NOAA Ribbed Mussel Urban Water Quality Study

ribbed mussels

Ribbed mussels can remove nitrogen and other excess nutrients from an urban estuary and could help improve water quality in other urban and coastal locations, according to a study in New York City’s Bronx River.

The findings, published in Environmental Science and Technology, are part of long-term efforts to improve water quality in the Bronx River Estuary.

Researchers at NOAA Fisheries Milford Laboratory in Milford, Connecticut began the two-year pilot project in June 2011.

They used a 20 x 20-foot raft with mussel growing lines hanging below as their field location in an industrial area near Hunt’s Point in the South Bronx, not far from a sewage treatment plant.

The waters were closed to shellfish harvesting because of bacterial contamination. Scientists monitored the condition of the ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) and the water quality over time to see how each responded.

“Ribbed mussels live in estuarine habitats and can filter bacteria, microalgae, nutrients and contaminants from the water,” said Julie Rose, a research ecologist at the Milford Laboratory, part of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, and co-author of the study. “They are native to the East Coast so there are no concerns about invasive species disturbing the ecosystem, and they are efficient at filtering a variety of particles from the water. Ribbed mussels are not sold commercially, so whatever they eat will not be eaten by humans.”

Farming and harvesting shellfish to remove nitrogen and other excess nutrients from rivers, estuaries and coastal waters is known as nutrient bioextraction, or bioharvesting.

Mussels and other shellfish are filter feeders, and as the organisms grow, they take up or assimilate nutrients in algae and other microorganisms filtered from the surrounding waters.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients occur naturally in the environment and are needed by plants and animals to grow, but too much of any of them is harmful.

Excess amounts from human activities often end up in rivers, streams and coastal environments, causing algal blooms, loss of sea grass and low oxygen levels in the water, which can kill large numbers of fish and other organisms.

Researchers found that the Bronx River mussels were generally healthy, and their tissues had high amounts of a local nitrogen isotope, indicating that they removed nitrogen from local waters.

They also had lower amounts of trace metals and organic contaminants than blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) collected from the seafloor nearby.

An estimated 138 pounds of nitrogen was removed from the river when the animals were harvested.

The researchers estimate that a fully populated 20 x 20 foot mussel raft similar to the one used in this study would clean an average of three million gallons of water and remove about 350 pounds of particulate matter, like dust and soot, daily.

The Bronx study is the first to examine the use of ribbed mussels for nutrient bioextraction in a highly urbanized estuarine environment.

source: Northeast Fisheries Science Center

2017 Maine - New Hampshire Beaches Conference

The Beaches Conference 2017 (Maine - New Hampshire)
July 14, 2017
Wells High School, Wells, ME
seagrant.umaine.edu/maine-beaches-conference

The Beaches Conference 2017 will be held July 14, 2017 at Wells High School in Wells, Maine. Participant registration will begin in May.

The Beaches Conference works to provide continuing opportunities for exchange of the most current information among beach and coastal stakeholders with diverse interests, and to present the findings from Maine and New Hampshire beach monitoring programs.

Conference Themes:

Management approaches in our coastal habitats
Implementing successful projects in beach communities
Preparing for and adapting to our future
The nature, and culture of our beaches
Monitoring, research, and emerging issues on the coast
Respecting stakeholder needs and values
Coastal development and regulation

The Beaches Conference Steering Committee includes:
Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
Maine Coastal Program
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Maine Geological Survey
Maine Healthy Beach Volunteers
Maine Sea Grant
New Hampshire Sea Grant
Rockingham Planning Commission
Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission
Town of Damariscotta
Town of Kennebunkport
University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Walsh Engineering
Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve


For more information, visit: seagrant.umaine.edu/maine-beaches-conference


source: Maine Sea Grant

Puget Sound Wastewater Study

A new study of emerging contaminants entering Puget Sound in wastewater plant effluent found some of the nation’s highest concentrations of pharmaceuticals and other chemical compounds, and detected many in fish at concentrations that may affect their growth or behavior.

The study by scientists from NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center and the University of Washington tested for 150 of the contaminants and detected 81 of the compounds in wastewater flowing into Puget Sound estuaries.

They include pharmaceuticals such as the antidepressant Prozac and the diabetes medication metformin, personal care products such as antibacterial compounds from soap and industrial chemicals.

The study also examined juvenile Chinook salmon and Pacific staghorn sculpin, both fish native to Puget Sound, and found 42 of the emerging compounds in their tissue.

Some of the compounds such as fluoxetine (also known as Prozac), the diabetes drug metformin and the antibacterial compound triclosan were present in fish tissues at levels that may be high enough to adversely affect their growth, reproduction, or behavior.

The research did not examine the potential effects on human health of consuming fish from Puget Sound, and it is unknown if these levels of emerging contaminants detected in fish could affect people.

The study funded in large part by the Washington Department of Ecology examined wastewater plant effluent, estuary water, and fish found in the Puyallup River estuary in Tacoma’s Commencement Bay, Sinclair Inlet in Bremerton, and the Nisqually River estuary near Tacoma.

The Nisqually estuary was included as a reference site because it does not have a major wastewater treatment plant and has been used historically as a reference site for toxicity studies.

Unexpectedly, they found that fish and water in the Nisqually estuary also contained high concentrations of some emerging compounds.

The study also noted that the relatively high pH of seawater often makes the contaminants more bioavailable and therefore more likely to be absorbed by marine fish compared to fish in freshwater, Meador said.

source: Northwest Fisheries Science Center

New Water-Quality Test May Reduce Beach Closures

A new rapid water-quality test provides accurate same day results of bacteria levels, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The new test could help reduce un-neccessary beach closures in both saltwater and freshwater environments. Beach closures not only impact recreational users in the summertime, but they also create huge losses for the local economy.

Due to a variety of waterborne illnesses, beaches have been at the forefront of recent research on human health risk.

The new rapid water-quality test, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will help managers across the country determine whether beaches are safe for swimming in order to keep the public from getting sick.

Previous tests could not provide same-day results, so managers had to decide whether to close a beach based on findings from the day before.

The new rapid test, called quantitative polymerase chain reaction for enterococci, is recommended by the EPA, but it is not a requirement. The test has been included in the 2012 EPA guidelines for safe levels of indicator bacteria, including: Escherichia coli (E. coli) and enterococci.

source: U.S. Geological Survey