticides: thermoregulation, food consumption, and reproduction. American Zoologist 37: 369-388.

Mineau, P., M. R. Fletcher, L. C. Glaser, N. J. Thomas, C. Brassard, L. K. Wilson, J. E. Elliott, L. Lyon, C. J. Henny, T. Bolinger, and S. L. Porter. 1999. Poisoning of raptors with organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides with emphasis on Canada, U.S., and U.K. Journal of Raptor Research 33: 1-37.

Parsons, K. C. 1994. The Arthur Kill oil spills: Biological effects in birds. Pp 215-237 in Before and After an Oil Spill (J. Burger, Ed.). Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ.

--------., A. C. Matz and S. R. Schmidt. 1988. Wading birds and cholinesterase-inhibiting insecticides: an examination of exposure and effects in free-living populations. Report submitted to Delaware DNREC, Dover, DE.

--------., S. R. Schmidt, and A. C. Matz. 2001. Regional patterns of wading bird productivity in northeastern U.S. estuaries. Waterbirds 24: 323-330.

--------., A.C. Matz, M.J. Hooper and M.A. Pokras. 2000. Monitoring wading bird exposure to agricultural chemicals using serum cholinesterase activity. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 19(5): 1317-1323.

Pimental, D., U. Stachow, D. A. Takacs, H. W. Brubaker, A. R. Dumas, J. J. Meaney, J. A. S. O’neil, D. E. Onsi, and D. B. Cozilius. 1992. Conserving biological diversity in agricultural-forestry systems. Bioscience 42: 354-362.

Vernal Pools

The vernal pool project, which commenced in July 2006, is the newest water quality study being conducted at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences (Manomet).  We are evaluating water quality in up to 120 vernal pools in eastern Massachusetts to help protect these important habitats and improve their value.  Our geographic focus is communities in the Taunton and Charles River watersheds, which provide a diverse landscape for this study.

A vernal pool, or “spring pool,” is a shallow depression that typically contains water for only part of the year.  These pools provide important wildlife habitat, especially to amphibians, and range in size from a few square feet to several acres.  They also vary in appearance, time of filling, and source of water.  Although most pools dry out for much of the year, some deep vernal pools may remain wet year-round.  Please take a look at some of the vernal pools included in the study.  Note the difference in size, vegetation, and presence of water.

This project seeks to obtain critically-needed information about vernal pool water quality, potential impacts from non-point source pollution (such as lawn-care chemicals, pesticides, road salt, and metals) and biodiversity health.  Information obtained from this study will enable Manomet and project partners to protect vernal pools and their associated water resources through education and demonstration projects.

Our overall project goals are to:

- Create a partnership with land owners whose property contains a vernal pool,
- Measure the physical and chemical properties of water in vernal pools,
- Identify surrounding land uses that may influence water quality,
- Evaluate amphibian biodiversity, and
- Provide educational information to help protect the pools, such as Best Management Practices. Click here for a fact sheet on this study.

Vernal Pool Project update (August 2007): We received a very positive response from landowners in the Taunton and Charles River Watersheds whom we contacted to gain access to vernal pools. During April through July, our field team of staff and volunteers collected water samples and recorded ecological data at vernal pools in 25 towns.