Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Trace elements and organochlorines in the shoalgrass community of the lower Laguna Madre, Texas

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Our objectives were to measure concentrations of seven trace elements and 14 organochlorine compounds in sediment and biota of the shoalgrass (Halodule wrightii) community of the lower Laguna Madre of south Texas and to determine whether chemicals associated with agriculture (e.g. mercury, arsenic, selenium, organochlorine pesticides) were highest near agricultural drainages. Arsenic, mercury, selenium, lead, cadmium, and organochlorines were generally at background concentrations throughout the lower Laguna Madre. Nickel and chromium concentrations were exceptionally high in shrimp and pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), which is difficult to explain because of no known anthropogenic sources for these trace elements. For sediment and blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus), mercury was highest near agricultural drainages. Also, DDE was more frequently detected in blue crabs near agricultural drainages than farther away. In contrast, selenium concentrations did not differ among collecting sites and arsenic concentrations were lowest in shoalgrass, blue crabs, and brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) near agricultural drainages.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Breteler, R.J., Valiela, I., and Teal, J.M.: 1981, ‘Bioavailability of Mercury in Several North-Eastern U.S. Spartina Ecosystems’, Estuar. Coastal. Shelf Sci. 12, 155–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burrell, D.C. and Schubel, J.R.: 1977, ‘Seagrass Ecosystem Oceanography’, in: McRoy, C.P. and Helfferich, C. (Eds.), Seagrass Ecosystems, A Scientific Perspective. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 195–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornelius, S.E.: 1977, ‘Food and Resource Utilization by Wintering Redheads on Lower Laguna Madre’, J. Wildlife Manage. 41, 374–385.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cromartie, E., Reichel, W.L., Locke, L.N., Belisle, A.A., Kaiser, T.E., Lamont, T.G., Mulhern, B.M., Prouty, R.M., and Swineford, D.M.: 1975, ‘Residues of Organochlorine Pesticides and Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Autopsy Data for Bald Eagles, 1971–72’, Pestic. Monit. J. 9, 11–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Custer, T.W. and Mitchell, C.A.: 1987a, ‘Exposure to Insecticides of Brushland Wildlife within the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA’, Environ. Pollut. 45, 207–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Custer, T.W. and Mitchell, C.A.: 1987b, ‘Organochlorine Contaminants and Reproductive Success of Black Skimmers in South Texas’, J. Field Ornithol. 58, 480–489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Custer, T.W. and Mitchell, C.A.: 1991, ‘Contaminant Exposure of Willets Feeding in Agricultural Drainages of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas’, Environ. Monitor. Assess. 16, 189–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dick, M.: 1982, ‘Pesticide and PCB Concentrations in Texas-Water, Sediment, and Fish Tissue’, Texas Depart. Water Res. Rep. 264 pp.

  • Drifmeyer, J.E., Thayer, G.W., Cross, F.A., and Zieman, J.C.: 1980, ‘Cycling of Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn by Eelgrass, Zostera marina L.’, Amer. J. Bot. 67, 1089–1096.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisler, R.: 1986, ‘Chromium Hazards to Fish, Wildlife and Invertebrates: A Synoptic Review’, U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 85 (1.6), 60 pp.

  • Eisler, R.: 1987, ‘Mercury Hazards to Fish, Wildlife, and Invertebrates: A Synoptic Review’, U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 85 (1.10), 90 pp.

  • Eisler, R.: 1988, ‘Lead Hazards to Fish, Wildlife, and Invertebrates: A Synoptic Review’, U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 85 (1.14), 134 pp.

  • Fay, R.R. and Newland, L.W.: 1972, ‘Organochlorine Insecticide Residues in Water, Sediment, and Organisms, Aransas Bay, Texas-September 1969–June 1970’, Pestic. Monit. J. 6, 97–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fowler, S.W.: 1990, ‘Critical Review of Selected Heavy Metal and Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Concentrations in the Marine Environment’, Mar. Environ. Res. 29, 1–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunter, G.: 1967, ‘Vertebrates in Hypersaline Waters’, Contrib. Mar. Sci. 12, 230–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haseltine, S.D., Heinz, G.H., Reichel, W.L., and Moore, J.F.: 1981, ‘Organochlorine and Metal Residues of Waterfowl Nesting on Islands in Lake Michigan off Door County, Wisconsin, 1977–78’, Pestic. Monit. J. 15, 90–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinsen, G.E.: 1975, A Treatise on Limmology. Vol. III. Limmological Botany. John Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jahrsdoerfer, S.E. and Leslie, Jr., D.M.: 1988, ‘Tamaulipan Brushland of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas: Description, Human Impacts, and Management Options’, U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Rep. 88 (36), 63 pp.

