Land Use Changes and Water Quality Impacts: St. Lucie Estuary, Florida

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Land Use Changes and Water Quality Impacts St.
Lucie Estuary, Florida

• Jawed Hameedi
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Silver Spring, Maryland
• National Water Quality Monitoring Council Meeting
• West Palm Beach, FL
• October 31, 2006

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NOAAs Study ofEnvironmental Toxicity in St.
Lucie Estuary, Florida

• Collaborators and Partners
• Dr. Joan Browder, NOAA (Fish Disease and
  Deformities)
• Dr. Ed Johnson, NOAA (Contaminants, Database,
  Study Coordination)
• Dr. Tony Pait, NOAA (Endocrine Disruption)
• Dr. Kimani Kimbrough, NOAA (Information
  Synthesis)
• Dr. Mike Fulton, NOAA (Clam assay, Microtox,
  Field Support)
• Dr. Pete Key, NOAA (AChE Test)
• Dr. Laura McConnel, USDA/ARS (Pesticides)
• Dr. Scott Carr, USGS (Sea Urchin Bioassays)
• Dr. Scott Steinert, CSC (Comet Assay)
• Dr. Nancy Denslow, University Florida (Endocrine
  Disruption)
• Mr. Mark Perry, FOS (Field Operational Support)
• Dr. Jack Anderson, CAS (HRGS Test)
• Dr. Jim Brooks, TDI (Contaminant Analyses)
• Mr. Dave Lewis, TOXSCAN (Amphipod Toxicity)
• Ms. Michele Redmond, NW Aquatic Sciences
  (Amphipod Toxicity)
• Barry A. Vittor and Associates, Inc. (Benthos)

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St. Lucie Estuary

• St. Lucie Metropolitan
• 381,033 (2005)
• St. Lucie County
• Population 241,305 (est.)
• Percent change
• 1990-2000 28
• 2000-2005 25
• Listed among the fastest growing counties in the
  U.S.
• Data U.S. Census Bureau
• Graphics SFWMD

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SLE Water Quality Concerns

• Impact of Freshwater Discharge
• Fish health (disease and deformities) osmotic
  stress
• Oyster mortality, decreased growth, reproduction
  and spat recruitment
• Resuspension (contaminants, sediment, fungi)
• Muck sediment displaced normal SAV substrate
• Impact of Land-Use Activities
• Agrochemicals
• Industrial chemicals
• Sewage and stormwater
• Legacy contaminants
• Habitat loss and alteration

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El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) December
1997-April 1998

• Heavy rainfall 30 in (2.65 x normal)
• Extremely large release of water from Lake
  Okeechobee
• Incidence of disease in fish and mortality
• Toxic dinoflagellate blooms
• Reduced biodiversity (freshwater and estuarine
  fish)
• Increased muck sediment stirred-up toxics
• SLRIT funded 8 studies in 2000 (and beyond)
  Joint Project Agreement with NOAA

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The study area is also a component of the
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan
Indian River Lagoon South

• Water storage reservoirs
• Freshwater flow diversions
• Stormwater treatment areas
• Wetlands and SAV restoration and enhancement
• Nitrogen and phosphorus reductions
• Restoration of oyster beds
• Removal of muck sediment from hot spots in SLE

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Principal Study Objective

• Characterize St. Lucie Estuary in terms of (1)
  levels of contaminants, (2) incidence and
  severity of toxicity, and (3) benthic macrofaunal
  communities i.e., Sediment Quality Triad (SQT)
  approach

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Supplementary Objectives contaminant of concern

• Elucidate cause-effect relationships in terms of
  contaminant effects on biota (Fulton, Ringwood)
• Develop a simulation model for the estuary that
  is capable of describing environmental conditions
  under different freshwater discharge scenarios
  (AEE)
• Formulate a long-term monitoring strategy that
  could be adopted for use by resource management
  entities, e.g., state, SFWMD, etc.

