Eastern Geographic Science Center
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Description of Current Projects | |||||
Endocrine Disruptors in the Chesapeake Bay - Using GIS to identify potential EDC sources and vulnerable fish communities
Principal Investigator: Daniel Jones, U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Geographic Science Center The Science Issue and Relevance Methodology for Addressing the Issue This project utilizes landscape features such as watershed characteristics, hydrology, BMPs, point and non-point sources of EDCs, and ecologically important habitats, for example, spawning and nursery grounds, to develop a relative risk assessment of EDC exposure for key indicator species at the Bay-scale. Information gained from this work can also be used to evaluate mitigation actions and help guide site-scale risk assessment models by prioritizing potential EDC sources, BMPs, and habitats. Locations of historic and ongoing EDC research efforts within the Bay are cataloged and assembled along with contaminant, habitat, BMP, and species distribution data in a geographic information system (GIS). Future Steps Document less-reported non-point source EDC sources such as septic systems and fecal indicator bacteria in addition to established sources such as animal feeding operations and WWTPs. Key Words: Endocrine disrupting compounds, Chesapeake Bay, fish health, environmental health Contact Information: Daniel Jones 240-620-7822 dkjones@usgs.gov |