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| Status and Trends of Biological Resources |
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To close this window and return to the previous screen, please click the "x" in the top right of your screen. PTS: 83359RZ.15.0 Title: Determine the toxicological effects of degraded water quality on aquatic resources in the western United States Leaders: * Buhl, Kevin J., kevin_buhl@usgs.gov, 605-665-9217, FAX 605-665-9335, 31247 436th Ave., Yankton, SD 57078-6364 Send EMail to Leaders Locations: United States,California United States,New Mexico United States,Colorado United States,Idaho Communication Plan: Results of this research will be presented at scientific meetings and will be published in reports, books and journals, and USGS web sites. Also, results will be present at professional conference and resource management meetings. Highlights and Key Findings: Results of on-site toxicity testing indicated that the source water for a planned Rio Grande silvery minnow sanctuary in the City of Albuquerque, NM did not adversely affect survival or growth three different life stages of silvery minnow. The results of these studies are being used by the Bureau of Reclamation to assess the suitability of the proposed sanctuary to assist in the recovery of the endangered silvery minnow. The sanctuary is scheduled to be operational by the fall of 2008. Laboratory investigations determined the tolerance of different age groups of silvery minnow to elevated water temperatures and waters with low dissolved oxygen levels. This information is being used by the Fish and Wildlife Service in their silvery minnow salvage operations during river drying events in the Middle Rio Grande. Additional research revealed that short-term exposures (1.5-3 hours) to elevated ammonia concentrations were as toxic to silvery minnows as longer-term exposures (24-96 hours) and that larvae were twice as sensitive to ammonia compared to juveniles and subadults. These findings are being used by the Fish and Wildlife Service to assess the impacts on silvery minnow of elevated ammonia concentrations in effluents discharged to the Rio Grande by wastewater treatment plants during upset events. Objectives: This task addresses Contaminant Biology Program Goal # 2, ¿Contaminated Habitats - Develop the scientific basis for assessment, restoration and monitoring of habitats that are contaminated by mining, agriculture, urban wastewater, industry, and chemical control agents. Develop the toxicological basis to remediate and prevent contamination effects of chemical controls for invasive species, fire, and other hazards.¿ Areas of Special Emphasis: Hazardous waste sites, energy and energy development activities and mercury. Specific Objectives: 1) To determine the toxicity to aquatic organisms of contaminants associated with agricultural practices, mining and industrial activities; effluents from municipal waste treatment facilities. Endangered and threatened species of fish and other aquatic organisms are of particular interest. 2) To determine the effects of fire control chemicals on fish and other aquatic organisms. Statement of Problem: Contaminants from numerous point and non-point sources degrade the quality of surface and ground waters in many areas of the western United States. Agricultural drain waters; municipal effluents; discharges from waste water treatment facilities; industrial discharges; and runoff from abandoned lands are laden with contaminants that may pose potential treats to aquatic organisms inhabiting wetlands, streams, and rivers. Although some of these contaminants may occur naturally in trace amounts, many tend to be present at elevated concentrations in discharges resulting from agricultural, municipal, and industrial activities. Aquatic resource managers are particularly concerned about both organic and inorganic contaminants that may adversely affect the productivity, reproductive capacity, and general health of aquatic organisms, especially threaten and endangered species. Of particular concern are selenium and other inorganic chemicals associated with irrigation return flows and run-off from mining activities; pharmaceuticals and nutrients in effluents from waste treatment facilities; pesticides and nutrients in runoff from agricultural activities; and industrial pollutants. Potential adverse effects of point and non-point source contaminants on threatened and endangered fish species, including those in the Colorado River and the Rio Grande basins, are of particular concern to the Department of the Interior. Laboratory and field investigations are needed to provide resource managers with accurate and timely toxicological information to support aquatic resource management decisions. 