The Effects of Ocean Disposal of Sewage Sludge On the Relative Abundance of Benthic Megafauna

Disposal of sewage sludge in the New York Bight Apex (12-Mile Dump Site) ceased at the end of December 1987. Previous efforts to quantify the effects of sludge were hindered by the inability to obtain true replication. the cessation of dumping afforded the opportunity to apply the technique of replication in time, also known as a Before/After, Control/Impact design. Conditionally, this method allows one to separate treatment effects from the natural differences that confound many environmental impact studies. the Environmental Processes Division of the Northeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service sampled the benthic environment of the New York Bight Apex from June 1986 through September 1989 using a sample design based on the technique of replication in time.

Three dominant species (rock crab, Cancer irroratus; little skate; Raja erinacea; and winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus) and total demersal finfish, collected by otter trawl, showed no statistically significant response to the cessation of disposal. American lobster (Homarus americanus) increased in local abundance, but this result was possibly confounded by a change in fishing effort.     

Glycolate metabolism by Pseudomonas sp., strain S227, isolated from a coastal marine sediment

Glycolate excreted by phytoplankton is a potentially important nutrient for bacteria in coastal and estuarine environments. The metabolism of glycolate by Pseudomonas sp., strain S227, originally isolated from the New York Bight Apex, has been studied. The specific growth rate for this strain on glycolate is 0.156 doublings h^-1. The apparent V_max and K_m for glycolate uptake are 83.6 nmol min^-1 mg cell protein^-1 and 7.4x10^-8 M, respectively. The preferential respiration of the carboxyl carbon (C-1) and the incroporation of the hydroxymethyl carbon (C-2) suggest that the glycerate pathway is used for growth on glycolate. Alternatively, another pathway can be utilized which results in the complete catabolism of glycolate. Glycolate and lactate metabolism are also closely linked either by a common metabolic pathway or a common transport system other than the monocarboxylate transport system. The magnesium ion concentration is also important in glycolate metabolism. The characteristics of glycolate metabolism observed in Pseudomonas sp., strain S227, are advantageous in coastal and estuarine environments where glycolate production is intermittent, and the concentrations are low.     

Summary of 25 Years of Xylem Tracheids and Sewage/Sludge in the Sea

The Rapid Sewage/Sludge Indicator Technique (RSIT), developed during the early 1970′s, responded to critical needs within the Bureau of Water Pollution Control. It enabled quick detection of contamination in ocean water and bottom sediments during sewage-related emergencies and routine monitoring. RSIT became an invaluable tool for resource management, in determining where and to what extent marine environments are impacted, and when immediate information is necessary for public health decisions.

The RSIT utilizes microscopic examination for terrestrial plant vascular tissue, especially the xylem tracheid elements, as identifiers of sewage/sludge. Not normally found in ocean waters, this material, in toilet paper and the roughage of the human diet which passes through the digestive system intact, is an indicator of human faecal contamination. Minimal training and common laboratory materials allow gross screening in five minutes. New studies by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), United States Geologic Survey (USGS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), most recently at the 106-mile dump site off the New York Bight, revalidated the technique as a rapid, inexpensive, easy to use, semiquantitative indicator both for water column and sediment samples.     

Genetic structure of asexually reproducing Enteromorpha linza (Ulvales: Chlorophyta) in Long Island Sound

Heterotrophic bacterial uptake and turnover of glycolate were measured in the water column of the New York Bight apex during four seasonal cruises over almost a one-year period between May 1977 and March 1978. Glycolate turnover was most rapid in May and July, when primary productivity and estuarine runoff were high. Extremely rapid glycolate turnover times (<1 h) were detected at some stations during these months. Increased bacterial glycolate tunover did not accompany increased primary productivity in March, when water temperatures were lowest. Glycolate flux calculations indicate that the measured rates of glycolate consumption by bacteria always exceeded estimated glycolate production by phytoplankton, except in March. This excess may reflect an underestimation of phytoplankton production or the input of glycolate from other sources, such as estuarine runoff. Glycolate utilization appears to be seasonally important to bacteria in the New York Bight apex, coinciding with fluctuations in phytoplankton primary productivity.     

