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P.H. Albers

Publications and source records attributed to P.H. Albers.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1993

Effects of acidification on metal accumulation by aquatic plants and invertebrates. 2. Wetlands, ponds and small lakes

Compared were concentrations of Al, Cd, Ca, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Mn, Hg, Ni, P, and Zn in water, plants, and aquatic invertebrates of wetlands, ponds, and small lakes in Maryland and Maine. The accumulation of metals by aquatic plants and insects and the concentration of metals in water were not greatly affected by pH. None of the metal concentrations in water significantly correlated with metals in insects. Plant metal concentrations poorly correlated with metal concentrations in water. Concentrations of metals exceeded acceptable dietary levels more frequently in plants than in invertebrates. Concerns about metal toxicity in birds that feed on invertebrates and plants from acidified waters seem to be unwarranted. Positive correlations among pH, Ca in water, Ca in insects, and Ca in plants imply that acidification can reduce the Ca content of aquatic biota. Aquatic insects were low in Ca, but crayfishes and snails, which are adversely affected by low pH, were very high. A concern for waterfowl is Ca deprivation from decreased Ca availability in low-pH wetlands, ponds, and small lakes.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗
USGS1992

Status and Assessment of Chesapeake Bay Wildlife Contamination

As an integral component of its priority setting process, the Chesapeake Bay Program`s Toxics Subcommittee has sought the expertise of Chesapeake Bay researchers and managers in developing a series of Chesapeake Bay toxics status and assessment papers. In the report, evidence for historical and current contaminant effects on key bird species, mammals, reptiles and amphibians which inhabit the Chesapeake Bay basin is examined. For each group of wildlife species, a general overview of effects caused by specific toxic substances is followed by detailed accounts of contaminant effects on selected species. Sponsored by Environmental Protection Agency, Annapolis, MD. Chesapeake Bay Program.

Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay Pr↗
USGS1987

Survival of spotted salamander eggs in temporary woodland ponds of coastal Maryland

Temporary ponds on the Atlantic Coastal Plain in maryland were characterized according to water chemistry, rain input, phytoplankton, zooplankton and use by the spotted salamander Ambystoma maculatum during March-October 1983-1984. Neither the number of egg masses per unit of pond surface (abundance) nor the survival of spotted salamander embryos was significantly correlated (P>0.05) with pond pH. Rainfall during May-July significantly increased the hydrogen ion concentration of 5 of 11 ponds evaluated for the impact of rainfall during the previous 48h and the previous week. Survival of egg masses transferred among eight ponds with pH3.66-4.45 and one pond with pH5.18 was significantly reduced (P<or=0.05) only at pH 3.66. Embryonic survival was negatively correlated (P<or=0.05) with the concentration of aluminium in the pond water. The abundance of egg masses was positively correlated (P<or=0.05) with water temperature and magnesium concentration, and total chlorophyll during the larval period. Yearly variability of pond characteristics (e.g. water chemistry, pond longevity) and amphibian reproduction make it difficult to determine the effects of acidic deposition on the spotted salamander. At the present time, pond longevity, water temperature and possibly, oxygen content, seem more important to spotted salamander reproduction than chemical changes caused by annual acidic deposition.

Environmental Pollution↗
USGS1986

Effects of environmental contaminants on snapping turtles of a tidal wetland

Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) were collected from a brackish-water and a nearly freshwater area in the contaminated Hackensack Meadowlands of New Jersey and an uncontaminated freshwater area in Maryland to determine the effects of environmental contaminants on a resident wetland species. No turtles were observed or caught in the Meadowlands at two trapping sites that were the most heavily contaminated by metals. Snapping turtles from the brackish-water area had an unusually low lipid content of body fat and reduced growth compared to turtles from the fresh-water areas in New Jersey and Maryland. Despite the serious metal contamination of the Hackensack Meadowlands, the metal content of kidneys and livers from New Jersey turtles was low and not greatly different from that of the Maryland turtles. Organochlorine pesticide concentrations in body fat were generally low at all three study areas. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) concentrations in fat were highest in male turtles from the New Jersey brackish-water area. Analysis of blood for amino-levulinic acid dehydratase, albumin, glucose, hemoglobin, osmolality, packed cell volume, total protein, triglycerides, and uric acid failed to reveal any differences among groups that would indicate physiological impairment related to contaminants.

