Neil Burgess

Wildlife Toxicologist - Wildlife Toxicology Research & Monitoring in Atlantic Canada

6 Bruce Street (Mount Pearl, NL)

CURRENT S&T / RESEARCH - Assessing the impacts of toxic chemicals on wildlife health and populations in Atlantic Canada

• Studying the bioaccumulation of mercury in aquatic ecosystems and mercury impacts on common loons and seabirds
• Monitoring long-term trends of persistent toxic chemicals in Atlantic seabirds and ocean ecosystems
• Studying the impacts of PCBs on seabird chicks at a contaminated site in the Canadian Arctic
• Monitoring long-term trends of persistent toxic chemicals in European starlings and terrestrial ecosystems in Atlantic Canada
• Developing an ecological risk assessment of mercury impacts on fish and wildlife across Canada

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES / INTERESTS

Leader of scientific team assessing the biological impacts of mercury in Canada under Environment Canada's Clean Air Regulatory Agenda

Member of the international Northeast Loon Study Workgroup

Co-supervised or mentored graduate students or post-doctoral fellows at: Acadia University, Antioch University, Atlantic Veterinary College, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Queen's University, and University of New Brunswick

KEY PUBLICATIONS

Depew, D.C., Basu, N., Burgess, N.M., Campbell, L.M., Devlin, E.W., Drevnick, P., Hammerschmidt, C.R., Murphy, C.A., Sandheinrich, M.B., and Wiener, J.G. 2012. Toxicity of dietary methylmercury to fish: Derivation of ecologically meaningful threshold concentrations. Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry. online doi: 10.1002/etc.1859

Sunderland, E., Amirbahman, A., Burgess, N.M., Dalziel, J., Harding, G., Jones, S.H., Kamai, E., Karagas, M.R., Shi, X., and Chen, C.Y. 2012. Mercury sources and fate in the Gulf of Maine. Environmental Research. online doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2012.03.011.

Chen, D., Letcher, R.J., Burgess, N.M., Champoux, L., Elliott, J.E., Hebert, C.E., Martin, P., Wayland, M., Weseloh, C.D., and Wilson, L. 2012. Flame retardants in eggs of four gull species (Laridae) from breeding sites spanning Atlantic to Pacific Canada. Environmental Pollution. online doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2012.03.040

Gebbink, W.A., Letcher, R.J., Burgess, N.M., Champoux, L., Elliott, J.E., Hebert, C.E., Martin, P., Wayland, M., Weseloh, D.V.C., and Wilson, L. 2011. Perfluoroalkyl carboxylates and sulfonates and precursors in relation to dietary source tracers in the eggs of four species of gulls (Larids) from breeding sites spanning Atlantic to Pacific Canada. Environment International. 37: 1175-1182.

Wyn, B., Kidd, K.A., Burgess, N.M., Curry, R.A., and Munkittrick, K.R. 2010. Increasing mercury in yellow perch at a hotspot in Atlantic Canada, Kejimkujik National Park. Environmental Science & Technology. 44: 9176-9181.

Brown, T.M., Sheldon, T.A., Burgess, N.M., and Reimer, K.J. 2009. Reduction of PCB contamination in an Arctic coastal ecosystem: a first step in assessing ecosystem recovery after the removal of a point source. Environmental Science &.Technology. 43: 7635-7642.