Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Home About Director's Overview History of Center Employee Directory Map to Center Partners State Field Stations Lake City, Minnesota La Crosse, Wisconsin Bellevue, Iowa Great Rivers, Illinois Open River, Missouri Havana, Illinois Field Station Directory Science Programs Aquatic Ecosystem Health River Ecology Long Term Resource Monitoring Wildlife Ecology Geospatial Sciences and Technology Science Initiatives Science Topics Data and Tools Publications Software Multimedia News

Wildlife Toxicology

Study site locations: Colorado - Deer and Snake Creeks

Trace element concentrations in bird tissues and food (aquatic insects) were elevated in mid-drainage areas where abandoned mines were present, however, concentrations were below effect-levels for birds.  The graph below for cobalt is similar to the pattern for other trace elements.

Custer, C.M., C. Yang, J.G. Crock, V. Shern-Bochsler, K.S. Smith, and P.L. Hageman. 2009. Exposure of insects and insectivorous birds to metals and other elements from abandoned mine tailings in three Summit County drainages, Colorado. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 153:161-177. (Abstract)

Page Last Modified: April 3, 2018