Wildlife Contaminants Exposure Model (Beta-Test Version)
The Wildlife Contaminant Exposure Model (WCEM) is being developed as a tool to improve the quality of wildlife risk assessments. It is a Windows application developed in Visual Basic 5.0 to estimate wildlife exposure to substances through inhalation and through ingestion of food, water, and soil in North American environments. It was developed by the Canadian Wildlife Service through a cooperative agreement with the National Center for Environmental Assessment of the Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency. The WCEM is designed to make wildlife exposure modeling more consistent, transparent and efficient. It is suitable for any screening-level risk assessment exercise requiring an estimate of wildlife exposure to organic or inorganic compounds but can also support more detailed risk characterizations. The beta-test version of the WCEM provides easy access to natural history information for 32 species of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles (from the Wildlife Exposure Factors Handbook and additional values compiled by Environment Canada). It makes calculating exposure via the diet easier and more accurate by calculating energy requirements using allometric equations; calculating the energy content of food items; linking food energy content with measured dietary item intakes; and allowing for user adjustment of diet scenarios. It facilitates review by indicating values that have been adjusted by the user; providing references; and generating standard reports outlining assumptions and calculations. The WCEM is designed to allow users to interact with the databases to create their own scenarios, increasing flexibility of use. The databases can be expanded to include user-entered data for current or new wildlife species. The model is fully linked to the data entry module so that the user can customize scenarios while under construction. Comment boxes allow documentation of assumptions.
Types of Birds Covered by WCEM
American kestrel
Marsh wren
American robin
Northern bobwhite
Bald eagle
Osprey
Bay-breasted warbler
Red-tailed hawk
Belted kingfisher
Red-winged blackbird
Canada goose
Ruffed grouse
Common loon
Savannah sparrow
Great blue heron
Scaup species (Lesser/Greater)
Great horned owl
Spotted sandpiper
Herring gull
Tree swallow
Mallard
Yellow warbler
Types of Mammals Covered by WCEM
Caribou
Moose
Deer mouse
Muskrat
Eastern cottontail
Prairie vole
Harbor seal
Raccoon
Little brown bat
Short-tailed shrew
Masked shrew
White-tailed deer
Meadow vole
Wolf species (Timber/Grey)
Mink
Types of Amphibians and Reptiles Covered by WCEM
Bullfrog
Northern water snake
Eastern newt
Painted turtle
Green frog
Racer
Eastern box turtle
Snapping turtle
Citation:
Wildlife Contaminants Exposure Model (Beta-Test Version).
