Contaminants and Ecological Subsidies

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Introduction: Ecological Subsidies as a Framework for Understanding Contaminant Fate, Exposure, and Effects at the Land-Water Interface

   • David M. Walters, Johanna M. Kraus, Marc A. Mills

   Pages 1-14

3. Ecological Subsidies Drive Exposure

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15

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   2. Ecological Factors Controlling Insect-Mediated Methyl Mercury Flux from Aquatic to Terrestrial Ecosystems: Lessons Learned from Mesocosm and Pond Experiments

      • Matthew M. Chumchal, Ray W. Drenner

      Pages 17-33

   3. Pathways of Contaminant Transport Across the Aquatic-Terrestrial Interface: Implications for Terrestrial Consumers, Ecosystems, and Management

      • Ralf Schulz, Mirco Bundschuh

      Pages 35-57

4. Exposure Drives Ecological Subsidies

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 59-59

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   2. Agriculture and Mining Contamination Contribute to a Productivity Gradient Driving Cross-Ecosystem Associations Between Stream Insects and Riparian Arachnids

      • Francis J. Burdon

      Pages 61-90

   3. Cross-Ecosystem Linkages and Trace Metals at the Land-Water Interface

      • Johanna M. Kraus, Justin P. F. Pomeranz

      Pages 91-109

   4. Metamorphosis and the Impact of Contaminants on Ecological Subsidies

      • Jeff Wesner, Johanna M. Kraus, Brianna Henry, Jacob Kerby

      Pages 111-125

5. Other Global Stressors

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 127-127

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   2. Variables Affecting Resource Subsidies from Streams and Rivers to Land and their Susceptibility to Global Change Stressors

      • Jeffrey D. Muehlbauer, Stefano Larsen, Micael Jonsson, Erik J. S. Emilson

      Pages 129-155

   3. Beyond “Donors and Recipients”: Impacts of Species Gains and Losses Reverberate Among Ecosystems Due to Changes in Resource Subsidies

      • Scott F. Collins, Colden V. Baxter

      Pages 157-176

6. Management Applications and Tools

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 177-177

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   2. Practical Considerations for the Incorporation of Insect-Mediated Contaminant Flux into Ecological Risk Assessments

      • Ryan R. Otter, Gale B. Beaubien, Connor I. Olson, David M. Walters, Marc A. Mills

      Pages 179-195

   3. When Nutrients Become Contaminants in Aquatic Systems: Identifying Responses to Guide Terrestrial-Derived Detrital Endpoint Development for Managers

      • Michelle A. Evans-White, Candice Bauer, Sally A. Entrekin

      Pages 197-251

   4. Mesocosms to Evaluate Aquatic-Terrestrial Contaminant Linkages Using Aquatic Insect Emergence: Utility for Aquatic Life Criteria Development

      • Christopher J. Kotalik

      Pages 253-278

   5. Studying Effects of Contaminants on Aquatic-Terrestrial Subsidies: Experimental Designs Using Outdoor and Indoor Mesocosms and Microcosms

      • Mirco Bundschuh, Jochen P. Zubrod, Matthias V. Wieczorek, Ralf Schulz

      Pages 279-296

7. Syntheses

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 297-297

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   2. Ecological Networks as a Framework for Understanding and Predicting Contaminant Movement Across the Land-Water Interface

      • S. Mažeika Patricio Sullivan, Daniel A. Cristol

      Pages 299-341

   3. Synthesis: A Framework for Predicting the Dark Side of Ecological Subsidies

      • Johanna M. Kraus, Jeff Wesner, David M. Walters

      Pages 343-372

This volume explores the effects of aquatic contaminants on ecological subsidies and food web exposure at the boundary of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. It provides the first synthesis of the findings and principles governing the “dark side” of contaminant effects on ecological subsidies. Furthermore, the volume provides extensive coverage of the tools being developed to help managers and researchers better understand the implications of contaminants movement and their effects on natural resources and ecosystem processes.  


Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are linked through movements of energy and nutrients which subsidize recipient food webs. As a result, contaminants that concentrate in aquatic systems because of the effects of gravity on water and organic matter have the potential to impact both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem processes. Within the last decade, increased attention has been paid to this phenomenon, particularly the effects of aquatic contaminants on resource and contaminant export to terrestrial consumers, and the potential implications for management. This volume, curated and edited by three field leaders, incorporates empirical results, management applications and theoretical synthesis and is a key reference for academics, government researchers and consultants.

• aquatic contaminants
• terrestrial food webs
• contaminant transfer
• insect-mediated contaminant fluxes
• Trace metals
• cross-ecosystem linkages
• Contamination from hydraulic fracturing
• aquatic subsidies

• Columbia Environmental Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia, USA

  Johanna M. Kraus, David M. Walters

• National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, USA

  Marc A. Mills

Johanna M. Kraus, Ph.D. is a Research Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center where she applies principles of community ecology to study the effects of chemical contaminants on food webs, biodiversity and environmental health in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. She began her career with the USGS in 2011 researching how trace metals from acid rock drainage impact adult aquatic insect emergence and contaminant flux to terrestrial insectivores near mountain streams. Since then she has improved understanding of how chemical contaminants impact linked aquatic-terrestrial food webs using large empirical field studies, laboratory manipulations and conceptual modelling. Dr. Kraus received her B.A. in Biology from Brown University and Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Virginia.

David M. Walters, Ph.D. is a Research Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Columbia Environmental Research Center. His research focuses on the effects of human stressors on the form, function, and structure of aquatic and riparian ecosystems with an emphasis on food web dynamics and contaminants. He began his career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Exposure Research Laboratory in 2002 before joining the USGS in 2008. His publications have addressed the impacts of contaminants, land use and climate change, invasive species, and hydrologic alteration on aquatic and riparian organisms and are geared toward furthering the conservation and restoration of these valued ecosystems. He received an M.S. and Ph.D. from the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia.

Marc A. Mills, Ph.D. is an Environmental Engineer at the U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development and is a principal investigator for projects characterizing the occurrence, transport, and fate of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and legacy contaminants in the environment and the management of contaminated sediments. Dr. Mills leads research to identify sources of contaminants to aquatic systems and tracing their movement through the environment and food webs. He also leads the development of analytical methods for CECs (e.g. PFAS, EDCs, PPCPs) and stable isotope chemistry for environmental samples in water, wastewater, solids, and tissues at the Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response (CESER) for U.S. EPA. These methods are used to characterize potential sources of CECs and legacy contaminants, their management in water, wastewater treatment, water bodies, and new technology development. Dr. Mills has a B.S. in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Texas A&M University and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the Texas A&M University.

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