Understanding the influence of multiple pollutant stressors on the decline of freshwater mussels in a biodiversity hotspot

dc.contributor.authorCope, W. Gregoryen
dc.contributor.authorBergeron, Christine M.en
dc.contributor.authorArchambault, Jennifer M.en
dc.contributor.authorJones, Jess W.en
dc.contributor.authorBeaty, Bravenen
dc.contributor.authorLazaro, Peter R.en
dc.contributor.authorShea, Damianen
dc.contributor.authorCallihan, Jody L.en
dc.contributor.authorRogers, Jennifer J.en
dc.contributor.departmentFish and Wildlife Conservationen
dc.date.accessioned2021-06-22T19:09:53Zen
dc.date.available2021-06-22T19:09:53Zen
dc.date.issued2021-06-15en
dc.description.abstractThe Clinch River watershed of the upper Tennessee River Basin of Virginia and Tennessee, USA supports one of North America's greatest concentrations of freshwater biodiversity, including 46 extant species of native freshwater mussels (Order Unionida), 20 of which are protected as federally endangered. Despite the global biological significance of the Clinch River, mussel populations are declining in some reaches, both in species richness and abundance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the exposure of adult resident mussels to a suite of inorganic and organic contaminant stressors in distinct sections of the Clinch River that encompassed a range of mussel abundance and health. To provide insight into the potential role of pollutants in the decline of mussels, including within a previously documented "zone of mussel decline", the mainstem Clinch River (8 sites) and its tributaries (4 sites) were examined over two consecutive years. We quantified and related metals and organic contaminant concentrations in mussels to their associated habitat compartments (bed sediment, suspended particulate sediment, pore water, and surface water). We found that concentrations of organic contaminants in resident mussels, particularly the suite of 42 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) analyzed, were related to PAH concentrations in all four habitat (media) compartments. Further, PAH concentrations in mussel tissue (range 37.8-978.1 ng/g dry weight in 2012 and 194.3-1073.7 ng/g dry weight in 2013) were negatively related to the spatial pattern in mussel densities (r(s) = -0.64, p <= 0.05 in 2012 and r(s) = -0.83, p <= 0.05 in 2013) within the river, and were highest in the "zone of mussel decline". In contrast, the suite of 22 metals analyzed in resident mussels were largely unrelated to the spatial pattern of variation of metals in the four habitat compartments except for Manganese (Mn; range 3630.5-23,749.2 mu g/g dry weight in 2012 and 1540.4-12,605.8 mu g/g dry weight in 2013) in surface water (r(s) = 0.58, p < 0.1) and pore water (r(s) = 0.76, p <= 0.05). This study revealed that PAHs and Mn are important pollutant stressors to mussels in the Clinch River and that they are largely being delivered through the Guest River tributary watershed. Accordingly, future conservation and management efforts would benefit by identifying, and ideally mitigating, the sources of PAHs, Mn, and other current or legacy mining associated pollutants to the mainstem river and its tributaries. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.en
dc.description.adminPublic domain – authored by a U.S. government employeeen
dc.description.notesFunding for this researchwas provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) through the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service (USFWS) Science Support Partnership (SPP) Program via ResearchWork Order No. 197, administered through the USGS North Carolina and Virginia Cooperative Fish andWildlife Research Units. We thank Brian Evans and Steve Alexander of the USFWS for their contributions to the design, management, and execution of the study. We especially thank Matt Johnson, Jeremy Leonard, Andrew Phipps, AngelaWhite, AmandaWeberg, Caitlin Carey, Megan Bradley, Dan Hua, and Brett Ostby for field, laboratory, mussel propagation, and database assistance. Bill Henley, Tom Kwak, Mark Ford, Brad Kreps, Roberta Hylton, Susan Lingenfelser, Cindy Kane, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Laboratory in Fort Meade Maryland, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Steering Committee of the Clinch-Powell Clean Rivers Initiative provided logistical and stakeholder support for this project. The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the USFWS. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.en
dc.description.sponsorshipU.S. Geological Survey (USGS) through the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service (USFWS) Science Support Partnership (SPP) Program [197]en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144757en
dc.identifier.eissn1879-1026en
dc.identifier.issn0048-9697en
dc.identifier.other144757en
dc.identifier.pmid33940701en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/103954en
dc.identifier.volume773en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsPublic Domainen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/en
dc.subjectUnionidaeen
dc.subjectHabitaten
dc.subjectMetalsen
dc.subjectOrganic contaminantsen
dc.subjectClinch Riveren
dc.titleUnderstanding the influence of multiple pollutant stressors on the decline of freshwater mussels in a biodiversity hotspoten
dc.title.serialScience of the Total Environmenten
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
1-s2.0-S0048969720382905-main.pdf
Size:
2.47 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published version