Maryland, New Jersey↗
USGS1985

Environmental contamination in the oil fields of western Pennsylvania

The effects on freshwater wildlife of chronic exposure to oil field discharges are not well known. Collections of wastewater, aquatic invertebrates, fish, salamanders, and small mammals were made in several streams in the oil fields of western Pennsylvania during 1980-81. Estimates of the petroleum content of two wastewater discharges were high (21.9 and 8.4 ppm) and one was low (0.3 ppm). Water conductivity was inversely related to aquatic invertebrate biomass. Hydrocarbons accumulated in significantly greater amounts in crayfish, fish, and small mammals from collection sites with oil extraction activity than from sites without oil extraction activity. Estimates of total petroleum in invertebrates, trout, and suckers averaged between 200 and 280 ppm for oil extraction sites and between 8 and 80 ppm for sites without oil extraction activity: Oil extraction activity did not affect metal accumulation by fish. Oil and wastewater discharges in oil fields disrupt community composition and can cause an overall reduction in stream productivity.

Oil and Petrochemical Pollution↗
USGS1984

Ecological considerations for the use of dispersants in oil spill response

A multidisciplinary task force with membership from government agencies, academia, and industry is developing ecologically based guidelines for dispersant use in marine and estuarine environments. The guidelines are organized by habitat type (e.g., coral reefs, rocky shores, bird habitats) and consider dispersant use to protect the habitats from impact, to mitigate impacts, and to clean the habitats after a spill. Each guideline contains a description of the habitat type covered, recommendations for dispersant use, and a background section reviewing the relevant literature. The goal is to minimize the ecological impacts of oil spills. Aesthetic, socioeconomic, and political factors are not considered, although it is recognized that these are important concerns during spill response. Use of dispersants is considered along with other appropriate countermeasures and compared with the “no cleanup” alternative.

Book chapter↗
USGS1983

FLIT-MLO and No. 2 fuel oil: Effects of aerosol applications to mallard eggs on hatchability and behavior of ducklings

FLIT-MLO and No. 2 fuel oil are sprayed on wetlands for mosquito control during spring and summer. In one experiment to assess the effects of the spraying on birds, mallard eggs were sprayed with amounts of No. 2 fuel oil equivalent to 2.34, 4.67, or 18.70 liters/ha or FLIT-MLO equivalent to 9.35, 46.75, or 140.25 liters/ha on Day 6 of incubation. In a second experiment, mallard eggs were sprayed with 9.35, 46.75, or 140.25 liters/ha of FLIT-MLO on Days 3, 6, 12, or 18 of incubation. Hatchability of eggs sprayed with the highest treatment level of each substance was significantly lower than that of controls for the first experiment. Hatchability of eggs sprayed with FLIT-MLO in the second experiment was never significantly lower than that of controls. Ducklings from the first experiment, 36-48 hr old, were cold stressed for 1 hr at 8 degrees C and then immediately tested for their ability to respond to a fright stimulus. Ducklings from the group of eggs sprayed with 140.25 liters/ha of FLIT-MLO ran a significantly shorter distance from the fright stimulus than did controls. The effects of the heaviest exposure to FLIT-MLO (140.25 liters/ha) on egg hatchability and behavior of newly hatched young are uncertain because of the contradictory results for hatching success in the two experiments. However, normal applications of FLIT-MLO (9.35-46.75 liters/ha) or No. 2 fuel oil (2.34-4.67 liters/ha) do not appear to pose a threat to the embryos of breeding birds.

