Beginning in the late 1970s, Kesterson Reservoir was used for disposal of subsurface drainage from agricultural fields in California's San Joaquin Valley. During 1983-1985, studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of chemicals in this agricultural drainwater on aquatic birds using Kesterson Reservoir. These studies included analyses of food-chain biota (such as plants, aquatic invertebrat...

Many regulatory authorities set water quality objectives or thresholds based on nutrient concentrations to safeguard aquatic ecosystem health. But do these criteria adequately assess the biological and ecological status? Our research has been focussing on the performance of constructed wetlands for water quality improvement and ecosystem health. In this paper we present data on macroinvertebrat...

The use of seabirds as sentinels of the condition of aquatic ecosystems has been well-established. Large environmental perturbations to aquatic food webs (e.g., chemical contamination, overfishing, particulate pollution) have all been detected or monitored by tracking seabirds at colonies. However, seabirds may elicit more subtle, sublethal responses that can also be used to track ecosystem hea...

Aquatic animal diseases are the most significant constraint to the development and management of aquaculture worldwide. As aquaculture is growing rapidly and poised to help in bridging the gap in the global supply and demand of aquatic animal food products, management of health and reducing losses due to disease in aquaculture is gaining high priority. One of the key areas of success in managin...

Members of the Vibrio genus are autochthonous inhabitants of aquatic environments and play vital roles in sustaining the aquatic milieu. The genus comprises about 100 species, which are mostly of marine or freshwater origin, and their classification is frequently updated due to the continuous discovery of novel species. The main route of transmission of Vibrio pathogens to man is through drinki...

Many non-native aquatic species have been introduced into the United States. Some benefit society by providing food, recreational opportunities, and the associated socio-economic activity. But some introduced species that have escaped or been released are undesirable additions to aquatic ecosystems because they cause ecological or economic harm or are dangerous to human health. These are called...

The aquatic environment has broad rehabilitative potential, extending from the treatment of acute injuries through health maintenance in the face of chronic diseases, yet it remains an underused modality. There is an extensive research base supporting aquatic therapy, both within the basic science literature and clinical literature. This article describes the many physiologic changes that occur...

The objective of this study was to investigate the aquatic-toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether with four different glyoxal concentrations (0%, 1.4%, 2.3%, and 6.3%) in response to global chemical regulations, e.g., European Union Classification, Labeling and Packaging (EU CLP). Toxicity tests of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether on 11 different microbial strains, Microcystis ae...

Disordered eating behavior (DE) and eating disorders (EDs) are of great concern because of their associations with physical and mental health risks and, in the case of athletes, impaired performance. The syndrome originally known as the Female Athlete Triad, which focused on the interaction of energy availability, reproductive function, and bone health in female athletes, has recently been expa...