A ten year summary of concurrent ambient water column and sediment toxicity tests in the Chesapeake Bay watershed: 1990-1999

The goal of this study was to identify the relative toxicity ofambient areas in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by using a suiteof concurrent water column and sediment toxicity tests at seventy-five ambient stations in 20 Chesapeake Bay rivers from1990 through 1999. Spatial and temporal variability was examinedat selected locations throughout the 10 yr study. Inorganicand organic contaminants were evaluated in ambient water andsediment concurrently with water column and sediment tests toassess possible causes of toxicity although absolute causalitycan not be established. Multivariate statistical analysis wasused to develop a multiple endpoint toxicity index (TOX-INDEX) at each station for both water column and sediment toxicity data. Water column tests from the 10 yr testing period showed that49% of the time, some degree of toxicity was reported. The mosttoxic sites based on water column results were located inurbanized areas such as the Anacostia River, Elizabeth River andthe Middle River. Water quality criteria for copper, lead,mercury, nickel and zinc were exceeded at one or more of thesesites. Water column toxicity was also reported in localizedareas of the South and Chester Rivers. Both spatial and temporalvariability was reported from the suite of water column toxicitytests. Some degree of sediment toxicity was reported from 62% of the tests conducted during the ten year period. The ElizabethRiver and Baltimore Harbor stations were reported as the most toxic areas based on sediment results.Sediment toxicity guidelines were exceeded for one or more of thefollowing metals at these two locations: arsenic, cadmium,chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc. At the Elizabeth Riverstations nine of sixteen semi-volatile organics and two of sevenpesticides measured exceeded the ER-M values in 1990. Ambientsediment toxicity tests in the Elizabeth River in 1996 showedreduced toxicity. Various semi-volatile organics exceeded the ER-M values at a number of Baltimore Harbor sites; pyrene anddibenzo(a,h)anthracene were particularly high at one of thestations (Northwest Harbor). Localized sediment toxicity was alsoreported in the Chester, James, Magothy, Rappahannock, andPotomac Rivers but the link with contaminants was not determined.Both spatial and temporal variability was less for sedimenttoxicity data when compared with water column toxicity data. Acomparison of water column and sediment toxicity data for thevarious stations over the 10 yr study showed that approximatelyhalf the time agreement occurred (either both suite of testsshowed toxicity or neither suite of tests showed toxicity).     

Using environmental stressor information to predict the ecological status of Maryland non-tidal streams as measured by biological indicators

In Maryland, U.S., an interim framework has recentlybeen developed for using biologically based thresholds, or `biocriteria', to assess the health of nontidal streams statewide at watershed scales. The evaluation of impairment is based on indices of biological integrity from the Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS). We applied logistic regression to quantify how the biotic integrity of streams at a local scale is affected by cumulative effects resulting from catchment land uses, point sources, and nearby transmission line rights-of-way. Indicators for land use were developed from the remote sensing National Land Cover Data and applied at different scales. We determined that the risk of local impairment in nontidal streams rapidly increases with increased urban land use in the catchment area. The average likelihood of failing biocriteria doubled with every 10% points increment in urban land, thus an increase in urban land use from 0 to 20% quadruples the risk of impairment. For the basins evaluated in this study, catchments with more than 40–50% urban land use had greater than 80% probability of failing biocriteria, on average. Inclusion of rights-of-way and point sources in the model did not significantly improve the fit for this data set, most likely because of their low numbers. The overall results indicate that our predictive modeling approach can help pinpoint stream ecosystems experiencing or vulnerable to degradation.     

Characterization of microbial communities from coastal waters using microarrays

Molecular methods, including DNA probes, were used to identify and enumerate pathogenic Vibrio species in the Chesapeake Bay; our data indicated that Vibrio vulnificus exhibits seasonal fluctuations in number. Our work included a characterization of total microbial communities from the Bay; development of microarrays that identify and quantify the diversity of those communities; and observation of temporal changes in those communities. To identify members of the microbial community, we amplified the 16S rDNA gene from community DNA isolated from a biofilm sample collected from the Chesapeake Bay in February, 2000. The resultant 75 sequences were 95% or more similar to 7 species including two recently described Shewanella species, baltica and frigidimarina, that have not been previously isolated from the Chesapeake. When the genera of bacteria from biofilm after culturing are compared to those detected by subcloning amplified 16S fragments from community DNA, the cultured sample exhibited a strong bias. In oysters collected in February, the most common bacteria were previously unknown. Based on our 16S findings, we are developing microarrays to detect these and other microbial species in these estuarine communities. The microarrays will detect each species using four distinct loci, with the multiple loci serving as an internal control. The accuracy of the microarray will be measured using sentinel species such as Aeromonas species, Escherichia coli, and Vibrio vulnificus. Using microarrays, it should be possible to determine the annual fluctuations of bacterial species (culturable and non-culturable, pathogenic and non-pathogenic). The data may be applied to understanding patterns of environmental change; assessing the health of the Bay; and evaluating the risk of human illness associated with exposure to and ingestion of water and shellfish.     

