A new type of water pollution: concrete drainage infrastructure and geochemical contamination of urban waters

Wright, Ian; Davies, Peter J.; Findlay, Sophia; Jonasson, Olof J

doi:10.1071/mf10296

Cited by 91 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The positive relationship between human population density and impervious surface cover results from roads and buildings constructed to support high densities of people (Stankowski 1972;Liang et al 2007). The positive relationship between impervious surface cover and streamwater conductivity was likely due to road salt, hydrocarbons, and other chemical contaminants originating from paved surfaces (Paul and Meyer 2001;Corsi et al 2010;Wright et al 2011). As predicted, our results indicate that chemical contamination of streamwater had negative effects on invertebrates, including EPT taxa (Shilla and Shilla 2011;Cormier et al 2013).…”

Section: Factors Influencing Stream Invertebrates In Altered Landscapsupporting

confidence: 53%

Direct and indirect effects of human population density and land use on physical features and invertebrates of Iowa (U.S.A.) streams

Olson¹,

Stewart

Thompson

2015

Urban Ecosyst

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To improve understanding of human impacts on headwater stream condition, we quantified relationships between human, terrestrial landscape, and stream system variables in 29 central Iowa watersheds. Across study watersheds, between 0 and 100 % of total land area was characterized as Burban^(developed and barren land), whereas cultivated land constituted between 0 and 71 % of watershed area. Several variables were measured for each stream and associated watershed. Strengths of correlative relationships were used to select variables for path analysis, which we used to gain insight into factors affecting stream condition by evaluating direct and indirect effects of human system variables, terrestrial landscape variables, and physical stream variables on stream invertebrates. Results indicated that in predominantly urban watersheds, contaminant inputs to streams (measured by streamwater conductivity) negatively affected invertebrates, including EPT taxa (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera), and streamwater contaminant concentrations increased with impervious surface and human population density in the watershed. In rural watersheds, high streamwater nitrogen concentrations associated with cultivated land were related to declines in invertebrate taxon richness. Independent of land use, invertebrate abundance and taxonomic diversity were positively related to coarse substrate abundance on the streambed. Additionally, stream flow (discharge) increased with watershed area, which in turn increased invertebrate taxonomic diversity. Apparently, mechanisms responsible for human impacts on stream condition in central Iowa depend on dominant land use in the watershed. Additionally, stream ecosystems with high quality benthic habitat, and those located in large watersheds with greater flow, appear to be more resilient to land use effects.

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Section: Factors Influencing Stream Invertebrates In Altered Landscapsupporting

confidence: 53%

Direct and indirect effects of human population density and land use on physical features and invertebrates of Iowa (U.S.A.) streams

Olson¹,

Stewart

Thompson

2015

Urban Ecosyst

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“…Humans are changing the availability of other micronutrients other than sodium, and it is likely that similar effects hold true for those micronutrients. For instance, given that calcium affects the abundance and development of birds, snails, and worms (72)(73)(74), anthropogenic changes in calcium (75,76) may be particularly relevant for these taxa. Our results highlight the need for more comprehensive descriptions of how nutrition is changing in the face of humans and the diverse responses across traits and species to such changes.…”

Section: Implications: Changes In Limited Nutrients and Selection On mentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic changes in sodium affect neural and muscle development in butterflies

Snell‐Rood

Espeset

Boser

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

102

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The development of organisms is changing drastically because of anthropogenic changes in once-limited nutrients. Although the importance of changing macronutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, is well-established, it is less clear how anthropogenic changes in micronutrients will affect organismal development, potentially changing dynamics of selection. We use butterflies as a study system to test whether changes in sodium availability due to road salt runoff have significant effects on the development of sodium-limited traits, such as neural and muscle tissue. We first document how road salt runoff can elevate sodium concentrations in the tissue of some plant groups by 1.5-30 times. Using monarch butterflies reared on roadside-and prairie-collected milkweed, we then show that road salt runoff can result in increased muscle mass (in males) and neural investment (in females). Finally, we use an artificial diet manipulation in cabbage white butterflies to show that variation in sodium chloride per se positively affects male flight muscle and female brain size. Variation in sodium not only has different effects depending on sex, but also can have opposing effects on the same tissue: across both species, males increase investment in flight muscle with increasing sodium, whereas females show the opposite pattern. Taken together, our results show that anthropogenic changes in sodium availability can affect the development of traits in roadside-feeding herbivores. This research suggests that changing micronutrient availability could alter selection on foraging behavior for some roadside-developing invertebrates.nutritional ecology | Danaus plexippus | Pieris rapae | ecological stoichiometry

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“…Although there are several possible sources of calcium in the watershed, it is possible that our elevated calcium values are due to the dissolution or chemical weathering of concrete found in the watershed, e.g., structures, other impervious surfaces, and channelized reaches. Several studies have documented the effects of concrete on stream water Table 1. chemistry and its increase in calcium concentrations (Leung and Jiao 2006, Davies et al 2010, Wright et al 2011, Tippler et al 2012. For example, Tippler et al (2012) found that in streams with high imperviousness, calcium concentrations were more than nine times that of less impervious streams (20 mg/L vs. 2.2 mg/ L).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal variation in stream water chemistry in a tropical urban watershed

Ramírez¹,

Rosas²,

Lugo³

et al. 2014

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Urban activities and related infrastructure alter the natural patterns of stream physical and chemical conditions. According to the Urban Stream Syndrome, streams draining urban landscapes are characterized by high concentrations of nutrients and ions, and might have elevated water temperatures and variable oxygen concentrations. Here, we report temporal and spatial variability in stream physicochemistry in a highly urbanized watershed in Puerto Rico. The main objective of the study was to describe stream physicochemical characteristics and relate them to urban intensity, e.g., percent impervious surface cover, and watershed infrastructure, e.g., road and pipe densities. The Río Piedras Watershed in the San Juan Metropolitan Area, Puerto Rico, is one of the most urbanized regions on the island. The Río Piedras presented high solute concentrations that were related to watershed factors, such as percent impervious cover. Temporal variability in ion concentrations lacked seasonality, as did all other parameters measured except water temperature, which was lower during winter and highest during summer, as expected based on latitude. Spatially, stream physicochemistry was strongly related to watershed percent impervious cover and also to the density of urban infrastructure, e.g., roads, pipe, and building densities. Although the watershed is serviced by a sewage collection system, illegal discharges and leaky infrastructure are probably responsible for the elevated ion concentration found. Overall, the Río Piedras is an example of the response of a tropical urban watershed after major sewage inputs are removed, thus highlighting the importance of proper infrastructure maintenance and management of runoff to control ion concentrations in tropical streams.

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A new type of water pollution: concrete drainage infrastructure and geochemical contamination of urban waters

Cited by 91 publications

References 21 publications

Direct and indirect effects of human population density and land use on physical features and invertebrates of Iowa (U.S.A.) streams

Direct and indirect effects of human population density and land use on physical features and invertebrates of Iowa (U.S.A.) streams

Anthropogenic changes in sodium affect neural and muscle development in butterflies

Spatio-temporal variation in stream water chemistry in a tropical urban watershed

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