Synthetic plastics are ubiquitously used in a broad range of applications, including food and drink packaging. Plastics often contain chemical additives, including bisphenols, phthalates, and terephthalic acid, which can degrade under thermal stress. The environmental presence of these chemicals is cause for public concern, especially in consumer products that utilize plastic packaging, as many have been identified as endocrine disruptors. This study sought to determine exposure to phthalates, bisphenols, and terephthalic acid by quantifying a broad spectrum of these analytes within three bottled water brands at varying temperature exposure levels using the combination of solid phase extraction followed by isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Monobenzyl phthalate was detected in two of the three brands after bottles were heated to ~100 °C, ranging from 98 – 107 ng/L, and bisphenol A was detected in one brand at ~100 °C at an average concentration of 748 ± 36 ng/L. Subsequent mass loading calculations demonstrated that bioaccumulation of BPA from Brand C after high levels of temperature exposure well exceeded the tolerable daily intake (TDI). Findings in this study indicate that consumers should not be expected to incur harmful exposures to the target compounds under normal conditions as analytes were not measured in water bottle samples at 25 °C or 60 °C. Further studies should explore a more nuisance approach to heating over long durations, including that of ultraviolet exposure.

Animals use diverse signal types (e.g. visual, auditory) to honestly advertise their genotypic and/or phenotypic quality to prospective mates or rivals. Behavioral displays and other dynamically updateable signals (e.g. songs, vibrations) can reliably reveal an individual’s quality in real-time, but it is unclear whether more fixed traits like feather coloration, which is often developed months before breeding, still reveal an individual’s quality at the time of signal use. To address this gap, we investigated if various indices of health and condition – including body condition (residual body mass), poxvirus infection, degree of habitat urbanization, and circulating levels of ketones, glucose, vitamins, and carotenoids – were related to the expression of male plumage coloration at the start of the spring breeding season in wild male house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus), a species in which many studies have demonstrated a link between plumage redness and the health and condition of individuals at the time the feathers are grown in late summer and autumn. We found that, at the time of pair formation, plumage hue was correlated with body condition, such that redder males were in better condition (i.e. higher residual mass). Also, as in previous studies, we found that rural males had redder plumage; however, urban males had more saturated plumage. In sum, these results reveal that feather coloration developed long before breeding still can be indicative to choosy mates of a male’s current condition and suggest that females who prefer to mate with redder males may also gain proximate material benefits (e.g. better incubation provisioning) by mating with these individuals in good current condition.

Diabetes affects millions of people globally and can lead to other severe health complications when undiagnosed or not properly managed. The incidence of diabetes has rapidly increased over the past several years, however, not all individuals have access to affordable or convenient healthcare. We hypothesize that wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has the potential to assess community health status by analyzing biomarkers indicative of human health and disease, including diabetes. Used in tandem with current methods, monitoring indicators of diabetes in community wastewater could provide a comprehensive assessment tool for disease prevalence in large and small populations. Specifically, the proposed targeted biomarker evaluated in this study to indicate population-wide diabetes prevalence was 8-hydroxy-2’- deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). This work combines a rigorous literature review and initial laboratory studies to explore the possibility of diabetes monitoring at the community level using WBE. Here, 24-hour composite wastewater samples were collected from within two wastewater sub-catchments of Greater Tempe, AZ. Overall goals of this study were to: i) Determine the feasibility to detect endogenous markers of diabetes in community wastewater; ii) Assess the potential impact of confounding factors, such as smoking, cancer, and atherosclerosis, through a literature analysis; and iii) Evaluate the socioeconomic status and demographics of the study population. Preliminary results of the experiments suggest this methodology to be feasible, as indicated by the observation of detectable signals of 8-OHdG in community wastewater collected from the sewer infrastructure; however, future work and continued experimentation will be required to address low signal intensity and assay precision and accuracy. Thus, the work presented here provides valuable proof-of-concept data, with detailed information on the method employed and identified opportunities to further determine the relationship between 8-OHdG concentrations in municipal wastewater and diabetes prevalence at the community level.

Diabetes affects millions of people globally and can lead to other severe health complications when undiagnosed or not properly managed. The incidence of diabetes has rapidly increased over the past several years, however, not all individuals have access to affordable or convenient healthcare. We hypothesize that wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has the potential to assess community health status by analyzing biomarkers indicative of human health and disease, including diabetes. Used in tandem with current methods, monitoring indicators of diabetes in community wastewater could provide a comprehensive assessment tool for disease prevalence in large and small populations. Specifically, the proposed targeted biomarker evaluated in this study to indicate population-wide diabetes prevalence was 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). This work combines a rigorous literature review and initial laboratory studies to explore the possibility of diabetes monitoring at the community level using WBE. Here, 24-hour composite wastewater samples were collected from within two wastewater sub-catchments of Greater Tempe, AZ. Overall goals of this study were to: i) Determine the feasibility to detect endogenous markers of diabetes in community wastewater; ii) Assess the potential impact of confounding factors, such as smoking, cancer, and atherosclerosis, through a literature analysis; and iii) Evaluate the socioeconomic status and demographics of the study population. Preliminary results of the experiments suggest this methodology to be feasible, as indicated by the observation of detectable signals of 8-OHdG in community wastewater collected from the sewer infrastructure; however, future work and continued experimentation will be required to address low signal intensity and assay precision and accuracy. Thus, the work presented here provides valuable proof-of-concept data, with detailed information on the method employed and identified opportunities to further determine the relationship between 8-OHdG concentrations in municipal wastewater and diabetes prevalence at the community level.

Bioindicators of wildlife health are useful tools for studying the viability of various organisms and populations, and can include a range of phenotypic variables, such as behavior, body size, and physiological parameters, such as circulating hormones and nutrients. Few studies have investigated the utility of total plasma protein as a predictor of environmental or nutritional variation among birds, as well as variation across different seasons and life-history stages. Here I examined relationships between plasma protein and season, urbanization, sex, body condition, molt status, and disease state in house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus). I sampled blood from house finches across three seasons (winter, summer and fall 2021) and measured plasma protein levels using a Bradford assay. I also collected data including condition, sex, and poxvirus infection state at capture, as well as fecal samples to assess gut parasitism (coccidiosis). During the fall season I also estimated molt status, as number of actively growing feathers. I found circulating plasma protein concentration to be lower in the fall during molt than during winter or summer. I also found a significant relationship between circulating protein levels and capture site, as well as novel links to molt state and pox presence, with urban birds, those infected with pox, and those in more intense molt having higher protein levels. My results support the hypotheses that plasma protein concentration can be indicative of a bird’s body molt (which demands considerable protein for feather synthesis) and degree of habitat urbanization, although future work is needed to determine why protein levels were higher in virus-infected birds.