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Sampling strata and sites (30)
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Spatial Extent of Sediment Toxicity

• Toxicity Bioassays
• Amphipod survival (solid phase)
• Sea urchin fertilization and larval development
  (pore water)
• Microtox test (organic extract)
• HRGS bioassay (organic extract)
• Contaminant Levels
• Trace elements
• Chlorinated pesticides
• Polychlorinated biphenyls
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
• Butyltins
• Dioxins, dibenzofurans, planar PCBs, new
  contaminants
• Benthic Biological Community
• Species richness
• Species diversity
• Indicator species (pollution tolerant, pollution
  sensitive)
• Benthic Index

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Copper in Sediment (µg/ dry g)
NOAA Ocean Service
Copper ERL 34 ERM 270 (µg/ dry g)
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Results of Amphipod Toxicity Testing, Year 2003
sampling
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NOAA Ocean Service
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Aggregated SQT values for two sampling strata in
Galveston Bay. Note the relative sizes and
numerical values of the two strata (550 and
21)(Hameedi, 2004 Hameedi, in prep.)
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Aggregated SQT values for sampling strata in St.
Lucie Estuary
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General Conclusions

• Low levels of toxic contaminants, including
  contaminants of emerging concern
• Copper a possible chemical of concern
• Relatively speaking, Strata 1 and 2 (North and
  South Forks, respectively) are degraded due to
  toxic chemicals, incidence of toxicity and
  depleted benthic fauna
• Pockets or sites with relatively high levels of
  toxic chemicals, such as mercury

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Copper a contaminant of concern

• Ambient levels in sediments exceed ERL and TEL
  levels (34 and 19 mg/kg) consensus level of
  concern 100 mg/kg
• Tissue residues in oysters high relative to the
  85th percentile of nationwide MW data
• EC 50 values Cu spiked assays (LC50 125
  mg/kg LOEC 31 mg/kg)
• Probability of toxicity based on logistics
  regression (nationwide data Field, et al., 2002)
  for 100 mg/kg Cu, p0.52
• Biomarker response

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Evidence from biomarkersA. Ringwood

• Bioaccumulation of Cu in deployed oysters
• 375 to 500 mg/kg
• MW 85th percentile 360 ppm
• Three biomarkers
• Lysosomal destabilization
• Glutathione concentration
• Lipid peroxidation levels
• Cu concentrations sufficiently high to be
  causing significant sub-lethal effects

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Vitellogenin expression in SLE fish --
feminization of male fish

• Vitellogenin (Vtg) is an egg yolk precursor
  protein expressed only in female fish it is
  normally dormant in male fish.
• However, when male fish are exposed to EDCs the
  Vtg gene is expressed in a dose dependent manner
  APEs, other contaminants
• Vtg is also a carrier binds to materials that
  are essential for normal development (it will
  also bind to certain pollutants causing
  reproductive impairment or failure)

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Presence of plasma Vtg in male fish(Jupiter
Inlet St. Lucie Estuary)Denslow/Kroll 2002

• Irish pompano
• 38 to 100 percent of fish from JI
• 79 percent of fish from SLE
• Mangrove snapper
• 66 percent of fish from JI
• 42 to 100 percent fish from SLE
• Spottail pinfish a sequential hermaphrodite

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What Next?

• Copper as a contaminant of concern
• Follow-up copper sampling in 2005 (FL DEP) more
  than 100 sites
• Mass balance and source attribution of copper
• Forecasting of copper loading and distribution
  (modeling and monitoring) under different source
  control scenarios
• BMPs implementation
• TMDL calculations

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Whats next for FL grapefruit?

• Grapefruit growers receive the lowest share of
  the retail price (14 percent)
• U.S. consumer demand has been declining
  throughout the 2000s
• Increased variety of fruit available in winter
• Grapefruit is not a convenient food
• Association side effects -- between grapefruit
  and certain medicines (cholesterol blood
  pressure arrhythmic heart)
• Citrus canker, citrus greening quarantine?
• Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne (2004)
• Devastating and long-lasting damage to orchards
  in St. Lucie and Indian River counties.

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• Thank You