Impacts of groundwater metal loads from bedrock fractures on water quality of a mountain stream

Acid mine drainage and metal loads from hardrock mines to surface waters is a significant problem in the western USA and many parts of the world. Mines often occur in mountain environments with fractured bedrock aquifers that serve as pathways for metals transport to streams. This study evaluates impacts from current and potential future groundwater metal (Cd, Cu, and Zn) loads from fractures underlying the Gilt Edge Mine, South Dakota, on concentrations in Strawberry Creek using existing flow and water quality data and simple mixing/dilution mass balance models. Results showed that metal loads from bedrock fractures to the creek currently contribute <1% of total loads. Even if background water quality is achieved upstream in Strawberry Creek, fracture metal loads would be <5%. Fracture loads could increase substantially and cause stream water quality standards exceedances once groundwater with elevated metals concentrations in the aquifer matrix migrates to the fractures and discharges to the stream. Potential future metal loads from an upstream fracture would contribute a small proportion of the total load relative to current loads in the stream. Cd has the highest stream concentrations relative to standards. Even if all stream water was treated to remove 90% of the Cd, the standard would still not be achieved. At a fracture farther downstream, the Cd standard can only be met if the upstream water is treated achieving a 90% reduction in Cd concentrations and the median stream flow is maintained.     

Environmental contaminants in freshwater fish and their risk to piscivorous wildlife based on a national monitoring program

Organochlorine chemical residues and elemental concentrations were measured in piscivorous and benthivorous fish at 111 sites from large U.S. river basins. Potential contaminant sources such as urban and agricultural runoff, industrial discharges, mine drainage, and irrigation varied among the sampling sites. Our objectives were to provide summary statistics for chemical contaminants and to determine if contaminant concentrations in the fish were a risk to wildlife that forage at these sites. Concentrations of dieldrin, total DDT, total PCBs, toxaphene, TCDD-EQ, cadmium, chromium, mercury, lead, selenium, and zinc exceeded toxicity thresholds to protect fish and piscivorous wildlife in samples from at least one site; most exceedences were for total PCBs, mercury, and zinc. Chemical concentrations in fish from the Mississippi River Basin exceeded the greatest number of toxicity thresholds. Screening level wildlife risk analysis models were developed for bald eagle and mink using no adverse effect levels (NOAELs), which were derived from adult dietary exposure or tissue concentration studies and based primarily on reproductive endpoints. No effect hazard concentrations (NEHC) were calculated by comparing the NOAEL to the food ingestion rate (dietary-based NOAEL) or biomagnification factor (tissue-based NOAEL) of each receptor. Piscivorous wildlife may be at risk from a contaminant if the measured concentration in fish exceeds the NEHC. Concentrations of most organochlorine residues and elemental contaminants represented no to low risk to bald eagle and mink at most sites. The risk associated with pentachloroanisole, aldrin, Dacthal, methoxychlor, mirex, and toxaphene was unknown because NOAELs for these contaminants were not available for bald eagle or mink. Risk differed among modeled species and sites. Our screening level analysis indicates that the greatest risk to piscivorous wildlife was from total DDT, total PCBs, TCDD-EQ, mercury, and selenium. Bald eagles were at greater risk to total DDT and total PCBs than mink, whereas risks of TCDD-EQ, mercury, and selenium were greater to mink than bald eagle.     

Effect of diel period and season on seining effort required to detect changes in Lake Erie beach fish assemblages

