Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications.

This article develops and explores a methodology for using qualitative influence diagrams in environmental policy and management to support decision-making efforts that minimize risk and increase resiliency. Influence diagrams are representations of the conditional aspects of a problem domain. Their graphical properties are useful for structuring causal knowledge relevant to policy interventions and can be used to enhance inference and inclusivity of multiple viewpoints. Qualitative components of influence diagrams are beneficial tools for identifying and examining the interactions among the critical variables in complex policy development and implementation. Policy interventions on social-environmental systems can be intuitively diagrammed for representing knowledge of critical relationships among economic, environmental, and social attributes. Examples relevant to coastal resiliency issues in the US Gulf Coast region are developed to illustrate model structures for developing qualitative influence diagrams useful for clarifying important policy intervention issues and enhancing transparency in decision making. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:381-394. Published 2018. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications.

This article develops and explores a methodology for using qualitative influence diagrams in environmental policy and management to support decision making efforts that minimize risk and increase resiliency. Influence diagrams are representations of the conditional aspects of a problem domain. Their graphical properties are useful for structuring causal knowledge relevant to policy interventions and can be used to enhance inference and inclusivity of multiple viewpoints. Qualitative components of influence diagrams are beneficial tools for identifying and examining the interactions among the critical variables in complex policy development and implementation. Policy interventions on social-environmental systems can be intuitively diagrammed for representing knowledge of critical relationships among economic, environmental, and social attributes. Examples relevant to coastal resiliency issues in the U.S. Gulf Coast region are developed to illustrate model structures for developing qualitative influence diagrams useful for clarifying important policy intervention issues and enhancing transparency in decision making. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

One health-Transdisciplinary opportunities for SETAC leadership in integrating and improving the health of people, animals, and the environment.

One Health is a collaborative, transdisciplinary effort working locally, nationally, and globally to improve health for people, animals, plants, and the environment. The term is relatively new (from ∼2003), and it is increasingly common to see One Health included by name in interinstitutional research partnerships, conferences, communications, and organizational frameworks, particularly those championed by the human health and veterinary medical communities. Environmental quality is arguably the least developed component within the One Health framework, but can be guided by expertise within the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). Despite SETAC's long history of tripartite (academic, government, business) interdisciplinary environmental science activities, the term "One Health" is seldom used in SETAC communications (i.e., many of SETAC's activities are guided by One Health, but it is called by other names in SETAC's journals, newsletters, and presentations). Accordingly, the objective of this Focus article is to introduce the One Health concept to the SETAC membership. The article discusses the origins, evolution, and utility of the One Health approach as an organizational framework and provides key examples of ways in which SETAC expertise can benefit the One Health community. The authors assert that One Health needs SETAC and, to be most effective, SETAC needs One Health. Given that One Health to date has focused too little on the environment, on ecosystems, and on contaminants, SETAC's constructive involvement in One Health presents an opportunity to accelerate actions that will ultimately better protect human and ecosystem health. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2383-2391. © 2016 SETAC.

Infrared imaging enhances retinal crystals in Bietti's crystalline dystrophy.

Infrared imaging dramatically increased the number of crystalline deposits visualized compared with clinical examination, standard color fundus photography, and red free imaging in patients with Bietti's crystalline dystrophy. We believe that this imaging modality significantly improves the sensitivity with which these lesions are detected, facilitating earlier diagnosis and may potentially serve as a prognostic indicator when examined over time.

Sustainable watersheds: integrating ecosystem services and public health.

Sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems is a worldwide priority; the integrity of these systems depends, in turn, on the integrity of the watersheds (catchments) in which they are embedded. In this article, we present the concepts, background, and scientific foundations for assessing, both nationally and at finer scales, the relationships between ecosystem services, human health, and socioeconomic values in the context of water quality, water quantity, landscapes, the condition of watersheds, and the connectivity of waters, from headwaters to estuaries and the coastal ocean. These assessments will be a foundation for what we have termed "watershed epidemiology," through which the connections between ecosystems and human health can be explored over broad spatial and temporal scales. Understanding and communicating these relationships should lead to greater awareness of the roles watersheds play in human well-being, and hence to better management and stewardship of water resources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing the research, models, and planning tools to support operational national assessments of watershed sustainability, building upon ongoing assessments of aquatic resources in streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and estuaries.