Viable embryogenesis of the winter flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus from - 1.8° to 15°C

Pseudopleuronectes americanus spawns in late winter near New York, and its eggs may be found in shallow water under ice at temperatures below the usual freezing point of vertebrate tissues. Survival and duration of development at a variety of constant temperatures were recorded for artificially fertilized eggs in the laboratory. Many eggs hatched into normal larvae after 2 months at the lowest temperature tried,-1.8°C. The upper lethal temperature was about 15°C. There was a linear relation between log time and temperature in the minimum mortality range (0° to 10°C), with a Q₁₀ of about 4.8.     

Transport of Sewage Sludge in a Mixed Water Column

Abstract

Sewage sludge from four publicly-owned treatment works was sampled and characterized in terms of parameters affecting transport at the 106-mile deep ocean disposal site as part of the US Environmental Protection Agency's site monitoring programme. Samples from treatment plants in Passaic Valley, Rahway, and Elizabeth, New Jersey and New York City were characterized in terms of dynamic size distribution, suspended solids and density. the transport characteristics of sludge particles were measured using a 2 metre computer-interfaced laboratory settling column. Experiments were conducted at constant salinity (35 ppt) while varying hydrodynamic mixing, sludge type and concentration using a modified factorial experimental design. Hydrodynamic power dissipation was varied so that the vertical dispersion and rms fluid shear rate ranged between 0-6 cm²S^?1 and 0-30s^?1 respectively. Results indicate that at least 80% of suspended sludge particles will eventually settle under mixed conditions. the average settling velocities ranged between 0.05-4.05 × 10^-3 cm ^s-1. Shear rates above 15 s^?1 inhibited sludge settling due to aggregate breakup and boundary effects, but at a lower shear rate, differential settling and fluid shear were the dominant transport mechanisms. Sludge dilution (1/500-1/5000) had a limited effect on the settling rate. Results from this study can be used to calibrate particle transport models to determine the fate of sludge disposed at an ocean disposal site.     

Summary of 25 Years of Xylem Tracheids and Sewage/Sludge in the Sea

The Rapid Sewage/Sludge Indicator Technique (RSIT), developed during the early 1970's, responded to critical needs within the Bureau of Water Pollution Control. It enabled quick detection of contamination in ocean water and bottom sediments during sewage-related emergencies and routine monitoring. RSIT became an invaluable tool for resource management, in determining where and to what extent marine environments are impacted, and when immediate information is necessary for public health decisions.

The RSIT utilizes microscopic examination for terrestrial plant vascular tissue, especially the xylem tracheid elements, as identifiers of sewage/sludge. Not normally found in ocean waters, this material, in toilet paper and the roughage of the human diet which passes through the digestive system intact, is an indicator of human faecal contamination. Minimal training and common laboratory materials allow gross screening in five minutes. New studies by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), United States Geologic Survey (USGS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), most recently at the 106-mile dump site off the New York Bight, revalidated the technique as a rapid, inexpensive, easy to use, semiquantitative indicator both for water column and sediment samples.     

Respiratory quotient and ammonia excretion in Tilapia mossambica

Tilapia mossambica (Peters), acclimated to and tested in fresh water at 30°C, maintained a routine respiratory quotient (R Q) of about unity and an ammonia quotient (A Q) (Vol. NH₂/Vol. O₂) of about 0.2 at high ambient oxygen concentrations. At low oxygen concentrations (below 2 ppm) R Q and A Q increased sharply to values of 8 and 1, respectively (at 0.6 ppm), indicating a close relationship of increase in anaerobic energy utilization and increase in protein metabolism at inadequate oxygen concentrations. T. mossambica (8 cm), exercised continuously with intervening sampling and flushing stops for 6 h, at a swimming speed of about 2 body lengths/sec, derived some anaerobic energy throughout the exercise (R Q: 1.2), utilizing more protein the longer the exercise. The coupling of the increased protein metabolism and anaerobic energy utilization may be of advantage in preventing acidosis and also in conserving sodium (Na⁺) in fish.Part of this work was included in a paper presented at the Centennial Meeting of The American Fisheries Society, September 13–16, 1970, New York.     