  • Kaiser, T.E., Reichel, W.L., Locke, L.N., Cromartie, E., Krynitsky, A.J., Lamont, T.G., Mulhern, B.M., Prouty, R.M., Stafford, C.J., and Swineford, D.M.: 1980, ‘Organochlorine Pesticide, PCB, and PBB Residues and Necropsy Data for Bald Eagles from 29 States — 1975–77’, Pestic. Monit. J. 13, 145–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krynitsky, A.J.: 1987, ‘Preparation of Biological Tissues for Determination of Arsenic and Selenium by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry’, Anal. Chem. 59, 1884–1886.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lunde, G.: 1977, ‘Occurrence and Transformation of Arsenic in the Marine Environment’, Environ. Health Perspec. 19, 47–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyngby, J.E. and Brix, H.: 1989, ‘Heavy Metals in Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) during Growth and Decomposition’, Hydrobiologia 176/177, 189–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maher, W.A.: 1985, ‘The Presence of Arsenobetaine in Marine Animals’, Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 80C, 199–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMahan, C.A.: 1970, ‘Food Habits of Ducks Wintering on Laguna Madre, Texas’, J. Wildl. Manage. 34, 946–949.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merkord, G.W.: 1978, ‘The Distribution and Abundance of Seagrasses in Laguna Madre of Texas’, M.S. Thesis, Texas A&I Univ., Kingsville, 56 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monk, H.E.: 1961, ‘Recommended Methods of Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Food Stuffs. Report by the Joint Mercury Residue Panel’, Anal. Chem. 82, 608–614.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery, J.R. and Price, M.T.: 1979, ‘Release of Trace Metals by Sewage Sludge and the Subsequent Uptake by Members of a Turtle Grass Mangrove Ecosystem’, Environ. Sci. Technol. 13, 546–549.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mullins, L.M., Slack, R.D., Chaney, A.H., Telfair, II, R.C., Paul, R.T., Blankinship, R.D., Blacklock, G.W., King, K.A., Kennedy, S., and Smith, J.S.: 1982, ‘An Atlas and Census of Texas Waterbird Colonies 1973–1980’, Caeser Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. Kingsville, 358 pp.

  • Nash, R.G., Harris, W.G., Ensor, P.D., and Woolson, E.A.: 1973, ‘Comparative Extraction of Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Insecticides from Soils 20 Years after Treatment’, J. Assoc. Offic. Anal. Chem. 56, 728–732.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nash, R.G. and Harris, W.G.: 1972, ‘Soil Moisture Influence on Treatment and Extraction of DDT from Soils’, J. Assoc. Offic. Anal. Chem. 55, 532–536.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neter, J. and Wasserman, W.: 1974, Applied Linear Statistical Models, Richard D. Irwin, Homewood, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohlendorf, H.M.: 1989, ‘Bioaccumulation and Effects of Selenium in Wildlife’, in: Jacobs, L.W. (Ed.), Selenium in Agriculture and the Environment, Spec. Publ. 23. Amer. Soc. Agron., Soil Sci. Soc. Amer., Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 133–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • NAS: 1975, ‘Nickel’, Committee on Medical and Biological Effects of Environmental Pollutants, Natl. Res. Coun., Natl. Acad. Sci., Washington, D.C., 277 pp.