Identifying evaluation considerations for the recovery and restoration from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill: An initial appraisal of stakeholder concerns and values.

Understanding what can be achieved and what should be avoided by environmental management decisions requires an understanding of values, or what is cared about in a decision. Decision analysis provides tools and processes for constructing objectives that transparently reflect the values being considered in environmental management decisions. The present study demonstrates parts of the initial decision analysis steps for identifying a decision context and constructing objectives for the recovery and long-term restoration of the Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. From a review of multiple reports, including those developed by policy makers and nongovernmental organizations, a preliminary structuring of concerns and considerations into objectives was derived to highlight features of importance in the recovery from the spill and long-term restoration. The fundamental objectives constructed for the long-term restoration context reflect broader concerns regarding well-being and quality of life. When developed through stakeholder engagement processes, clarifying objectives can potentially 1) lend insight into the values that can be affected, 2) meaningfully include stakeholders in the decision-making process, 3) enhance transparency and communication, and 4) develop high-impact management strategies reflecting broad public interests. This article is a US government work and is in the public domain in the United States of America.

Broader perspective on ecosystem sustainability: consequences for decision making.

Although the concept of ecosystem sustainability has a long-term focus, it is often viewed from a static system perspective. Because most ecosystems are dynamic, we explore sustainability assessments from three additional perspectives: resilient systems; systems where tipping points occur; and systems subject to episodic resetting. Whereas foundations of ecosystem resilience originated in ecology, recent discussions have focused on geophysical attributes, and it is recognized that dynamic system components may not return to their former state following perturbations. Tipping points emerge when chronic changes (typically anthropogenic, but sometimes natural) push ecosystems to thresholds that cause collapse of process and function and may become permanent. Ecosystem resetting occurs when episodic natural disasters breach thresholds with little or no warning, resulting in long-term changes to environmental attributes or ecosystem function. An example of sustainability assessment of ecosystem goods and services along the Gulf Coast (USA) demonstrates the need to include both the resilient and dynamic nature of biogeomorphic components. Mountain road development in northwest Yunnan, China, makes rivers and related habitat vulnerable to tipping points. Ecosystems reset by natural disasters are also presented, emphasizing the need to understand the magnitude frequency and interrelationships among major disturbances, as shown by (i) the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting tsunami, including how unsustainable urban development exacerbates geodisaster propagation, and (ii) repeated major earthquakes and associated geomorphic and vegetation disturbances in Papua New Guinea. Although all of these ecosystem perturbations and shifts are individually recognized, they are not embraced in contemporary sustainable decision making.

Sediment quality in near coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico: influence of Hurricane Katrina.

The results of the present study represent a synoptic analysis of sediment quality in coastal waters of Lake Pontchartrain and Mississippi Sound two months after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina. Posthurricane conditions were compared to prehurricane (2000-2004) conditions, for sediment quality data. There were no exceedances of effects range median (ERM) sediment quality guideline values for chemical contaminants in any of the sediment samples collected from the Lake Pontchartrain or the Mississippi Sound study areas following the hurricane. Lower threshold effects range low (ERL) values were exceeded for As, Cd, and Ni at several stations in both survey areas, similar to levels of contamination observed prior to the hurricane. The comparison of sediment quality indicators before and after the hurricane suggests considerable stability of these systems with respect to short-term ecological impacts. Although other studies have shown storm-related changes could be detected (e.g., effects on benthic communities associated with shifts in salinity), there were no indications of widespread sediment contamination.

Accounting for natural resources and environmental sustainability: linking ecosystem services to human well-being.

One of society's greatest challenges is to sustain natural resources while promoting economic growth and quality of life. In the face of this challenge, society must measure the effectiveness of programs established to safeguard the environment. The impetus for demonstrating positive results from government-sponsored research and regulation in the United States comes from Congress (General Accountability Office; GAO) and the Executive Branch (Office of Management and Budget; OMB). The message is: regulatory and research programs must demonstrate outcomes that justify their costs. Although the concept is simple, it is a complex problem to demonstrate that environmental research, policies, and regulations cause measurable changes in environmental quality. Even where changes in environmental quality can be tracked reliably, the connections between government actions and environmental outcomes seldom are direct or straightforward. In this article, we describe emerging efforts (with emphasis on the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; EPA) to frame and measure environmental outcomes in terms of ecosystem services and values-societally and ecologically meaningful metrics for gauging how well we manage environmental resources. As examples of accounting for outcomes and values, we present a novel, low-cost method for determining relative values of multiple ecosystem services, and describe emerging research on indicators of human well-being.

