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A landscape-based reconnaissance survey of estrogenic activity in streams of the upper Potomac, upper James, and Shenandoah Rivers, USA

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Abstract

Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) are becoming of increasing concern in waterways of the USA and worldwide. What remains poorly understood, however, is how prevalent these emerging contaminants are in the environment and what methods are best able to determine landscape sources of EDCs. We describe the development of a spatially structured sampling design and a reconnaissance survey of estrogenic activity along gradients of land use within sub-watersheds. We present this example as a useful approach for state and federal agencies with an interest in identifying locations potentially impacted by EDCs that warrant more intensive, focused research. Our study confirms the importance of agricultural activities on levels of a measured estrogenic equivalent (E2Eq) and also highlights the importance of other potential sources of E2Eq in areas where intensive agriculture is not the dominant land use. Through application of readily available geographic information system (GIS) data, coupled with spatial statistical analysis, we demonstrate the correlation of specific land use types to levels of estrogenic activity across a large area in a consistent and unbiased manner.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the USGS Priority Ecosystems Program. We thank John B. Churchill and Rachel Shirley for assistance with GIS analysis and Marcus Springmann for assistance in the collection of water samples. We also thank John Sanseverino (Center for Environmental Biotechnology, University of Tennessee) for the strain BLYES. Any use of trade names does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aquatic Ecology Branch, USGS Leetown Science Center, 11649 Leetown Road, Kearneysville, WV, 25430, USA

    John Young

  2. Fish Health Branch, USGS Leetown Science Center, 11649 Leetown Road, Kearneysville, WV, 25430, USA

    Luke Iwanowicz & Vicki Blazer

  3. College of Agriculture and Forestry, West Virginia University, PO Box 6125, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Adam Sperry

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  1. John Young
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Correspondence to John Young.

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Young, J., Iwanowicz, L., Sperry, A. et al. A landscape-based reconnaissance survey of estrogenic activity in streams of the upper Potomac, upper James, and Shenandoah Rivers, USA. Environ Monit Assess 186, 5531–5545 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3801-y

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