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Custer, Christine M

Concentrations of 31 metals, metalloids, and other elements were measured in insects and insectivorous bird tissues from three drainages with different geochemistry and mining histories in Summit Co., Colorado, in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In insect samples, all 25 elements that were analyzed in all years increased in both Snake and Deer Creeks in the mining impacted areas compared to areas above and below the mining impacted areas. This distribution of elements was predicted from known or expected sediment contamination resulting from abandoned mine tailings in those drainages. Element concentrations in avian liver tissues were in concordance with levels in insects, that is with concentrations higher in mid-drainage...
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Tree swallow nest boxes were deployed at sites proximal to two putative aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) sources in the Duluth, MN area, as well as along the St. Louis River and a reference lake for comparative purposes. The two AFFF sites were the current Duluth Air National Guard Base (ANG) and the Lake Superior College Emergency Response Training Center. Concentrations of between 13 and 40 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), depending on year, were quantified in tree swallow egg, nestling carcasses, and stomach contents. Assessments were made for oxidative stress and ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase biomarker responses in liver tissue, thyroid hormone levels in plasma and thyroid glands, DNA damage in red...
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