Publication Details
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An Assessment of Chemical Contaminants, Toxicity and Benthic Infauna in Sediments from the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER)
Author(s): Pait,A.S., I. Hartwell1, A.L. Mason, F.R. Galdo Jr., R.A. Warner, C.F.G. Jeffrey, A.M. Hoffman, D.A. Apeti, and S.J. Pittman, A.M. Hoffman, and F.R. Galdo, Jr.
NCCOS Center: CCMA
Center Team: COAST
Name of Publisher: NOAA
Place of Publication: Silver Spring, MD
Publication Type: NOAA Technical Memoranda
Date of Publication: 2013
Reference Information: NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 156
Extent of Work: 78 pp
Abstract: This report contains a chemical and biological characterization
of sediments from the St. Thomas East End
Reserves (STEER) in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
(USVI). The STEER Management Plan (published in
2011) identified chemical contaminants and habitat loss
as high or very high threats and called for a characterization
of chemical contaminants as well as an assessment of
their effects on natural resources. The baseline information
contained in this report on chemical contaminants,
toxicity and benthic infaunal community composition can
be used to assess current conditions, as well as the efficacy
of future restoration activities.
In this phase of the project, 185 chemical contaminants,
including a number of organic (e.g., hydrocarbons and
pesticides) and inorganic (e.g., metals) compounds,
were analyzed from 24 sites in the STEER. Sediments
were also analyzed using a series of toxicity bioassays,
including amphipod
mortality, sea urchin
fertilization impairment,
and the cytochrome
P450 Human
Reporter Gene System
(HRGS), along with
a characterization of
the benthic infaunal
community.
Higher levels of
chemical contaminants
were found in
Mangrove Lagoon
and Benner Bay in
the western portion
of the study area than
in the eastern area.
The concentrations
of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane),
chlordane, zinc, copper, lead and
mercury were above a NOAA sediment quality guideline
at one or more sites, indicating impacts may be present
in more sensitive species or life stages in the benthic
environment. Copper at one site in Benner Bay, however,
was above a NOAA guideline indicating that effects on
benthic organisms were likely. The antifoulant boat hull
ingredient tributyltin, or TBT, was found at the third
highest concentration in the history of NOAA’s National
Status and Trends (NS&T) Program, which monitors
the Nation’s coastal and estuarine waters for chemical
contaminants and bioeffects. Unfortunately, there do not
appear to be any established sediment quality guidelines
for TBT. Results of the bioassays indicated significant
sediment toxicity in Mangrove Lagoon and Benner Bay
using multiple tests. The benthic infaunal communities
in Mangrove Lagoon and Benner Bay appeared severely
diminished.
Availability: Online.
Related Attachment: Download file (.pdf)
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