The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the US, and provides critical resources to fish, wildlife and people that use the 64,000 square mile watershed. For more than a decade, adverse effects potentially associated with exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been observed in the Bay watershed. Our goal is to provide the scientific data and understanding about the environmental transport, fate, exposure pathways, and ecological effects of EDCs and pathogens using a combination of field and laboratory studies, geospatial analyses and risk assessment models. The USGS has a critical role to provide scientific information and work with Federal, State, and academic science partners to develop research and monitoring [...]
Summary
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the US, and provides critical resources to fish, wildlife and people that use the 64,000 square mile watershed. For more than a decade, adverse effects potentially associated with exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been observed in the Bay watershed. Our goal is to provide the scientific data and understanding about the environmental transport, fate, exposure pathways, and ecological effects of EDCs and pathogens using a combination of field and laboratory studies, geospatial analyses and risk assessment models. The USGS has a critical role to provide scientific information and work with Federal, State, and academic science partners to develop research and monitoring strategies and communicate implications to enhance ecosystem management for the Bay. Emphasis will be placed on addressing these issues on public and DOI managed landscapes. The project is a 5 year effort funded through the USGS Environmental Health Mission Area.