2005 Progress: Two chronic on-site toxicity studies were conducted with silvery minnow juveniles; one in September-October and the other in December. Fish in both studies were exposed for 21 days to full-strength water collected from the Drain, MRG, and BioPark. In the first test, mean survival of silvery minnow was 90% in BioPark water and 97% in both site waters. The highest mortality in any vessel was 20%, which was observed in one replicate of all three water types. There was 100% survival in five of six replicates for both site waters. In the second test (with older fish from the Yankton FRS), there were no mortalities in any of the test waters after 21 days. However, one fish in the BioPark water jumped out of the test vessel and into the waterbath. Currently, growth data from both studies are being statistically analyzed to test for differences among water types. Water quality data for the parameters measured in the field and in the laboratory at the USFWS-NMESFO and Yankton are being validated. Some of the water samples collected during the second study for ammonia, chloride, and sulfate are being analyzed at the Yankton FRS. The analysis of water samples sent to a contract laboratory for carbons, oxygen demand, and nutrients have not been completed. Water and fish samples collected for analysis of major and minor elements and tissue samples for histological examination are being held at the Yankton FRS and will be sent to contract laboratories for analysis by March 2006. 2005 Statement of Work: NOTE: During FY05 on-site 21 day toxicity tests will be conducted to evaluate survival, growth, and bioaccumulation of selected chemicals in different life stages of silvery minnow exposed to water from the Albuquerque Riverside Drain and the Rio Grande at or below the outlet of a proposed sivery minnow sanctuary. During the tests with silvery minnow the physio-chemical characteristics of the exposure waters will be determined and survival,growth, behavior, histopathology in major organs, and body burdens of selected chemicals in silvery minnows will be monitored. 2006 Progress: One chronic on-site toxicity study with larval silvery minnow was conducted in July-August 2006 following the completion of the pumping station that will be used to supply water to the silvery minnow sanctuary. The analyses of water and fish samples for major and minor elements and tissue samples for histological examination have been completed by the contract laboratories. The project is considered to be on track and is also within budget. One set of laboratory acute toxicity tests was conducted with sub-adult silvery minnow to assess their tolerance to elevated water temperatures and low dissolved oxygen levels. These studies are a continuation of a muli-year investigation into the effects of selected degraded water quality conditions on different life history stages of silvery minnow. The data have been analyzed and will be used to guide the direction of additional tests in FY07. 2006 Statement of Work: We will complete laboratory investigations to determine the tolerance of silvery minnow to selected degraded water quality conditions that occur in the Rio Grande, including high temperatures, low dissolved oxygen levels, and fluctuating ammonia concentrations. A draft final report will be developed on this research for submission to BLM. On-site field studies will be initiated on the Rio Grande to assess habitat and water quality suitability for the development of a silvery minnow sanctuary. 2007 Progress: We received funding to conduct additional laboratory studies with silvery minnow. The studies are designed to assess the effects of chronic exposures to fluctuating ammonia concentrations and to further evaluate the tolerance of silvery minnow to low dissolved oxygen levels. Two chronic laboratory tests have been initiated with silvery minnow larvae and the tests will end in August 2007. In addition, two acute tests to determine the tolerance of silvery minnow to hypoxic water have been completed. The project is considered to be on track and is also within budget. A draft final report on the on-site toxicity studies is being developed and is expected to be completed by September 2007. 2007 Statement of Work: We will complete the validation and statistical analyses of survival, growth, water and tissue contaminant residues, and histology data collected during on-site toxicity studies in 2005 and 2006 and prepare one final report of these findings. Preparation of manuscripts for this project will be implemented. The results of this study will be used by the USBOR, USFWS, City of Albuquerque, NM, and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District to determine the water source for the silvery minnow sanctuary being constructed on the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, NM. Also, we will conduct laboratory acute and chronic toxicity studies with early life history stages of silvery minnow to determine their tolerance to degraded water quality conditions that have or may occur in the Rio Grande, NM. Information obtained from these studies will be used by USFWS personnel in conducting silvery minnow salvage operations during river drying events to prioritize sites for rescue. 2008 Progress: Toxicity of adverse water quality conditions of low dissolved oxygen, high temperatures, and pulses of high ammonia concentrations to different life stages of the Rio Grande silvery minnow. A portion the Rio Grande silvery minnow¿s current occupied range lays in a reach of the river that receives discharges from several large wastewater treatment plants. These plants experience periodic upset events, whereby they discharge elevated concentrations of ammonia into the river. Little is known about the effects of pulse exposures and fluctuating ammonia concentrations on silvery minnow. