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Coastal plants : chemical sensitivities and risk assessments
Citation:
Lewis, M. Coastal plants : chemical sensitivities and risk assessments. Presented at Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Portland, OR, May 18 - 23, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
Presentation at scientific meeting. Evaluates the ecological threat of xenobiotics to coastal vegetation and describes the implications for risk assessors.
Description:
The ability of plant-dominated ecosystems to improve water quality and provide habitat for biodiversity are important ecological services. These services are impacted by natural and anthropogenic stressors which includes contaminant toxicity. Scientific information describing the effects of anthropogenic contaminants is limited however. Toxic-effect concentrations for structure and function of coastal wetland emergent and submersed flora are largely unknown despite recommendations for their derivation since the 1980s. Consequently, the ability of current aquatic life criteria, proposed sediment quality criteria and single chemical risk procedures to protect coastal flora is uncertain. This presentation summarizes results of a global literature review for chemical phytotoxicity to coastal wetland plants, seagrass, mangroves and describe methodologies in development to better incorporate phytotoxicity in regulatory decisions. This information is needed by resource managers and risk assessors for habitat preservation and restoration including the ability to better predict the phytotoxicities of near-shore chemicals and the effects of episodic events such as oil spills.