  • Petrocelli, S.R., Anderson, J.W., and Hanks, A.R.: 1974, ‘DDT and Dieldrin Residues in Selected Biota from San Antonio Bay, Texas — 1972’, Pestic. Monit. J. 8, 167–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pulich, Jr., W.M.: 1980, ‘Heavy Metal Accumulation by Selected Halodule wrightii ASCH Populations in the Corpus Christi Bay Area’, Mar. Sci. 23, 89–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pulich, W.M., Barnes, S., and Parker, P.: 1976, ‘Trace Metal Cycles in Seagrass Communities’, in: Wilery, M. (Ed.), Estuarine Processes Vol. I. Uses Stresses, and Adaptation to the Estuary, Academic Press, New York, pp. 493–506.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rusnak, G.A.: 1960, ‘Sediments of Laguna Madre, Texas’, in: Shepard, F.P., Phleger, F.B., and van Ardel, T.H. (Eds.), Recent Sediments, Northwest Gulf of Mexico. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol., Tulsa, Oklahoma, pp. 153–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, J.G. and Osman, R.W.: 1985, ‘Arsenic Incorporation in a Salt Marsh Ecosystem’, Estuar. Coastal. Shelf Sci. 20, 387–392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shacklette, H.T. and Boerngen, J.G.: 1984, ‘Element Concentrations in Soils and Other Surficial Materials of the Conterminous United States’, U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 1270, 105 pp.

  • Tiller, K.G., Merry, R.H., Zarcinas, B.A., and Ward, T.J.: 1989, ‘Regional Geochemistry of Metal-Contaminated Surficial Sediments and Seagrasses in Upper Spencer Gulf, South Australia’, Estuar., Coastal Shelf Sci. 28, 473–493.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, T.J., Correll, R.L., and Anderson, R.B.: 1986, ‘Distribution of Cadmium, Lead, and Zinc Amongst the Marine Sediments, Seagrasses and Fauna, and the Selection of Sentinel Accumulators, near a Lead Smelter in South Australia’, Aust. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 37, 567–585.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells, F.C., Jackson, G.A., and Rogers, W.J.: 1988, ‘Reconnaissance Investigation of Water-quality, Bottom Sediment, and Biota Associated with Irrigation Drainage in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, 1986–87’, U.S. Geol. Survey Water — Res. Invest. Rep. 87–4277, 89 pp.

  • Welsh, R.P.H. and Denny, P.: 1980, ‘The Uptake of Lead and Copper by Submerged Aquatic Macrophytes in two English Lakes’, J. Ecol. 68, 443–455.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, D.H., Mitchell, C.A., and Kaiser, T.E.: 1983a, ‘Temporal Accumulation of Organochlorine Pesticides in Shorebirds Wintering on the South Texas Coast’, Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 12, 241–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, D.H., Mitchell, C.A., Kennedy, H.D., Krynitski, A.J., and Ribick, M.A.: 1983b, ‘Elevated DDE and Toxaphene Residues in Fishes and Birds Reflect Local Contamination in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas’, Southwest. Nat. 28, 325–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, D.H., Mitchell, C.A., and Prouty, R.M.: 1983c, ‘Nesting Biology of Laughing Gulls in Relation to Agricultural Chemicals in South Texas, 1978–81’, Wilson Bull. 95, 540–551.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, D.H., Mitchell, C.A., and Swineford, D.M.: 1984, ‘Reproductive Success of Black Skimmers in Texas Relative to Environmental Pollutants’, J. Field Ornithol. 55, 18–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, D.A., Thayer, G.W., and Adams, S.M.: 1976, ‘Manganese, Iron, Copper, and Zinc in an Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Community’, in: Cushing, C.E. (Ed.), Radioecology and Energy Resources, Proc. 4th Nat. Sym. Radioecol., Oregon State University, Corvallis. Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, Stroudsbury, Pa, pp. 256–270.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Christine A. Mitchell

    Present address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, P.O. Box 2226, 54602, La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, North Central Research Group, P.O. Box 2618, 54602, La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA

    Thomas W. Custer

  2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Louisiana State University, School of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, 70803, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    Christine A. Mitchell

Authors
  1. Thomas W. Custer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christine A. Mitchell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Custer, T.W., Mitchell, C.A. Trace elements and organochlorines in the shoalgrass community of the lower Laguna Madre, Texas. Environ Monit Assess 25, 235–246 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00548024

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00548024

Keywords

Search

Navigation