Geographical range and taxonomic divergence in North Atlantic Calanus (C. helgolandicus,C. finmarchicus and C. glacialis)

The known distribution of Calanus helgolandicus in the North Atlantic Drift is difficult to explain in the absence of a reproductively active population inhabiting continental waters off eastern North America. New evidece indicates that this population, overlooked in the past, does in fact exist. The species has been found in a study of zooplankton samples from a number of MARMAP (Marine Resource Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction Program) cruises surveying ichthyoplankton between Cape Hatteras and the New York Bight. Sexual activity in these stocks of C. helgolandicus was indicated by the ripeness of ovaries, the frequency of males, the presence of sperm in the females' seminal receptacles and the appearance of a female bearing a Calanus spermatophore. The new records provide a likely origin for the presence of the species in the vicinity of the Labrador Grand Banks as well as further east in the North Atlantic Drift. C. finmarchicus, similarly sexually active, was found to be sympatric with C. helgolandicus in the MARMAP collections which were taken from a region contiguous with the southernmost, known distribution, of C. glacialis. The distribution of integumental organs (i.e., pore signature patterns) was examined in the three species to determine whether they would be taxonomically useful. Strikingly different patterns were found on the female urosome. Pore signature differences between the polar species C. glacialis and the temperate C. helgolandicus proved to be as pronounced as those between the boreal C. finmarchicus and its two neighboring species. The successively overlapping ranges and the distinctive differences in pore signature patterns suggest that divergence from the generic pattern of integumental organ distribution has been a product of selection against hybridizing among the three species. If this is in fact the case, the reproductive range of C. helgolandicus has overlapped with those of C. finmarchicus and C. glacialis for appreciable periods in the history of the three species.     

Use Impairments and Ecosystem Impacts of the New York Bight

The New York Bight is perhaps one of the most used and abused coastal areas in the world as a consequence of urbanization and the disposal of the waste of some 20 million people who reside by its shores and surrounding bays and estuaries. A variety of sources, including those associated with sewage wastes, industrial wastes, contaminated dredged material, urban runoff, and atmospheric fallout contaminate these coastal waters. Many of the stresses of excess population and industrialization as measured by pollutant loadings and ecosystem impacts can be crudely quantified in terms of use impairments-use impairments that have measurable social and economic relevance. Five broad categories of impairment attributed to pollution in the Bight that are causing significant losses of ecological, economic, or social values are: beach closures, unsafe seafoods, hazards to commercial and recreational navigation, loss of commercial and recreational fisheries, and declines in birds, mammals and turtles. These impairments are generally caused by floatable wastes, nutrients, toxicants, pathogens and habitat loss. Measures of such impairments are not standard, nor in many cases totally quantifiable. We have examined specific subsets of these impairments in terms of their spatial and temporal changes and as a first approximation determined the economic and social significance of these changes. the cost of these impaired uses of the Bight are measured in terms of billions of dollars annually for New York and New Jersey.     

Use Impairments and Ecosystem Impacts of the New York Bight

The New York Bight is perhaps one of the most used and abused coastal areas in the world as a consequence of urbanization and the disposal of the waste of some 20 million people who reside by its shores and surrounding bays and estuaries. A variety of sources, including those associated with sewage wastes, industrial wastes, contaminated dredged material, urban runoff, and atmospheric fallout contaminate these coastal waters. Many of the stresses of excess population and industrialization as measured by pollutant loadings and ecosystem impacts can be crudely quantified in terms of use impairments-use impairments that have measurable social and economic relevance. Five broad categories of impairment attributed to pollution in the Bight that are causing significant losses of ecological, economic, or social values are: beach closures, unsafe seafoods, hazards to commercial and recreational navigation, loss of commercial and recreational fisheries, and declines in birds, mammals and turtles. These impairments are generally caused by floatable wastes, nutrients, toxicants, pathogens and habitat loss. Measures of such impairments are not standard, nor in many cases totally quantifiable. We have examined specific subsets of these impairments in terms of their spatial and temporal changes and as a first approximation determined the economic and social significance of these changes. the cost of these impaired uses of the Bight are measured in terms of billions of dollars annually for New York and New Jersey.     