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of chronic pulsed exposures to ammonia on early stages of silvery minnow. We conducted two chronic toxicity tests simultaneously with ammonia and silvery minnow larvae. In one test, the fish were exposed to constant ammonia concentrations for 30 days. In the second test, fish were exposed for 30 days to daily 12-hour pulses of ammonia in which the daily average concentrations were the same as those in the constant concentration exposure test. All tests were conducted in reconstituted water that simulated that in the Middle Rio Grande. Preliminary analysis indicates that pulsed exposures to the same 24-h average concentrations were are as toxic to silvery minnow as were constant exposures and growth was a more sensitive end point than survival A draft final report on the laboratory studies is being developed and is expected to be completed by October 2008. Evaluation of perennial wetted instream habitat use by the Rio Grande silvery minnow in the Middle Rio Grande. The project is a cooperative research investigation with the USFWS, Pueblo of Isleta, and HabiTech Incorporated and was funded by Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Act Collaborative Program (MRGESACP). The MRGESACP is evaluating the use of large cottonwood snags as a technique for the creation of deeper pools with low-velocity flow that can serve as refugia for silvery minnows during periods of river drying as well as over winter habitat. The wetted instream habitats (WIH) created by these structures will be located below the outfalls of riverside and irrigation return drains that contribute flow to river throughout the year. We conducted one chronic in-situ cage exposure study to evaluate the response of silvery minnow to ambient conditions at a recently created WIH on the Pueblo of Isleta, NM. Three cages were deployed at each of three sites (river, irrigation drain, and WIH) on the Pueblo of Isleta during low flow conditions at the end of the irrigation season (September and October). We evaluated survival, growth, various measures of health, and accumulation of trace elements in silvery minnow along with intensive water quality monitoring at each site. Preliminary analyses indicate that there were no differences in survival or growth of caged fish among the three sites. Comparisons of initial and final growth metrics of fish at each site showed no differences in total length, but weight and condition factors were significantly reduced after 26 days of exposure. Histopathological and chemical analyses of the fish are being completed. The cage design used in this study shows promise as monitoring tool for silvery minnow, as the average survival of fish at each site ranged from 73% to 79%. The data are being validated and analyzed and a draft report on these findings will be prepared 2008 Statement of Work: A final report will be completed that will summarize the results for survival, growth, water and tissue contaminant residues, and histology data collected during on-site toxicity studies on the Rio Grande conducted in 2005 and 2006. Also. the preparation of manuscripts decribing the results of these on-site studies will be implemented in FY08. The results of the on-site studies conducted in FY 2005 and 2006 will be used by the USBOR, USFWS, City of Albuquerque, NM, and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District to determine the water source for the silvery minnow sanctuary being constructed on the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, NM. We will analyse and interpret the data collected during acute and chronic toxicity studies conducted in FY07 in which early life history stages of silvery minnows were exposed to degraded water quality conditions that have or may occur in the Rio Grande, NM. A final report on the finding of these studies will be prepared. Information obtained from these studies will be used by USFWS personnel in conducting silvery minnow salvage operations during river drying events to prioritize sites for rescue. A study will be conducted on-site in the Rio Grande to evaluate in-stream wetted habitats that occur during dry seasons and the suitability of these wetted areas for silvery minnow habitat. 