Integrating omic technologies into aquatic ecological risk assessment and environmental monitoring: hurdles, achievements, and future outlook.

BACKGROUND: In this commentary we present the findings from an international consortium on fish toxicogenomics sponsored by the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (Fish Toxicogenomics-Moving into Regulation and Monitoring, held 21-23 April 2008 at the Pacific Environmental Science Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada). OBJECTIVES: The consortium from government agencies, academia, and industry addressed three topics: progress in ecotoxicogenomics, regulatory perspectives on roadblocks for practical implementation of toxicogenomics into risk assessment, and dealing with variability in data sets. DISCUSSION: Participants noted that examples of successful application of omic technologies have been identified, but critical studies are needed to relate molecular changes to ecological adverse outcome. Participants made recommendations for the management of technical and biological variation. They also stressed the need for enhanced interdisciplinary training and communication as well as considerable investment into the generation and curation of appropriate reference omic data. CONCLUSIONS: The participants concluded that, although there are hurdles to pass on the road to regulatory acceptance, omics technologies are already useful for elucidating modes of action of toxicants and can contribute to the risk assessment process as part of a weight-of-evidence approach.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's activities to prepare for regulatory and risk assessment applications of genomics information.

Genomics is expected to have significant implications for risk assessment and regulatory decision making. Since 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has undertaken a number of cross-agency activities to further prepare itself to receive, interpret, and apply genomics information for risk assessment and regulatory purposes. These activities include: (1) the issuance of an Interim Genomics Policy on the use of genomics information in risk assessments and decision making, (2) the release of the 2004 Genomics White Paper, which outlines potential applications and implications of genomics for EPA, and (3) the recent release of the external review draft of the Interim Guidance on Microarray-Based Assays, which outlines data submission, quality, analysis, management, and training considerations for such data. This manuscript discusses these activities and more recent follow-up activities with the aim of further communicating these efforts to the broader scientific and stakeholder community.

Relationship between ethinylestradiol-mediated changes in endocrine function and reproductive impairment in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes).

Many biochemical endpoints currently are used to describe endocrine function in fish; however, the sensitivity of these parameters as biomarkers of impaired reproduction or sexual development is not well understood. In the present study, adult Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) were assessed for reproductive output and endocrine function, including circulating steroid concentrations, ex vivo steroidogenesis from the gonads, aromatase activity, hepatic estrogen receptor (ER), and plasma vitellogenin (VTG) after exposure to 0, 0.2, 5, 500, and 2,000 ng/L of 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE) for 14 d. The EE altered these biochemical responses at various sites along the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis at concentrations as low as 0.2 ng/L, but it only depressed reproductive function at concentrations of 500 ng/L or greater. Offspring also had reduced ability to hatch at 500 ng/L of EE, but this concentration did not produce any other observed changes in development or sexual phenotype. The reproductive parameters correlated well with VTG, ER, and gonadosomatic index (GSI) in both sexes of adult medaka, which could be indicative of the ER-mediated mode of action for EE. Vitellogenin and ER were elevated at higher concentrations of EE in both sexes, whereas GSI was decreased. Overall, most biochemical endpoints were more sensitive than reproduction or development to exposure, indicating that reproductive function may be relatively protected.

Effects of cadmium on the reproductive axis of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes).

Cadmium (Cd) is a ubquitous element and a significant inorganic pollutant that has previously been found to bioaccumulate in reproductive organs of fish and disrupt important endocrine processes, especially those involved in synthesis, release and metabolism of hormones. Clearly, there is potential for reproductive effects in fish populations exposed to Cd, however, few studies have investigated the non-lethal consequences of Cd in fish. To this extent, adult male and female Japanese medaka were exposed to 0-10 ppb Cd for 7 weeks. Reproductive endpoints were monitored during weeks 6 and 7 of exposure and compared to physiological responses along the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, including plasma vitellogenin (VTG), hepatic estrogen receptor (ER), plasma steroids, gonadal-somatic indices (GSI), and gonadal steroid release. There were no observed effects on VTG and ER by long-term Cd exposure. However, gonadal steroid release was significantly decreased in males and females at all exposure concentrations and female plasma estradiol levels were significantly altered at concentrations higher than 5 ppb Cd. Overall, responses along the HPG axis were more sensitive to Cd exposure than the reproductive and developmental endpoints, which were not affected in this study, indicating that higher level impairment in fish might be relatively protected.