Diet of young Atlantic bluefin tuna (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Thunnus thynnus</Emphasis>) in eastern and western Atlantic foraging grounds

Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) are highly migratory predators whose abundance, distribution, and somatic condition have changed over the past decades. Prey community composition and abundance have also varied in several foraging grounds. To better understand underlying food webs and regional energy sources, we performed stomach content and stable isotope analyses on mainly juvenile (60–150 cm curved fork length) bluefin tuna captured in foraging grounds in the western (Mid-Atlantic Bight) and eastern (Bay of Biscay) Atlantic Ocean. In the Mid-Atlantic Bight, bluefin tuna diet was mainly sand lance (Ammodytes spp., 29% prey weight), consistent with historic findings. In the Bay of Biscay, krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) made up 39% prey weight, with relative consumption of each reflecting annual changes in prey abundance. Consumption of anchovies apparently declined after the local collapse of this prey resource. In both regions, stable isotope analysis results showed that juvenile bluefin tuna fed at a lower trophic position than indicated by stomach content analysis. In the Mid-Atlantic Bight, stable isotope analyses suggested that >30% of the diet was prey from lower trophic levels that composed <10% of the prey weights based upon traditional stomach content analyses. Trophic position was similar to juvenile fish sampled in the NW Atlantic but lower than juveniles sampled in the Mediterranean Sea in previous studies. Our findings indicate that juvenile bluefin tuna targeted a relatively small range of prey species and regional foraging patterns remained consistent over time in the Mid-Atlantic Bight but changed in relation to local prey availability in the Bay of Biscay.     

Reproductive patterns of three intertidal salt-marsh gammaridean amphipods

Among three sympatric species of epibenthic amphipods found at different tide marks at Jamaica Bay, New York (USA), the length of time juveniles spend with the mother increases and the number of juveniles per brood decreases as tidal height increases. Each brood has two developmental periods: (1) the embryonic period, from ovulation to hatching; (2) the juvenile period, from hatching to emergence from the marsupium. Gammarus palustris, found at the high-tide mark, has a mean juvenile period of 1.7 days and a mean brood size of 12.4 offspring; G. mucronatus, found at mean-tide mark, has a mean juvenile period of 0.8 days and a mean brood size of 27.4 offspring; Melita nitida, found at low-tide mark, has a mean juvenile period of 0.5 days and a mean brood size of 30.0 offspring. Further, the range of days that a juvenile may emerge is widest for G. palustris (0 to 8 days after hatching) and narrowest for M. nitida (0 to 2 days).This work was submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. at the City University of New York.     

Genetic evidence for two species of sprat (Sprattus) in New Zealand waters

The New Zealand sprat Sprattus antipodum (Hector) is phenotypically variable, with two body forms (deep and slender) being recognised in the Canterbury Bight of New Zealand. Electrophoretic analysis of tissue samples from the two body types showed them to be fixed for different alleles at two loci and to have very different allele frequencies at a further three loci. Heterozygosities of 0.088 and 0.104 were found for the deep type and 0.056 for the slender type. Genetic distances of 0.421 and 0.403 were found between samples of deep and slender types and 0.014 between samples of deep types. It is concluded that the two body types are separate species.     

Transmission of Pseudoterranova decipiens (Nematoda: Ascaridoidea) via benthic macrofauna to sympatric flatfishes (Hippoglossoides platessoides,Pleuronectes ferrugineus,P. americanus) on Sable Island Bank,Canada

Larval ascaridoid nematodes were surveyed in three flatfish species, Hippoglossoides platessoides, Pleuronectes ferrugineus, and P. americanus, from Sable Island Bank in February and June 1989. Pseudoterranova decipiens (sealworm) abundances differed significantly with both host species, the heaviest levels being found in H. platessoides, and host length, infections generally increasing with length, but not between February and June samples. Moderate numbers of larvae were found in P. ferrugineus while P. americanus were seldom infected. Two third-stage P. decipiens larvae (L₃), 3.2 and 7.0 mm in length, were recovered from the cephalothoraxes of two Mysis mixta in H. platessoides stomachs while five L₃'s (2.8 to 8.7 mm in length) were found among food (polychaetes, cumaceans, tanaids, amphipods) in the stomach of a P. ferrugineus. Levels of P. decipiens infection appear to be directly related to consumption of suprabenthic prey, which commonly occur in the diet of H. platessoides but are exploited less frequently by P. ferrugineus and rarely by P. americanus.     