Using beach seining data from Lake Erie beaches, we examined the effect of diel period and season on two common study objectives considered sensitive to sampling effort: (1) has fish assemblage composition changed between two sampling time periods?, and (2) how many samples are necessary to provide a representative sample of the fish assemblage? Across a range of effect sizes and power levels, sample sizes were estimated for species richness, total fish abundance, round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) abundance and emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides) abundance. For most sampling periods and effect sizes, several hundred to several thousand seine hauls were estimated to be required for detecting large-scale (e.g. basin-wide) changes in round goby and emerald shiner abundance. Depending on the indicator of interest, night seining (either spring or fall) was interpreted as the most efficient approach. For both seasons, sampling effort beyond 40 to 50 night seine hauls results in few additional species being detected. Both species accumulation curves and estimated sample sizes indicate that less effort is required to detect species richness changes than fish abundance. For most effect sizes and power levels, estimates of the number of seine hauls required to detect changes in fish abundance are unrealistically large for most monitoring programs. More practical monitoring strategies could be achieved by adopting alternative indicators (e.g. guilds), a more liberal significance level (p=0.1), a paired-site sampling design, or including reference sites.     

What do qualitative rapid assessment collections of macroinvertebrates represent? A comparison with extensive quantitative sampling

It is a fundamental tenet of Rapid Biological Assessments (RBA) that the samples collected reflect the community from which they are drawn. As with any biological sampling, RBA collections are subject to sampling error resulting in the omission of some taxa. The aim of this study is to compare the composition of RBA samples with an estimate of community structure based on extensive quantitative sampling. We used logistic regression to explore the relationships between the frequency of a taxon being collected in an RBA sample and its biological and ecological traits, namely its abundance, distribution, body size and habit. RBA samples and quantitative estimates of community structure were made in riffles in the Kangaroo and Nepean Rivers, New South Wales, Australia. Single RBA samples may collect up to 63% of the taxa that are collected by extensive quantitative sampling at a site. The frequency of a taxon being recorded in an RBA sample was significantly and positively related to all traits tested indicating a bias in the collection methods towards large, abundant and widely distributed taxa. Accordingly, taxa missed by RBA sampling were generally small, narrowly distributed or rare. These findings enhance our understanding of what RBA samples represent, and the bias and source of errors associated with RBA sampling. This study also quantifies the utility of RBA methods for biodiversity assessment.     

An appraisal of changes in seasonal water quality during passage through a shallow reservoir in Western Poland

Following restoration changes in Antoninek Reservoir physico-chemical and biological processes in the water column and bottom sediments were measured to outline mechanisms of changes in nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter concentrations during water flow through this reservoir. Intensive mineralisation of organic matter in the shallow sediments stimulated primary production and influenced increasing ammonia and nitrite nitrogen concentrations. Two main factors affected concentrations of phosphorus: (1) its presence in the external loads of river waters entering the reservoir, more important in the colder seasons as the water discharge was higher and (2) from the internal loads coming from bottom sediments. The quality of the river water during its flow through this reservoir improved for most parameters and seasons. However, concentrations of nutrients were still high in waters flowing out from the reservoir and in some months they were higher in the outflow than in waters entering the reservoir.     

Statistical Analysis of Air Pollutants and Meteorological Parameters in Afyon, Turkey

In this study, the relation between sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and particulate matter (PM) concentrations periodically measured in the city of Afyon’s atmosphere with meteorological factors such as precipitation, humidity, temperature, wind velocity, and inversion were investigated. The mean values of SO₂ and PM concentrations measured during the winter months of October–March 1990–1999 were correlated with the meteorological parameters of the same period. Simple and multiple linear regression analysis were utilized to evaluate the contribution of meteorological variables. The statistical results show that the pollutants, i.e., SO₂ and PM are dependent upon humidity, temperature, and inversion at the 1% significance level; while the dependence of both pollutants with temperature is negative when those of humidity and inversion are positive. Two models in which temperature and inversion are dependent with multiple variables are recommended for predicting the contribution of meteorological parameters on SO₂ and PM. In addition, the relationship between humidity, temperature, and inversion with pollutants is also determined using nonlinear (polynomial) models.     

