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EVALUATION OF SEVERAL ASSESSMENT METHODS AS INDICATORS OF ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
Citation:
Lewis, M A. EVALUATION OF SEVERAL ASSESSMENT METHODS AS INDICATORS OF ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. Presented at Department of Environmental Toxicology, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, September 21, 1999.
Description:
Researchers from U.S. EPA's Gulf Ecology Division have conducted a multi-year evaluation of the environmental condition of near-coastal areas affected by different types of stressors. Areas of study have included coastal rivers, transportation canals, residential canals and estuaries associated with the Pensacola Bay system, St. Andrew Bay, St. Joseph Bay and Florida Bay. The effects of point and nonpoint source stressors were determined at multiple locations at each of these study areas. Contaminant sources included 11 wastewaters, Superfund sites, golf courses, dredging activity, and urban and agricultural runoff. The objectives of the study were to determine the most relevant and cost-effective diagnostic methods needed to analyze the extent and cause of environmental impacts associated with these contaminant sources. A secondary purpose was to determine and compare the source-specific impacts with the effects of storms such as hurricanes. The study included a variety of chemical and biological methods with an emphasis on the benthic and plant communities. Effects on community composition, tissue quality, toxicity, biomass, pigment content and genotoxicity were determined. The results showed considerable spatial and temporal variation in the extent of the impacts. In many cases, sediment quality guidelines and standard test species could not be used to predict sediment degradation. Photostimulation was a common effect observed in sediments and in surface waters in many of the coastal areas. Overall, the results confirm the difficulty in determining the effect of anthropogenic activities in coastal areas and the increased level of effort that is needed relative to other ecosystems to determine these effects.