Bioavailability of metals in stream food webs and hazards to brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the upper Animas River watershed, Colorado

被引:76
作者
Besser J.M. [1 ]
Brumbaugh W.G. [1 ]
May T.W. [1 ]
Church S.E. [2 ]
Kimball B.A. [3 ]
机构
[1] U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, MO 65201
[2] U.S. Geological Survey, Geology Division, MS 973, Denver, CO 80225
[3] U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, West Valley, UT 84119
关键词
Metal Concentration; Bioaccumulation; Reference Site; Algal Biomass; Benthic Invertebrate;
D O I
10.1007/s002440010147
中图分类号
学科分类号
摘要
The water quality, habitats, and biota of streams in the upper Animas River watershed of Colorado, USA, are affected by metal contamination associated with acid drainage. We determined metal concentrations in components of the food web of the Animas River and its tributaries - periphyton (aufwuchs), benthic invertebrates, and livers of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) - and evaluated pathways of metal exposure and hazards of metal toxicity to stream biota. Concentrations of the toxic metals cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in periphyton, benthic invertebrates, and trout livers from one or more sites in the upper Animas River were significantly greater than those from reference sites. Periphyton from sites downstream from mixing zones of acid and neutral waters had elevated concentrations of aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) reflecting deposition of colloidal Fe and Al oxides, and reduced algal biomass. Metal concentrations in benthic invertebrates reflected differences in feeding habits and body size among taxa, with greatest concentrations of Zn, Cu, and Cd in the small mayfly Rhithrogena, which feeds on periphyton, and greatest concentrations of Pb in the small stonefly Zapada, a detritivore. Concentrations of Zn and Pb decreased across each trophic linkage, whereas concentrations of Cu and Cd were similar across several trophic levels, suggesting that Cu and Cd were more efficiently transferred via dietary exposure. Concentrations of Cu in invertebrates and trout livers were more closely associated with impacts on trout populations and invertebrate communities than were concentrations of Zn, Cd, or Pb. Copper concentrations in livers of brook trout from the upper Animas River were substantially greater than background concentrations and approached levels associated with reduced brook trout populations in field studies and with toxic effects on other salmonids in laboratory studies. These results indicate that bioaccumulation and transfer of metals in stream food webs are significant components of metal exposure for stream biota of the upper Animas River watershed and suggest that chronic toxicity of Cu is an important factor limiting the distribution and abundance of brook trout populations in the watershed.
引用
收藏
页码:48 / 59
页数:11
相关论文
共 36 条
[11]  
Farag A.M., Woodward D.F., Goldstein J.N., Brumbaugh W.G., Meyer J.S., Concentrations of metals associated with mining wastes in sediments, biofilm, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish from the Coeur d'Alene River basin, Idaho, Arch Environ Contam Toxicol, 34, pp. 119-127, (1998)
[12]  
Farag A.M., Woodward D.F., Brumbaugh W.G., Goldstein J.N., MacConnell E., Hogstrand C., Dietary effects of metals-contaminated invertebrates from the Coeur d'Alene River, Idaho, on cutthroat trout, Trans Amer Fish Soc, 128, pp. 578-592, (1999)
[13]  
Henry T.B., Irwin E.R., Grizzle J.M., Wildhaber M.L., Brumbaugh W.G., Acute toxicity of an acid mine drainage mixing zone to juvenile and largemouth bass, Trans Am Fish Soc, 128, pp. 919-928, (1999)
[14]  
Kemble N.E., Brumbaugh W.G., Brunson E.L., Dwyer F.J., Ingersoll C.G., Monda D.P., Woodward D.F., Toxicity of metal-contaminated sediment from the upper Clark Fork River, Montana, to aquatic invertebrates and fish in laboratory exposures, Environ Toxicol Chem, 13, pp. 1985-1997, (1994)
[15]  
Kiffney P.M., Clements W.H., Bioaccumulation of heavy metals by benthic invertebrates at the Arkansas River, Colorado, Environ Toxicol Chem, 12, pp. 1507-1517, (1993)
[16]  
Kimball B.A., Callendar E., Axtmann E.V., Effects of colloids on metal transport in a river receiving acid mine drainage, upper Arkansas River, Colorado, USA, Appl Geochem, 10, pp. 285-306, (1995)
[17]  
Lanno R.P., Slinger S.J., Hilton J.W., Maximium tolerable and toxicity levels of dietary copper in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri Richardson), Aquaculture, 49, pp. 257-268, (1985)
[18]  
Leib K.J., Wright W.G., Characterization of selected water-quality constituents and seasonal loadings in the upper Animas River basin, southwestern Colorado, US Geological Survey, Water Resources Investigation Reports, (2000)
[19]  
May T.W., Wiedmeyer R.H., Brumbaugh W.G., Schmitt C.J., The determination of metals in sediment pore waters and in 1N HCl-extracted sediments by ICP-MS, Atomic Spectros, 18, pp. 133-139, (1997)
[20]  
McKim J.M., Benoit D.A., Effects of long-term exposures to copper on survival, growth, and reproduction of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), J Fish Res Bd Can, 28, pp. 655-662, (1971)