Evaluation of estrogenic activity from a municipal wastewater treatment plant with predominantly domestic input.

The purpose of this study was to survey estrogenic releases from two primarily domestic wastewater treatment plants over three seasons (1996-1999). Mature male channel catfish were maintained at two sites within each WWTP and a reference site for 21 days. Estrogenic activity of effluent was assessed by the Yeast Estrogen Screen (YES) assay (in 1999) and the expression of the female egg yolk precursor protein, vitellogenin (Vtg) in caged male channel catfish (1996-1998). Serum Vtg of animals exposed at WWTP-A was induced 220% above reference values in the Fall of 1996 and 480% in Spring of 1997. In animals exposed to effluent of WWTP-B, serum Vtg was elevated 370% in Spring of 1997 and 480% in Fall of 1997 relative to fish held in a reference location. Serum 17-beta-estradiol (E2) levels were also significantly elevated 13 and 16-fold in the Fall 1997 and Summer 1998 in the fish exposed to WWTP-A effluent. A 13.5-fold increase in serum E2 was observed in fish exposed to WWTP-B during Fall 1997. Utilizing an E2 concentration-Vtg response curve generated in the laboratory, effluent from both plants (in 1997 and 1998) had estrogen equivalent values ranging from 23 to 123 ng/l E2 equivalents. These values were comparable with YES values obtained from 1999, which indicated the presence of 21 to 147 ng/l E2 equivalents. E2 was responsible for 3 (fall) to 100% (summer) of the YES activity. Glucuronides of E2 were also observed in the treated effluent. These studies indicate that variable estrogenic activity is present in municipal wastewater resulting from domestic activities and that this activity may be significantly altered by environmental factors.

Influence of parental and developmental cadmium exposure on endocrine and reproductive function in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes).

Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous element and an important anthropogenic metal contaminant. A series of assays were modified or developed for Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes), and used to compare the effects of Cd exposure on indicators of endocrine function in adult animals previously exposed in ovo or as hatchlings. Adults were raised either from eggs produced during a 2 week exposure to 0-10 microg/l Cd or from fry exposed for 2 weeks beginning 2 days after hatching. The reproductive capacity of the resulting adults was determined during a 2 week period during which half of the animals were re-exposed to Cd. Two week Cd exposure did not result in reproductive impairment despite producing some changes in circulating steroid concentration. In addition, 1 microg/l cadmium exposure in ovo elevated male hepatic vitellogenin (VTG) relative to controls. Hence, steroid parameters were a better biomarker of cadmium exposure than changes in VTG. However, reproductive impairment was not correlated to change in VTG or plasma steroids.

Transgenerational and developmental exposure of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) to ethinylestradiol results in endocrine and reproductive differences in the response to ethinylestradiol as adults.

17alpha-Ethinylestradiol (EE), a synthetic estrogen found in birth control pills, has been detected in the effluent of municipal wastewater treatment plants in several countries. Because EE was designed to be extremely potent at the estrogen receptor (ER), environmental exposure to low concentrations has the potential to disrupt the development of normal endocrine and reproductive function when exposure occurs during critical periods in development. Japanese medaka, Oryzias latipes, were used to evaluate the effect of exposure to EE during development on adult reproduction and endocrine function and the sensitivity of these animals to estrogen exposure as adults. To determine if the response to exogenous estrogen stimulation was diminished or sensitized, adults resulting from the developmental exposure groups were reexposed to EE at respectively higher concentrations. Hatchling exposure produced no changes in adult vitellogenin (VTG) content in the liver or circulating steroid concentrations, nor was reproduction affected. Reexposure of these adults inhibited reproduction, increased hepatic VTG and ER, and increased estrogen concentration measured in male plasma. Parental exposure produced permanent changes in hepatic content of ER and VTG in the adults resulting from exposure during gametogenesis and was related to a diminished response of males to subsequent estrogen exposure. The potential for this transgenerational exposure to decrease the responsiveness of males to EE is supported by comparing the concentration-response curves for hepatic VTG and ER in males exposed in ovo and as hatchlings. Our results indicate that the relationship between biomarkers and estrogen exposure will be altered by the timing and frequency of exposure.