2009 Statement of Work: A final report will be completed that will summarize the results for survival, growth, water and tissue contaminant residues, and histology data collected during on-site toxicity studies on the Rio Grande conducted in 2005 and 2006. Also. the preparation of manuscripts decribing the results of these on-site studies will be implemented in FY08. The results of the on-site studies conducted in FY 2005 and 2006 will be used by the USBOR, USFWS, City of Albuquerque, NM, and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District to determine the water source for the silvery minnow sanctuary being constructed on the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, NM. We will analyse and interpret the data collected during laboratory acute and chronic toxicity studies conducted in FY08 in which early life history stages of silvery minnows were exposed to degraded water quality conditions that have or may occur in the Rio Grande, NM. A final report on the finding of these studies will be prepared. Information obtained from these studies will be used by USFWS personnel in conducting silvery minnow salvage operations during river drying events to prioritize sites for rescue. Data from an on-site study in which adult Rio Grande silver minnnow were exposed in cages at three locations in the Middle Rio Grande are being validated and analyzed. The objectives of the study were determine if wetted in-stream habitats created in the Middle Rio Grande by placing large cottonwood snags at and below the outfall of irrigation drains would serve as suitable habitat for silvery minnows during the dry season and to evaluate the use of caged fish as a monitoring tool for assessing habitat quality. Product: Posters Delivered 2006. Toxicity of ash from burned areas along the Rio Grande to endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow. 14th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, March 20-22, 2006, St. Cloud, MN. Abstract (poster). Product: Posters Delivered Buhl, Kevin J. 2007. Toxicity of adverse water quality conditions to the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow. (28h Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Milwaukee, WI, November 11-15, 2007. Abstract TP196, page 236). Product: Posters Delivered Buhl, kevin J. Toxicity of adverse water quality conditions to the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow. (16th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, St. Cloud, MN, March 31-April 2, 2008. Abstract. Product: Presentations Delivered Buhl, K.J. 2006. On-site toxicological evaluation of point source discharges to the Rio Grande, NM on young Rio Grande silvery minnow. 14th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, March 20-22, 2006, St. Cloud, MN. Abstract (platform). Product: Presentations Delivered Buhl, K.J. 2006. On-site toxicological evaluation of point source discharges to the Rio Grande, NM on young Rio Grande silvery minnow. 67th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, December 3-6, 2006, Omaha, NE. Abstract (platform). Product: Presentations Delivered Buhl, K.J. 2006. On-site toxicological evaluation of point source discharges to the Rio Grande, NM on young Rio Grande silvery minnow. Dakota Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Chamberlain, SD, February 27-March 1, 2006. Abstract (Platform). Product: Presentations Delivered Buhl, Kevin J. 2008. Relative tolerance of RGSM to adverse water quality conditions to the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow. (16th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Duluth, MN, March 31-April 2, 2008. Abstract. Product: Presentations Delivered Buhl, Kevin J. 2008. Toxicity of adverse water quality conditions to the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow. (28h Dakota Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Sioux Falls, SD, February 20, 2008. Abstract. Product: Report Delivered Buhl, Kevin J. 2008. Relative Toxicity of USDA Forest Service Wildland Fire Suppression Product Number 07-RBT-01 to Early Life Stages of Rainbow Trout. Final Report to USDS Forest Service, Wildland Fire Chemical Systems, Missoula Technology and Development Center, Missoula, MT. 10 pages. Product: Report Delivered Buhl, Kevin J. 2008. Relative Toxicity of USDA Forest Service Wildland Fire Suppression Product Number 07-RBT-03 to Early Life Stages of Rainbow Trout. Final Report to USDS Forest Service, Wildland Fire Chemical Systems, Missoula Technology and Development Center, Missoula, MT. 10 pages. Product: Report Delivered Buhl, Kevin J. 2008. Relative Toxicity of USDA Forest Service Wildland Fire Suppression Product Number 07-RBT-04 to Early Life Stages of Rainbow Trout. Final Report to USDS Forest Service, Wildland Fire Chemical Systems, Missoula Technology and Development Center, Missoula, MT. 10 pages. Product: Report Delivered Buhl, Kevin J. 2008. Relative Toxicity of USDA Forest Service Wildland Fire Suppression Product Number 07-RBT-02 to Early Life Stages of Rainbow Trout. Final Report to USDS Forest Service, Wildland Fire Chemical Systems, Missoula Technology and Development Center, Missoula, MT. 10 pages. Product: Report Planned Buhl, Kevin J., Evaluation of the suitability of potential source waters for a Rio Grande silvery minnow sanctuary on the Rio Grande, NM., USGS Product: Report Planned Buhl, Kevin J., On-site toxicological evaluation of point source discharges to the Rio Grande, NM on young Rio Grande silvery minnow., USGS Product: Report Planned Buhl, Kevin J., Toxicity of ash from burned areas along the Rio Grande to the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow., USGS Product: Report Planned Thomas May, The effects of selenium on endangered pupfish inhabiting irrigation return drains of the Salton Sea., USGS |
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