A Screening-Level Assessment of Lead, Cadmium, and Zinc in Fish and Crayfish from Northeastern Oklahoma, USA

The objective of this study was to evaluate potential human and ecological risks associated with metals in fish and crayfish from mining in the Tri-States Mining District (TSMD). Crayfish (Orconectes spp.) and fish of six frequently consumed species (common carp, Cyprinus carpio; channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus; flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris; largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides; spotted bass, M. punctulatus; and white crappie, Pomoxis annularis) were collected in 2001--2002 from the Oklahoma waters of the Spring River (SR) and Neosho River (NR), which drain the TSMD. Samples from a mining-contaminated site in eastern Missouri and from reference sites were also analyzed. Individual fish were prepared for human consumption in the manner used locally by Native Americans (headed, eviscerated, and scaled) and analyzed for lead, cadmium, and zinc. Whole crayfish were analyzed as composite samples of 5--60 animals. Metals concentrations were typically higher in samples from sites most heavily affected by mining and lowest in reference samples. Within the TSMD, most metals concentrations were higher at sites on the SR than on the NR and were typically highest in common carp and crayfish than in other taxa. Higher concentrations and greater risk were associated with fish and crayfish from heavily contaminated SR tributaries than the SR or NR mainstems. Based on the results of this and previous studies, the human consumption of carp and crayfish could be restricted based on current criteria for lead, cadmium, and zinc, and the consumption of channel catfish could be restricted due to lead. Metals concentrations were uniformly low in Micropterus spp. and crappie and would not warrant restriction, however. Some risk to carnivorous avian wildlife from lead and zinc in TSMD fish and invertebrates was also indicated, as was risk to the fish themselves. Overall, the wildlife assessment is consistent with previously reported biological effects attributed to metals from the TSMD. The results demonstrate the potential for adverse effects in fish, wildlife, and humans and indicate that further investigation of human health and ecological risks, to include additional exposure pathways and endpoints, is warranted.This study was conducted by the Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and cooperating organizations and government agencies. All field and laboratory procedures conformed to the “Guidelines for the use of fishes in research” of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), Institute of Fishery Research Biologists (AIFRB), and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) Use of Fishes in Research Committee (AFS, AIFRB, and ASIH 2004), and with all USGS and CERC guidelines for the humane treatment of test organisms during culture and experimentation. Use of trade names does not constitute USGS or U.S. government endorsement.     

Studies of primary productivity in coastal waters of southern Long Island,New York

Phytoplankton productivity of the tidal estuaries and coastal waters of southern Nassau Country, Long Island, New York, USA was determined monthly at 28 stations during 1966. Diatoms alternated with dinoflagellates in dominating the standing crop in the coastal area. The estuaries were characterized by sustained blooms of green flagellates and dinoflagellates during the spring/summer period, 1966. Chlorophyll a ranged from 1.0 to 27.6 mg/m³ in the estuarine area, and 1.45 to 10.15 mg/m³ in adjacent coastal waters. Rate of phytosynthesis per unit weight chlorophyll a for surface samples in the region under study a veraged from 3.1 to 3.5 mgC/mg chlorophyll a/h. At light saturation, however, the ratio varied according to water temperature and species' composition. Primary productivity decreased seawards, with mean values for 1966 of 0.35, 0.22, and 0.16 gC/m³/d for the estuarine, nearshore and offshore areas, respectively.This study was carried out at the Lamont Geological Observatory of Columbia University Palisades; New York, USA.The study was conducted with financial assistance from Nassau County, New York, and the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation.     

