scholarly journals Comparing impacts of metal contamination on macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages in a northern Japanese river

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e10808
Author(s):  
Hiroki Namba ◽  
Yuichi Iwasaki ◽  
Kentaro Morita ◽  
Tagiru Ogino ◽  
Hiroyuki Mano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Metal Contamination ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Condition Factor ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Contaminated Sites ◽  
Running Waters ◽  
Water Quality Criteria

Researchers have long assessed the ecological impacts of metals in running waters, but few such studies investigated multiple biological groups. Our goals in this study were to assess the ecological impacts of metal contamination on macroinvertebrates and fishes in a northern Japanese river receiving treated mine discharge and to evaluate whether there was any difference between the metrics based on macroinvertebrates and those based on fishes in assessing these impacts. Macroinvertebrate communities and fish populations were little affected at the downstream contaminated sites where concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd were 0.1–1.5 times higher than water-quality criteria established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We detected a significant reduction in a few macroinvertebrate metrics such as mayfly abundance and the abundance of heptageniid mayflies at the two most upstream contaminated sites with metal concentrations 0.8–3.7 times higher than the water-quality criteria. There were, however, no remarkable effects on the abundance or condition factor of the four dominant fishes, including masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou). These results suggest that the richness and abundance of macroinvertebrates are more sensitive to metal contamination than abundance and condition factor of fishes in the studied river. Because the sensitivity to metal contamination can depend on the biological metrics used, and fish-based metrics in this study were limited, it would be valuable to accumulate empirical evidence for ecological indicators sensitive to metal contamination within and among biological groups to help in choosing which groups to survey for general environmental impact assessments in metal-contaminated rivers.

scholarly journals A sea change ahead for recreational water quality criteria

2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandria B. Boehm ◽  
Nicholas J. Ashbolt ◽  
John M. Colford ◽  
Lee E. Dunbar ◽  
Lora E. Fleming ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
The United States ◽  
Water Quality Criteria ◽  
Recreational Water ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Recreational Water Quality ◽  
Epidemiology Studies ◽  
New Criteria

The United States Environmental Protection Agency is committed to developing new recreational water quality criteria for coastal waters by 2012 to provide increased protection to swimmers. We review the uncertainties and shortcomings of the current recreational water quality criteria, describe critical research needs for the development of new criteria, as well as recommend a path forward for new criteria development. We believe that among the most needed research needs are the completion of epidemiology studies in tropical waters and in waters adversely impacted by urban runoff and animal feces, as well as studies aimed to validate the use of models for indicator and pathogen concentration and health risk predictions.

Fish toxicity testing with selenomethionine spiked feed – what's the real question being asked?

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. Rigby ◽  
A. Dennis Lemly ◽  
Russ Gerads
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Toxicity Testing ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Toxicity Tests ◽  
Water Quality Criteria ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
The Us ◽  
Canadian Provinces ◽  
National Water

The US Environmental Protection Agency and several U.S. states and Canadian provinces are currently developing national water quality criteria for selenium that are based in part on toxicity tests performed by feeding freshwater fish a selenomethionine-spiked diet which may lead to a biased assessment of selenium toxicity under field conditions.

scholarly journals New USEPA water quality criteria by 2012: GOMA concerns and recommendations

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 718-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Gooch-Moore ◽  
Kelly D. Goodwin ◽  
Carol Dorsey ◽  
R. D. Ellender ◽  
Joanna B. Mott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
The United States ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Source Tracking ◽  
Water Quality Criteria ◽  
Gulf State ◽  
New Criteria

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) was tasked by the five Gulf State Governors to identify major issues affecting the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and to set priorities for ameliorating these problems. One priority identified by GOMA is the need to improve detection methods for water quality indicators, pathogens and microbial source tracking. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is tasked with revising water quality criteria by 2012; however, the locations traditionally studied by the USEPA are not representative of the GoM and this has raised concern about whether or not the new criteria will be appropriate. This paper outlines a number of concerns, including deadlines associated with the USEPA Consent Decree, which may prevent inclusion of research needed to produce a well-developed set of methods and criteria appropriate for all regulated waters. GOMA makes several recommendations including ensuring that criteria formulation use data that include GoM-specific conditions (e.g. lower bather density, nonpoint sources), that rapid-testing methods be feasible and adequately controlled, and that USEPA maintains investments in water quality research once the new criteria are promulgated in order to assure that outstanding scientific questions are addressed and that scientifically defensible criteria are achieved for the GoM and other regulated waterbodies.

Volume Analysis for Attainability of Water Quality Criteria for Three Loading Constituents

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Wang ◽  
Lewis Linker ◽  
James Collier ◽  
Gary Shenk ◽  
Robert Koroncai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Water Quality Criteria ◽  
Volume Analysis

Developing Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Mercury: A Probabilistic Site-Specific Approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (0) ◽  
pp. 9781780404028-9781780404028
Author(s):  
D. R. J. Moore ◽  
A. Pawlisz ◽  
R. Scott Teed
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Water Quality Criteria ◽  
Ambient Water ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Specific Approach

scholarly journals Geochemical and biological controls on the ecological relevance of total, dissolved, and colloidal forms of trace elements in large boreal rivers: review and case studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-163
Author(s):  
C.W. Cuss ◽  
C.N. Glover ◽  
M.B. Javed ◽  
A. Nagel ◽  
W. Shotyk
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Trace Elements ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Water Quality Criteria ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Athabasca River ◽  
Biological Variables ◽  
Boreal Rivers

The concentrations of trace elements (TEs) in large boreal rivers can fluctuate markedly due to changing water levels and flow rates associated with spring melt and variable contributions from tributaries and groundwaters, themselves having different compositions. These fluctuating and frequently high concentrations create regulatory challenges for protecting aquatic life. For example, water quality criteria do not account for changes in flow regimes that can result in TE levels that may exceed regulatory limits, and neither do they account for the markedly different lability and bioaccessibility of suspended solids. This review addresses the geochemical and biological processes that govern the lability and bioaccessibility of TEs in boreal rivers, with an emphasis on the challenges posed by the colloidal behaviour of many TEs, and their relationship to the dissolved fraction (i.e., <0.45 μm in size). After reviewing the processes and dynamics that give rise to the forms and behaviour of TEs in large boreal rivers, their relevance for aquatic organisms and the associated relationships between size and lability and bioaccessibility are discussed. The importance of biological variables and different forms of TEs for limiting lability and bioaccessibility are also addressed. Two case studies emphasize seasonal fluctuations and accompanying changes in the distribution of TE amongst different size fractions and associated colloidal species in large boreal rivers: the Northern Dvina and one of its tributaries, the Pinega River, both in Russia, and the Athabasca River in Alberta, Canada. Water quality in the Athabasca River is briefly discussed with respect to Canadian guidelines.

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