Dr. Gaines’ research interests primarily focus on wildlife toxicology at the landscape level. Most of her work involves developing spatial models that predict how different wildlife species may be exposed to contaminants such as radionuclides, metals and organics and how that may impact environmental health. Her work also focuses on spatially explicit biokinetic models for a variety of wildlife species. To accomplish this, she studies energy flow within different environmental systems (using stable isotopes). Dr. Gaines applies her research by developing tools within a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework to aid in ecological risk assessments. She works closely with and has been funded by the Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), as well as other national and international organizations. Graduate students who are interested in working with Dr. Gaines should have a general background in wildlife ecology and interests in learning GIS techniques to explore questions regarding environmental health.
Wildlife Ecology and Management
Responses of Bats to Forest Fragmentation in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, Arkansas, USA (with Rex E. Medlin Jr., Matthew B. Connior, and Thomas S. Risch), Diversity (2010)
Intense conversion of bottomland hardwood forests to rice and soybeans in the Mississippi River Valley...
Nest characteristics of the Clapper Rail in coastal Georgia (with James C. Cumbee Jr. and Warren L. Stephens Jr.), Journal of Field Ornithology (2003)
The nesting habitat of the Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris) is not well studied in the...
Coastal Habitat Use by Wood Storks during the Non-Breeding Season (with A. L. Bryan Jr. and C. S. Eldridge), Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology (2002)
We documented roosting and foraging habitat use by Wood Storks during the post-breeding season in...
The Effects of Drought on Foraging Habitat Selection of Breeding Wood Storks in Coastal Georgia (with A. Lawrence Bryan Jr. and Philip M. Dixon), Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology (2000)
Foraging habitat use by Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) during the breeding season was studied for...
Foraging habitat use by wood storks nesting in the coastal zone of Georgia, USA (with A. Lawrence Bryan Jr., Philip M. Dixon, and Michael J. Harris), Colonial Waterbirds (1998)
We studied foraging habitat use of Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) from three coastal colonies us-...
Contaminant Mobility
Feathers as Bioindicators of PCB Exposure in Clapper Rails (with Jay W. Summers, N. Garvin, Warren L. Stephens Jr., James C. Cumbee Jr., and Gary L. Mills), Ecotoxicology (2010)
In this study we used feathers to biomonitor exposure to the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) Aroclor...
Clapper rails as indicators of mercury and PCB bioavailability in a Georgia saltmarsh system (with James C. Cumbee Jr., Gary L. Mills, N. Garvin, Warren L. Stephens Jr., James N. Novak, and I. L. Brisbin Jr.), Ecotoxicology (2008)
Clapper rails (Rallus longirostris) were used as an indicator species of estuarine marsh habitat quality...
Effect of In Ovo Exposure to PCBs and Hg on Clapper Rail Bone Mineral Chemistry from a Contaminated Salt Marsh in Coastal Georgia (with Alejandro Rodriquez-Navarro, Christopher S. Romanek, and Pedro Alvarez-Lloret), Environmental Science and Toxicology (2006)
The effect of Hg and PCBs (Aroclor 1268) on bone characteristics was investigated in a...
The Clapper Rail as an Indicator Species of Estuarine Marsh Health (with James N. Novak, James C. Cumbee Jr., Gary L. Mills, Alejandro Rodriguez-Navarro, and Christopher S. Romanek), Studies in Avian Biology (2006)
Clapper Rails (Rallus longirostris) can potentially serve as an indicator species of estuarinemarsh health because...
Mineralization of Clapper Rail Eggshell from a Contaminated Salt Marsh System (with Alejandro Rodriguez-Navarro, Christopher S. Romanek, and G. R. Masson), Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (2002)
The effect of contamination on eggshell mineralization has been studied for clapper rails (Rallus longirostris)...
Receptor Species Modeling
Exposure and Exposure Modeling (with T. E. Chow and S. A. Dyer), Ecotoxicology (2008)
Exposure to contaminants in the environment is quantified through the ecological risk assessment (ERA) process...
Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Harvesting on and near the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (with James M. Novak), RAMAS GIS: Population-level ecotoxicology (2008)
Understanding the toxicodynamics of wildlife populations in contaminated ecosystems is one of the greatest challenges...
A Spatially Explicit Model of the Wild Hog for Ecological Risk Assessment Activities at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (with Dwayne E. Porter, Tracy Punshon, and I. Lehr Brisbin Jr.), Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (2005)
In North America, wild hogs (Sus scrofa) are both sought after as prime game and...
Habitat and exposure modelling for ecological risk assessment: A (with T. Edwin Chow, Michael E. Hodgson, and Machelle D. Wilson), Ecological Modelling (2005)
Contamination has a dramatic impact on the health of ecosystem and habitat suitability for the...
Rodents as receptor species at a tritium (with Angel Kelsey-Wall, John C. Seaman, Charles H. Jegoe, and Cham E. Dallas), Journal of Environmental Radioactivity (2005)
New methods are being employed on the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site to deal...
Stable Isotope Ecology
Tissue-diet discrimination factors and turnover of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) (with Rachel L. DeMots, James M. Novak, Aaron J. Gregor, Christopher S. Romanek, and Daniel A. Soluk), Canadian Journal of Zoology (2010)
Stable isotope analysis has become an increasingly valuable tool in investigating animal ecology. Here we...
Using Raccoons as an Indicator Species for Metal Accumulation Across Trophic Accumulation across Trophic Levels: A Stable Isotope Approach (with Christhopher S. Romanek, C. Shane Boring, Christine G. Lord, Michael Gochfeld, and Joanna Burger), Journal of Wildlife Management (2002)
: The fact that raccoons (Procyon lotor) are an opportunistic omnivore has severely complicated interpreta-...
Foraging ecology of the endangered wood stork recorded in the stable isotope signature of feathers (with Christopher S. Romanek, A. L. Bryan Jr., and I. L. Brisbin Jr.), Oecologia (2000)
Down feathers and regurgitant were collected from nestling wood storks (Mycteria americana) from two inland...
Human and Ecological Risk Assessment
Is the LCP Superfund Site an Ecological Trap for Clapper Rails? (with Jay W. Summers, James C. Cumbee Jr., Warren L. Stephens Jr., and Gary L. Mills), Southeastern Naturalist (2011)
Rallus longirostris (Clapper Rail) is considered a good indicator species for toxicants because of its...
DNA Double-Strand Breakage as an Endpoint to Examine Metal and Radionuclide Exposure Effects to Water Snakes on a Nuclear Industrial Site (with Stephanie M. Murray, James M. Novak, Michael Gochfeld, and Joanna Burger), Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal (2010)
This study examined metal levels (especially U and Ni) in the tail tissues of water...
Effects of cooking on radiocesium in fish from the Savannah River: exposure differences for the public (with Joanna Burger, C. Shane Boring, J. Snodgrass, W. L. Stephens Jr., and M. Gochfeld), Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (2004)
Understanding the factors that contribute to the risk from fish consumption is an important public...
Bioavailability of uranium and nickel to vegetation in a contaminated riparian ecosystem (with Tracy Punshon, Paul M. Bertsch, and Joanna Burger), Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (2003)
The lower portion of Tims Branch (TB), a second-order stream system on the Savannah River...
Ethnic Differences in Risk from Mercury Among Savannah River Fishermen (with Joanna Burger and Michael Gochfeld), Risk Analysis (2001)
Fishing plays an important role in people's lives and contaminant levels in fish are a...