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Using Wildlife as Receptor Species: A Landscape Approach to Ecological Risk Assessment

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Abstract

To assist risk assessors at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS), a Geographic Information System (GIS) application was developed to provide relevant information about specific receptor species of resident wildlife that can be used for ecological risk assessment. Information was obtained from an extensive literature review of publications and reports on vertebrate- and contaminant-related research since 1954 and linked to a GIS. Although this GIS is a useful tool for risk assessors because the data quality is high, it does not describe the species’ site-wide spatial distribution or life history, which may be crucial when developing a risk assessment. Specific receptor species on the SRS were modeled to provide an estimate of an overall distribution (probability of being in an area). Each model is a stand-alone tool consisting of algorithms independent of the GIS data layers to which it is applied and therefore is dynamic and will respond to changes such as habitat disturbances and natural succession. This paper describes this modeling process and demonstrates how these resource selection models can then be used to produce spatially explicit exposure estimates. This approach is a template for other large federal facilities to establish a framework for site-specific risk assessments that use wildlife species as endpoints.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded through the Financial Assistance Award DE-FC09-96SR18546 from the U.S. Department of Energy to the University of Georgia Research Foundation. We thank T. G. Chandler, H. N. McKellar, and M. E. Hodgson for reviewing earlier versions of the manuscript for this paper. We also thank J. M. Novak, J. Snodgrass, A. L. Bryan, Jr., R. A. Kennamer, and D. J. Karapatakis, for their contributions to the receptor species model development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Carolina, Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, South Carolina, 29208

    Karen F. Gaines & Dwayne E. Porter

  2. Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina, 29808

    Susan A. Dyer & Gary R. Wein

  3. Colorado State University, Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523

    John E. Pinder III

  4. The University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina, 29802

    I. Lehr Brisbin Jr.

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  1. Karen F. Gaines
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  2. Dwayne E. Porter
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  3. Susan A. Dyer
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  4. Gary R. Wein
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  5. John E. Pinder III
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  6. I. Lehr Brisbin Jr.
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Current address: Biology Department, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 57069

Appendix:

Appendix:

Receptor species list compiled for use in ecological risk assessment activities on the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) that use wildlife as endpoints using EPA criteria (USEPA 1997)a

I. Birds (21 species)

Common Name

Scientific Name

American Coot

Fulica americana

American Crow

Corvus brachyrhynchos

Anhinga

Anhinga anhinga

Bachman’s Sparrow

Aimophila aestivalis

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Barn Swallow

Hirundo rustica

Black Vulture

Coragyps atratus

Eastern Bluebird

Sialia sialis

Eastern Screech Owl

Otus asio

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Mallard Duck

Anas platyrynchos

Mourning Dove

Zenaida macroura

Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottos

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Picoides borealis

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Wild Turkey

Meleagris gallopavo

Wood Duck

Aix sponsa

Wood Stork

Mycteria americana

II. Mammals (17 species)

Common Name

Scientific Name

Beaver

Castor canadensis

Bobcat

Felis rufus

Cotton Mouse

Peromyscus gossypinus

Cotton Rat

Sigmodon hispidus

Eastern Cottontail

Sylvilagus floridanus

Eastern Coyote

Canis latrans

Eastern Mole

Scalopus aquaticus

Feral Hog

Sus scrofa

Gray Fox

Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Gray Squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis

Mink

Mustela vison

Raccoon

Procyon lotor

Seminole Bat

Lasiurus seminolis

Southern Flying Squirrel

Glaucomys volans

Southern Short-tailed Shrew

Blarina carolinensis

Virginia Opossum

Didelphis virginiana

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

III. Reptiles and amphibians (16 species)

Common Name

Scientific Name

American Alligator

Alligator mississippiensis

Brown Water Snake

Nerodia taxispilota

Bullfrog

Rana catesbeiana

Common Snapping Turtle

Chelydra serpentina

Eastern Box Turtle

Terrapene carolina

Eastern Mud Turtle

Kinosternon subrubrum

Gray Rat Snake

Elaphe obsoleta

Green Anole

Anolis carolinensis

Green Treefrog

Hyla cinerea

Ground Skink

Scincella laterale

Leopard Frog

Rana utricularia

Marbled Salamander

Ambystoma opacum

Mole Salamander

Ambystoma talpoideum

Mudpuppy

Necturus maculosus

Southern Toad

Bufo terrestris

Yellow-bellied Slider

Trachemys scripta

IV. Fish (16 species)

Common Name

Scientific Name

Bluegill

Lepomis macrochirus

Bluehead Chub

Nocomis leptocephalus

Channel Catfish

Ictalurus punctatus

Dusky Shiner

Notropis cummingsae

Eastern Mosquitofish

Gambusia holbrooki

Gizzard Shad

Dorosoma cepedianum

Lake Chubsucker

Erimyzon sucetta

Largemouth Bass

Micropterus salmoides

Redbreast Sunfish

Lepomis auritus

Sailfin Shiner

Pteronotropis hypselopterus

Shortnose Sturgeon

Acipenser brevirostrum

Spotted Sucker

Minytrema melanops

Tadpole Madtom

Noturus gyrinus

Tessellated Darter

Etheostoma olmstedi

Yellow Bullhead

Ameiurus natalis

Yellowfin Shiner

Notropis lutipinnis

  1. aReceptor species chosen from this list met at least one or more of these criteria. The goal was to use these criteria to develop a list that was appropriate for habitats and the contaminant concerns of the SRS. The list is taxonomically diverse, sensitive to rare species, and includes abundant species that could be used both as surrogates and focal receptors. Because hunting is allowed on and near the SRS, every attempt was made to include game species for human health assessment.

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Gaines, K., Porter, D., Dyer, S. et al. Using Wildlife as Receptor Species: A Landscape Approach to Ecological Risk Assessment. Environmental Management 34, 528–545 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-004-0261-0

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