Cryptic speciation in the recently discovered American cycliophoran <Emphasis Type="Italic">Symbion americanus</Emphasis>; genetic structure and population expansion

Symbion americanus was recently described as the second species in the phylum Cycliophora, living commensally on the American commercial lobster Homarus americanus. A previous genetic analysis of American and European populations of cycliophorans suggested that haplotype divergence in S. americanus was much greater than in its European counterpart S. pandora. This study examined the population structure and demographics of 169 individuals thought to belong to S. americanus collected from lobsters over 13 North American localities (Nova Scotia, Canada to Maryland, USA) between October 2003 and January 2006. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequence data clearly suggested the presence of three cryptic lineages in a species complex, often co-occurring in the same lobster specimens. One of these lineages, named the “G” lineage, was represented by very few individuals and therefore was excluded from subsequent statistical analyses. The other two sympatric lineages, named the “T” and “C” lineages, showed different population structure and demography. Although limited geographic structure was found in the T lineage, the C lineage showed higher nucleotide and haplotype diversity values, as well as more variation between localities. The data also indicated that the T lineage underwent a recent population expansion, suggesting that the C and T lineages may have speciated in allopatry but a subsequent population expansion may have been responsible for their current sympatric distribution. Studies on the anatomy and ecology of the sympatric lineages of this species complex should provide further information on the identity of the holotype of S. americanus, which currently cannot be ascribed to any of the three cryptic lineages.     

Creation of a Gilded Trap by the High Economic Value of the Maine Lobster Fishery

Abstract: Unsustainable fishing simplifies food chains and, as with aquaculture, can result in reliance on a few economically valuable species. This lack of diversity may increase risks of ecological and economic disruptions. Centuries of intense fishing have extirpated most apex predators in the Gulf of Maine (United States and Canada), effectively creating an American lobster (Homarus americanus) monoculture. Over the past 20 years, the economic diversity of marine resources harvested in Maine has declined by almost 70%. Today, over 80% of the value of Maine's fish and seafood landings is from highly abundant lobsters. Inflation‐corrected income from lobsters in Maine has steadily increased by nearly 400% since 1985. Fisheries managers, policy makers, and fishers view this as a success. However, such lucrative monocultures increase the social and ecological consequences of future declines in lobsters. In southern New England, disease and stresses related to increases in ocean temperature resulted in more than a 70% decline in lobster abundance, prompting managers to propose closing that fishery. A similar collapse in Maine could fundamentally disrupt the social and economic foundation of its coast. We suggest the current success of Maine's lobster fishery is a gilded trap. Gilded traps are a type of social trap in which collective actions resulting from economically attractive opportunities outweigh concerns over associated social and ecological risks or consequences. Large financial gain creates a strong reinforcing feedback that deepens the trap. Avoiding or escaping gilded traps requires managing for increased biological and economic diversity. This is difficult to do prior to a crisis while financial incentives for maintaining the status quo are large. The long‐term challenge is to shift fisheries management away from single species toward integrated social‐ecological approaches that diversify local ecosystems, societies, and economies.     

Transport of Sewage Sludge in a Mixed Water Column

Sewage sludge from four publicly-owned treatment works was sampled and characterized in terms of parameters affecting transport at the 106-mile deep ocean disposal site as part of the US Environmental Protection Agency's site monitoring programme. Samples from treatment plants in Passaic Valley, Rahway, and Elizabeth, New Jersey and New York City were characterized in terms of dynamic size distribution, suspended solids and density. the transport characteristics of sludge particles were measured using a 2 metre computer-interfaced laboratory settling column. Experiments were conducted at constant salinity (35 ppt) while varying hydrodynamic mixing, sludge type and concentration using a modified factorial experimental design. Hydrodynamic power dissipation was varied so that the vertical dispersion and rms fluid shear rate ranged between 0-6 cm²S^-1 and 0-30s^-1 respectively. Results indicate that at least 80% of suspended sludge particles will eventually settle under mixed conditions. the average settling velocities ranged between 0.05-4.05 × 10^-3 cm ^s-1. Shear rates above 15 s^-1 inhibited sludge settling due to aggregate breakup and boundary effects, but at a lower shear rate, differential settling and fluid shear were the dominant transport mechanisms. Sludge dilution (1/500-1/5000) had a limited effect on the settling rate. Results from this study can be used to calibrate particle transport models to determine the fate of sludge disposed at an ocean disposal site.