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ASSESSING THE ECOLOGICAL CONDITION OF VERACRUZ, MX ESTUARIES
Citation:
Macauley, J M., H. Alafita, P. T. Heitmuller, V D. Engle, AND Jr Craven WG. ASSESSING THE ECOLOGICAL CONDITION OF VERACRUZ, MX ESTUARIES. Presented at Estuarine Research Federation Conference, Seattle, WA, Sep. 14-18, 2003.
Description:
As part of an international technology transfer activity between EPA's Office of Research and Development and the state of Veracruz's Sub-secretary of the Environment, 50 stations within estuaries along the gulf coast of the state of Veracruz MX, were sampled during June and July 2002 using an integrated probabilistic design and a common set of indicators. The objective of the study was to collect information in order to assess the condition of estuarine waters within the state of Veracruz, and provide data to support an overall assessment of Gulf of Mexico estuaries Samples were collected for water quality, sediment contaminants, sediment toxicity, and benthic populations were collected using standardized methods. Initial analyses indicate that a small percentage of the estuarine area of Veracruz has elevated PAH concentrations and no surficial sediments were toxic to the marine amphipod Ampelisca abdita. We will present analyses focusing on the concentrations of carbon and dissolved nutrients in the estuaries in this region. An index of trophic status and overall condition will be applied to these results.