A review of the potential effects of suspended sediment on fishes: potential dredging-related physiological, behavioral, and transgenerational implications

Abstract

The long-term effects of sediment exposure on aquatic organisms are poorly understood, yet it is critical for determining threshold effects and exposure limits to mitigate potential impacts with regard to population dynamics. In this paper, we present the current state of knowledge to help consolidate the breadth of information regarding total suspended solids (TSS) thresholds for aquatic species, as well as identify areas where data are lacking. More specifically, we provide the state of the science related to TSS effects on freshwater and estuarine fish including short-term (i.e., physiology and behavior) and long-term effects. Our research indicated that little attention has been given to examining long-term effects, e.g., transgenerational effects, from suspended sediments (SS) on fish populations. Understanding transgenerational effects is paramount to developing and predicting the links between fish condition, survival, populations, and communities. Survival of a local fish population to high sediment loads often translates into short-term physiological and behavioral effects; however, the ramifications of such exposure events are rarely tracked across generations. The majority of studies involving SS effects on fish have focused on exposure and mortality rates of affected fish, deposited eggs, or larvae. We developed a conceptual model that highlighted the interactions between sediment dynamics and fish populations. The model can assist in the formulation of more quantitative-based approaches for modeling these interactions. Future research efforts should focus on developing an understanding of whether environmental disturbances, e.g., dredging, may lead to epigenetic changes that may lead to cascade population effects, and if so, under what circumstances.

Interactions of Microplastics with Freshwater Biota

“…Species-specific effects of exposures to suspended solids were highlighted in numerous studies investigating the anthropogenic introduction of particulate matter (e.g., arising from erosion, dredging; reviewed in [90,91]). Suspended particles or fine sediments can reduce feeding rates, decrease reaction distance to prey, influence embryo development, increase mortality, reduce primary production, reduce species diversity, and decrease population size [90][91][92][93][94]. Bilotta and Brazier [90] conclude that the magnitude of adverse effects depends on concentration, exposure duration, chemical composition, and particle size distribution.…”

Compensatory response of fathead minnow larvae following a pulsed in-situ exposure to a seasonal agricultural runoff event

“…This was evident by measured differences in conductance, dissolved oxygen levels, and accumulated mass of suspended solids between the pulse and post-pulse periods (Table 1; Table 2). All of these abiotic factors varied relative to river discharge (Kolok et al 2014;Kjelland et al 2015). Biological responses of fish living in this environment would be expected to be a function of these changing physicochemical parameters, as well as diurnal and seasonal (vernal) changes in temperature (Table 1) and photoperiod, (Clark et al 2005;Blanco-Vives et al 2011;Ali and Kolok 2015) regardless of the presence of any agrichemicals in the water.…”

An estuarine-tuned quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA-V): assessment and application to satellite estimates of SPM in Galveston Bay following Hurricane Harvey

“…CDOM and suspended sediments are strongly associated with light absorption in the blue, and therefore high concentrations may reduce light quality for photosynthetic organisms (e.g., phytoplankton and submerged vegetation) in estuarine waters (Keith et al, 2002;Ralph et al, 2007;Pedersen et al, 2012). The effects of water turbidity caused by dissolved and particulate components on physical and behavioral changes in aquatic species have been well reported in the literature (Wang et al, 2008;Kjelland et al, 2015). Collectively, these water constituents attenuate incoming light, while a fraction of it is backscattered out of water by the water itself and particles.…”