Monitoring exposure of brown bullheads and benthic macroinvertebrates to sediment contaminants in the Ashtabula river before, during, and after remediation

Abstract

In 2007, approximately 420,500 cubic meters of contaminated sediment were removed from the Ashtabula River by dredging. The primary objective of the present study was to monitor contaminant exposure in fish and macroinvertebrates before, during, and after dredging. This was done by measuring tissue concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) in brown bullhead catfish (Ameriurus nebulosa) and in benthic macroinvertebrates, assessing changes in DNA damage in fish liver and blood, and scoring external and histopathological lesions and anomalies in the fish. In surficial sediment PCBs and PAHs were also quantified in conjunction with the biological sampling. The results show a significant reduction in contaminant levels in both fish and macroinvertebrates following dredging, indicating the effectiveness of the remediation in reducing exposure of biota to the primary contaminants of concern. Similarly, DNA damage levels in fish collected from the Ashtabula River significantly declined following dredging; however, a similar reduction in DNA damage over time was seen in fish collected from a reference site (Conneaut Creek), making interpretation difficult. Macroinvertebrate PCB concentrations were reflective of the sediment concentrations in the areas where Hester-Dendy samplers were deployed for macroinvertebrate collection. The present study demonstrates that these methods can be used to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of remediation techniques at contaminated sediment sites.

Riparian spiders indicate the magnitude and sources of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination at a large contaminated sediment site

“…These are 2 distinct areas (Fields Brook, represented by Fields Brook‐upstream and Fields Brook‐downstream, and Strong Book, represented by Strong Brook) that drain into the Ashtabula River near its termination into Lake Erie. Our results generally support the findings of Meier et al (). They investigated sediment and macroinvertebrate PCB concentrations at multiple locations in the Ashtabula area of concern, including sites that overlapped with sampling locations of the present study (Fields Brook‐downstream, Upper Turning Basin, Up1, and Mix‐downstream).…”

“…In 2 prior studies, their PCB concentrations were highly correlated and they ordered sites similarly along a FIGURE 1: Map of sampling locations. Concentrations displayed are for total polychlorinated biphenyls (SPCBs; dry mass) in sediment obtained from Meier et al (2015) during their 2011 sampling. The white polygon delineates the area dredged by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2007.…”

Contaminated Aquatic Sediments

“…Hester-Dendy samplers) could be used to discriminate among contaminated sites through the analyses of PCBs in whole homogenates of macroinvertebrates (Lazorchak et al, 2015). Macroinvertebrate body burden concentrations showed similar trends to sediment t-PCB concentrations at Water Environment Research, Volume 88, Number 10-Copyright © 2016 Water Environment Federation the sites sampled indicating that macroinvertebrates can be used to assess sediment contamination among sites that have different PCB levels.…”

“…Contaminant exposure in fish and macroinvertebrates was monitored before, during, and after dredging in the Ashtabula River by measuring tissue concentrations of PCB and PAH in brown bullhead catfish (Ameriurus nebulosa) and in benthic macroinvertebrates (Meier et al, 2015).…”

The invasive Ameiurus nebulosus (Lesueur, 1819) as a permanent part of the fish fauna in selected reservoirs in Central Europe: long-term study of three shallow lakes

“…As reported by Breckels and Neff (2010), the total length of the brown bullhead in southwestern Ontario was in the range of 24.9 to 26.2 cm. Similarly, Meier et al (2015), examining the brown bullhead from two rivers in northeastern Ohio (USA), noted that their lengths ranged from 27.0 to 35.4 cm. This suggests that these fish were almost twice the size of the brown bullhead caught in our research (Table 6).…”