Assessment of coastal storm impacts on contaminant body burdens of oysters collected from the gulf of Mexico

Abstract

This study evaluated changes in oyster tissue contaminant levels following North Atlantic tropical cyclones to determine if changes in contaminant concentrations were predictable. The basis for this study was analysis of coastal chemical contaminant data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Status and Trends Mussel Watch Program and NOAA's National Weather Service storm track data. The tendency for contaminant (metals and organic compounds) body burdens to increase or decrease in oyster tissue after a storm was assessed using contingency and correspondence analyses. Post-storm contaminant levels in oysters revealed a consistent pattern of distribution, which could be described as follows: (1) most of the organic contaminants stay within their long-term concentration ranges, (2) very few organic contaminants decreased, and (3) metals overwhelmingly tend to increase.

Inorganic elements in green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas): Relationships among external and internal tissues

“…Metals and other trace elements (hereafter, “inorganic elements,” inclusive of transition metal cations, metalloids, and inorganic anion species) from anthropogenic sources have entered marine environments, including those contaminants that drain from waterways of the continental United States into the Gulf of Mexico . Inorganic element concentrations have been reported for sediments , sea grass ( Thalassia testudinum ) , juvenile red snapper ( Lutjanus campechanus ) , oysters ( Crassostria virginica ) , and bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncates ) , among other organisms and environmental samples collected from the Gulf of Mexico.…”

Relationships between polychlorinated biphenyls in molluscs, hydrological characteristics and human pressures, within Basque estuaries (northern Spain)

“…However, there is not such a relationship in some cases of data obtained in 2005 or 2007. Rainfall was considered initially as a possible reason to explain such differences, as storms can result in resuspension of sediments into the water column (Apeti et al, 2011). However, PCBs concentrations in this study showed no correlation with accumulated precipitation measured 7, 30, 90 or 365 days before the sampling date, at the meteorological stations located close to each sampling site (Fig.…”