Jason B. Belden, Assistant Professor. Environmental Toxicology, Ecotoxicology.   Ph.D., 2003, Iowa State University Phone: 405-744-1718 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Lab website

Specific Interests

My research is primarily focused on the environmental fate and effects of organic contaminants and builds upon the following basic questions:

• What “contaminants” are present within an organism’s environment?
• How do these contaminants enter the organism?
• Once in the organism, what is the fate of the contaminants?
• Are there biological effects associated with the contaminants?

Areas of interest and research activity include:

• Presence and Toxicity of Urban-Use Insecticides – Are current use pesticides damaging our streams?
• Toxicity of Mixtures – Although it is well known that contaminants usually occur as mixtures in environmental samples, our understanding is still limited on how to evaluate the ecological hazards related to mixtures of contaminants.
• Bioaccumulation of Reactive Molecules – Sometimes chemicals accumulate in organisms as biotransformation products that are hard to extract and measure. Is this a form of accumulation that is toxicologically important?
• Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment – Does our release of these compounds through effluent from municipal sewage, septic systems, and confined animal operations lead to environmental effects? Do these compounds unexpectedly accumulate in organic material and biofilm? If so, what are the consequences?

Selected Publications

• Belden JB, Lotufo GR, Chambliss CK, Fisher JC, Johnson DR, Boyd RE, Sims JG.  2011.  Accumulation of 14C-trinitrotoluene and related nonextractable (bound) residues in Eisenia fetida. Environ. Pollut. 159: 1363-1368.
• Belden JB, McMurry ST, Smith LM, Reilley P. 2010.  Acute Toxicity of Fungicide Formulations to Amphibians at Environmental Relevant Concentrations.  Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 29:2477-2480.
• Fisher JC, Belden JB, Bidwell JR.  2010.  Can site-specific heuristic models predict the toxicity of produced water? Chemosphere 80:542-547.
• Trimble AJ, Belden JB, Mueting SA, Lydy MJ.  2010.  Determining modifications to bifenthrin toxicity and sediment binding affinity from varying potassium chloride concentrations in overlying water.  Chemosphere 80:53-59.
• Lydy MJ, Belden JB, You J, and Harwood AD.  2010.  Toxicological significance of pesticide residues in aquatic animals.  In Environmental Contaminants in Wildlife: Interpreting Body Residues. J. Meador, ed.  Taylor and Francis.
• Trimble AJ, Weston DP, Belden JB, Lydy MJ.  2009.  Identification and evaluation of pyrethroid insecticide mixtures in urban sediments.  Environ Toxicol Chem 28:1687-1695.
• Hintzen EP, Lydy MJ, Belden JB.  2009.  Occurrence and toxicity of urban-use insecticides in sediment collected in central Texas creeks.  Environmental Pollution 157:110-116.
• Brooks BW, Maul JD, and Belden JB. 2008.  Antibiotics in Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems.In Sven Erik Jørgensen and Brian D. Fath (Editor-in-Chief), Ecotoxicology. Vol. [1] of Encyclopedia of Ecology, 5 vols. pp. [210-217] Oxford: Elsevier.
• Belden JB, Gilliom R, Lydy MJ.  2007.  How well can we predict the aquatic toxicity of pesticide mixtures?  Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 3:364-372.
• Henderson KL, Belden JB, Coats JR.  2007.  Fate of atrazine in a grassed phytoremediation system.  Environ Toxicol Chem 26:1836-1842.
• Henderson KL, Belden JB, Coats JR.   2007. Mass balance of metolachlor in a grassed phytoremediation system.  Environ Sci Technol 41:4084-4089.
• Belden JB, Maul JD, Lydy MJ.  2007.  Partitioning and Photodegradation of Ciprofloxacin in Aqueous Systems in the Presence of Organic Matter.  Chemosphere. 66:1390-1395.
• Belden JB, Gilliom R, Martin J, Lydy MJ. 2007.  Relative toxicity and occurrence patterns of pesticide mixtures in streams draining agricultural watersheds dominated by corn and soybean production.  Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. 3:90-100.
• Maul JD, Schuler LJ, Belden JB, Whiles MR, and Lydy MJ.  2006.  Effects of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin on stream microbial communities and detritivorous macroinvertebrates.  Environ Toxicol Chem 25:1598-1606.
• Maul JD, Belden JB, Schwab BA, Whiles MR, Spears B, Farris JL, and Lydy MJ.  2006.  Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls by aquatic and terrestrial insects to tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor).   Environ Toxicol Chem 25:1017-1025.
• Henderson KL, Belden JB, Zhao S, Coats JR.  2006.  Phytoremediation of pesticide wastes in soil.  Zeitschrift fur Naturforschung C  61C:213-221.
• Belden JB and Lydy MJ.  2006.  Joint Toxicity of Chlorpyrifos and Esfenvalerate to Fathead Minnows and Midge Larvae. Environ Toxicol Chem 25:623-629.