Trace metal levels in Prochilodus lineatus collected from the La Plata River, Argentina

Most of the industrial, urban and sewage discharges are released into the La Plata River, Argentina without any previous treatment. However, few works have investigated the extent of metal contamination. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc in liver and gills of adults Prochilodus lineatus collected from three sampling stations along the coast of the La Plata River: Berazategui, Berisso and Atalaya (from north to south). Samplings were performed during 2002 and 2004. Berazategui and Berisso were located nearby the main ducts that discharge the urban and domestic waste disposal from the cities of Buenos Aires and La Plata, respectively. The third station, Atalaya, was free of sewage discharges. Levels of cadmium and copper in liver were always higher than those found in gills. Instead, for lead and zinc, high levels were observed either in liver or gills, depending on the sampling station and the sampling period. In both tissues, the concentrations of metals did not differ significantly between male and female fish. In liver samples, the concentrations of cadmium, copper and zinc tended to increase from north to south. Instead, the levels of lead followed an opposite pattern. No clear tendencies were observed in gill samples. The data may be useful as reference levels of metal contaminants in P. lineatus, the most important fish species in the La Plata River system.     

Mold spore penetration through wall service outlets: a pilot study

A pilot study was conducted to estimate fungal spore penetration for wall service outlets subjected to a constant air pressure. During the laboratory experiment, a wall chamber was fabricated, and telephone, electrical, and cable service outlets were installed. Penicillium chrysogenum spores were aerosolized into the chamber that was held under pressure. Spores that penetrated the outlets were funneled into an impinger for microscopic enumeration. Thirty trials were conducted for each of the five outlets (N?= 150), and the wall chamber was decontaminated between trials. Results of an analysis of variance suggest wall service outlets allow spore penetration. The penetration factor for the telephone outlet was significantly greater than all other outlets (p?< 0.05), and there was no difference in penetration between electrical outlets with and without plugs. Penetration factor differences were attributed to air leakage rates across the outlets. Due to the experimental design and equipment limitations, further research is needed to support these findings.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination in stormwater detention pond sediments in coastal South Carolina

The purpose of this study was to characterize the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in the sediments of stormwater detention ponds in coastal South Carolina. Levels of the sum of PAH analytes were significantly higher in the sediments of commercial ponds compared to that of reference, golf course, low-density residential, and high-density residential ponds. Isomer ratio analysis suggested that the predominant source of PAHs were pyrogenic; however, many ponds had a PAH signature consistent with mixed uncombusted and combusted PAH sources. PAH levels in these sediments could be modeled using both pond drainage area and pond surface area. These results demonstrate that the sediment from most commercial ponds, and a few residential and golf course ponds, were moderately contaminated with PAHs. PAH levels in these contaminated ponds exceeded between 42% and 75% of the ecological screening values for individual PAH analytes established by US EPA Region IV, suggesting that they may pose a toxicological risk to wildlife.     

Use of preserved museum fish to evaluate historical and current mercury contamination in fish from two rivers in Oklahoma, USA

We examined the effects of a commonly used preservation technique on mercury concentration in fish tissue. After fixing fish muscle tissue in formalin followed by preservation in isopropanol, we found that mercury concentration in fish muscle tissue increased by 18%, reaching an asymptote after 40 days. We used formalin–isopropanol-preserved longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) from the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History to examine historical changes and predict current mercury concentrations in fish from two rivers in southeastern Oklahoma. Glover River was free-flowing, while Mountain Fork River was impounded in 1970 and a coldwater trout fishery was established upstream from the collection site in 1989. Mercury concentrations in longear sunfish from Glover River showed no historical changes from 1963 to 2001. Mercury concentrations in longear sunfish from Mountain Fork River showed no change from 1925 to 1993 but declined significantly from 1993 to 2003. We also compared mercury concentrations of the most recently collected longear sunfish in the museum to mercury concentrations of unpreserved fish collected from the rivers in 2006. Concentrations of mercury in museum fish were not significantly different from mercury concentrations in unpreserved fish we collected from the rivers. Our study indicates that preserved museum fish specimens can be used to evaluate historical changes and predict current levels of mercury contamination in fish.