Abstract
We evaluated the quality of seawater and ribbed mussels (Gukensia demissa) at six sites along the West Coast of Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS), a barrier island popular with tourists and fishermen. Parameters evaluated were summertime temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, total ammonia nitrogen, and nitrite levels for seawater and total heterotrophic plate counts and total Vibrionaceae levels for the ribbed mussels. Approximately 150 feral horses (Equus caballus) are located on ASIS and, combined with agricultural runoff from animals and croplands, local wildlife, and anthropogenic inputs, contribute to nutrient loads affecting water and shellfish quality. The average monthly dissolved oxygen for June was 2.65 mg L−1, below the minimum acceptable threshold of 3.0 mg L−1. Along Chincoteague Bay, total phosphorus generally exceeded the maximum level of 0.037 mg L−1, as set by the Maryland Coastal Bays Program management objective for seagrasses, with a high of 1.92 mg L−1 in June, some 50-fold higher than the recommended threshold. Total ammonia nitrogen approached levels harmful to fish, with a maximum recorded value of 0.093 mg L−1. Levels of total heterotrophic bacteria spiked to 9.5 × 106 cells g−1 of mussel tissue in August in Sinepuxent Bay, leading to mussels which exceeded acceptable standards for edible bivalves by 19-fold. An average of 76% of the bacterial isolates were in the Vibrionaceae family. Together, these data suggest poor stewardship of our coastal environment and the need for new intervention strategies to reduce chemical and biological contamination of our marine resources.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by funds under a USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Grant 2004-38820-15154 and a USDA-Evans Allen Grant, and by intramural funds from the USDA Agricultural Research Service. We wish to thank Drs. Dennis McIntosh and Kevina Vulinec for guidance and suggestions, and Michael Watson and Kesha Braunskill for their technical assistance. We would like to gratefully acknowledge the staff at the Assateague Island National Park, particularly Carl Zimmerman and Brian Sturgis, who helped with the logistics of this study and provided assistance during the field season, and Allison Turner, who conducted the horse distribution surveys.
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This study was performed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master’s Degree in Natural Resources in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Graduate Program at Delaware State University.
The mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Lambert, M.S., Ozbay, G. & Richards, G.P. Seawater and Shellfish (Geukensia demissa) Quality Along the Western Coast of Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland: An Area Impacted by Feral Horses and Agricultural Runoff. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 57, 405–415 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9277-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9277-4