水蚀风蚀交错带小流域生态环境综合治理模式研究

水蚀风蚀交错带是黄土高原侵蚀最严重的地区和黄河下游河床粗泥沙的主要来源区，其生态环境脆弱、治理难度大，加之晋陕蒙能源基地的大规模开发，也带来了新的环境问题。鉴于治黄和煤田开发及生态环境整治的紧迫需要，以水蚀风蚀交错带六道沟小流域为试区，分析研究了该区水蚀风蚀时空分布规律及脆弱生态环境特征，提出以防治水蚀和风蚀为中心，以提高生态经济效益和持续发展为目标，以基本农田优化结构和高效利用及植被建设为重点，建立具有防蚀固沙兼高效生态经济功能的大农业复合生态系统综合治理模式，取得了良好的社会与经济效益。     

福建三都湾赤潮监控区的麻痹性贝毒和腹泻性贝毒研究

运用美国分析化学家协会(AOAC)推荐的小白鼠生物测定法，对三都湾赤潮监控区的经济贝类于2003年5月．10月进行每月1次的麻痹性贝毒(PSP)和腹泻性贝毒(DSP)含量检测。结果表明：在此期间均未检测出PSP；DSP于7、8、10月在紫贻贝(Mytilus galloprovincialis)体内检出，其中10月检出DSP含量为10Mu／100g，超标。     

锦州湾表层沉积物中铅、锌、镉在各地球化学相间的分配规律

研究了受重金属严重污染的锦州湾内表层沉积物中铅、锌、镉在各地球化学相间的含量,及其在湾内河水-海水混合界面附近各相间的迁移转化特征。结果表明,锦州湾表层沉积物中上述重金属以非残渣相为主要存在形式,其中铁锰氧化物为重要的清除载体;以铁锰氧化物和碳酸盐形式存在的重金属含量由水环境的E_H和pH控制;在污染源附近的海区,表层沉积物中重金属在非残渣相和残渣相间的比值与近岸锌厂排出的这些重金属在废水和废渣中的含量比呈正相关关系。     

皇甫川流域主要人工灌木水分生态的研究

通过在丰水年(1998年)和欠水年(1999年)连续两个生长季对皇甫川流域主要灌木沙棘、沙柳和柠条的生物学特性、蒸腾特征及土壤水分含量的测定及分析,得出结果为:三种灌木蒸腾强度在晴天和阴天表现的日变化规律不同。在丰水年和欠水年的生长季内,三种灌木蒸腾强度均随土壤含水量和降雨量的增减而增减,环境因子综合作用于灌木蒸腾的过程。无论丰水年还是欠水年,三种灌木地上生物量的增长与蒸腾耗水量均呈同步增长,生长季内皇甫川流域主要灌木蒸腾系数均较高,灌木的生长是以消耗大量水分为代价,水分是其生长的主要限制因子之一;柠条蒸腾系数较小,这反映了柠条能较有效利用水分,积累干物质,适合于在皇甫川流域生长;通过测定与计算,皇甫川流域沙棘适宜盖度为61%～79%、柠条为43%～55%、沙柳为46%～59%。     

干旱地区森林对流域径流的影响

森林对流域径流的影响包括森林对流域径流形成机制的影响、森林对流域径流量的调节以及森林对流域径流水质的影响3个方面。论文根据作者在黄土高原和北京土石山区多年研究的结果，并结合国内同行在森林水文方面的研究成果，就干旱地区森林对流域年总径流量、洪峰流量、枯水径流以及径流水质等方面的影响作了概括。结果表明，在干旱地区随着森林植被覆盖率的增加，流域年总径流量减少；森林植被可以大幅度地减小小流域的暴雨洪峰流量；森林植被覆盖率越高，枯水径流量随之增加；森林可以在很大程度上改善流域径流水质。根据干旱地区森林植被可以减少流域年径流总量的研究结果，初步估算目前我国干旱地区林业生态工程建设（包括天然林）的生态用水量为160亿m3左右。由于森林植被对流域径流影响的复杂性和尺度依赖性，森林在区域（或大流域）尺度的水文功能评价仍有待于进一步深入研究。     

大连湾沉积物中PAHs的初步研究

对采集大连湾附近海域的沉积物中多环芳烃（PAHs)进行了定性和定量分析，并探讨了其在沉积物中的分布特征。大连湾表层沉积物中PAHs含量的变化范围为32．70－3558．88ng/g，平均值1152．08ng/g。大连湾表层沉积物中PAHs以油类污染为主。其含量分布，大连港附近海域最高，东北部靠近大连湾煤码头航道测站次之，由西北和东北向南逐步递减，呈现出明显的两点污染源特征。     

黄河口及邻近海域溶解态无机磷、有机磷、总磷的分布研究

于2003年8月下旬对黄河口及邻近海域进行了十船连续同步27h采样调查,分析了调查区域的溶解态无机磷、有机磷、总磷的平面分布、断面分布、时间分布特征.结果表明,在调查区域内,溶解态无机磷浓度很低,而溶解态有机磷浓度较高(占溶解态总磷的85%以上),是溶解态总磷的主要组成部分.各形态磷的平面分布、断面分布均呈现出由河口向邻近海域降低的趋势,溶解态总磷、溶解态有机磷梯度变化较溶解态无机磷更为明显;潮汐对河口浅水区的各形态磷浓度影响较大,对邻近调查海域的影响不明显.