Environmental Research↗
USGS1983

Effects of oil on avian reproduction: A review and discussion

Oil pollution is a highly visible form of environmental contamination that affects avian reproduction in a variety of ways. Plumage oiling causes widespread and locally severe mortality of adult birds. Egg oiling can be a serious hazard for bird embryos but only a few field observationons of this have been reported. Oil ingestion seldom kills birds directly but it causes sublethal change~ in the bodily functions and behavior of adults and nestlings. Studies of the effects of oil on avian reproduction have produced varied and, in ingestion studies, sometimes conflicting results because of inconsistent experimental design and the use of different test species and types of oil. Field experimentation with the sublethal effects of ingested oil on avian reproduction has been limited. Simulation modelling of seabird populations has shown that (l) an occasional decrease in survival of breeding adults will have a greater impact on seabird populations than an occasional decrease in reproductive success, and (2) populations of long-lived seabirds with low reproductive potential have great difficulty recovering from high one-time mortality when experiencing even small sustained annual decreases in either natality or breeding adult survival. The impact of oil-related decreases in survival or reproduction will be more noticeable at the local or colony level than at the regional or species level. Immigration, surplus breeders, and possible compensatory changes in natality and mortality resulting from population reductions usually prevent local population reductions from lasting very long (unless the species is rare or at the edge of its range). A study of west European seabird populations indicates that the natural annual mortality of the region greatly exceeds the annual mortality due to plumage oiling; effects of oil ingestion and egg oiling were not measured but were thought to be less than the mortality from plu~age oiling. Oil-related mortality, even if in addition to expected mortality, would not have a detectable impact on regional populations if environmental conditions were favorable (increased natality, decreased mortality) for the birds.

Book chapter↗
USGS1982

Effects of a chemical dispersant and crude oil on breeding ducks

Effects of chemically dispersed crude oil on mallard reproduction. Incubating female mallards were exposed to a water source treated with either Prudhoe Bay crude oil, Corexit 9527, or a combination of oil and dispersant during the first 10 da of development. Used thermocouple probes to monitor incubation temperature. Measured hatching success, incubation temperature, and survival of ducklings to 1 wk of age.

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗
USGS1982

Unweathered and weathered aviation kerosine: Chemical characterization and effects on hatching success of duck eggs

Unweathered crude and refined oils are known to be very toxic to the embryos of aquatic birds (ALBERS 1977, 19781 SEARO et ale 1978, WHITE et al. 1979, McGILL & RICHMOND 1979, and others) but the toxicity of weathered petroleum is not as well established. The toxicity of Prudhoe Bay crude oil and No. 2 fuel oil to embryos of mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) decreased only after 3 weeks and 2 weeks of weathering on a large container of fresh water (SZARO et al. 1980). Ten microliters (uL) of 4 week-old Libyan crude oil caused a significant increase in mortality among embryos of Louisiana herons (Hydranassa tricolor) but the same amount of fresh oil did not cause a significant increase in mortality. However, embryos of laughing gulls (Larus atricilla) were not significantly affected by I0 uL of 4 or 8 week-old weathered Libyan crude oil nor i0 UL of fresh oil (MACKO& KING 1980). Crude ell (i0 uL) recovered from the water surface (age unknown, but presumably slightly weathered) near the IXTOC-I oil spill site in the Gulf of Mexico did not significantly reduce the survival of mallard embryos by day 18 of incubation (D. HOFFMAN, unpublished data).

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗
USGS1980

Transfer of crude oil from contaminated water to bird eggs

Paris of breeding mallard ducks were exposed to oiled water for 2 days during the first week of incubation. Hatching success of ducks exposed to 100 ml of Prudhoe Bay crude oil per square meter of water surface was significantly less than that of controls. Hatching success of ducks exposed to 5 ml of crude oil per square meter of water surface was less than that of controls but the difference was not significant. The presence of oil on the eggs of ducks exposed to oiled water was confirmed by chemical analysis. Thermocouple probes were used to monitor the egg and nest temperatures of some of the ducks in each of the three groups. Incubation temperatures of oiled females were not significantly different from those of the controls. The incubation behavior of females exposed to oiled water and the first-week survival of their ducklings was not affected by the oil.

Environmental Research↗