Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

An Assessment of Southeast United States Headwater Tidal Creek Sediment Contamination Over a Twenty-Year Period in Relation to Coastal Development

  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Headwater tidal creeks are a primary link between estuarine and upland habitats, serving as conduits for runoff. They are sentinel habitats, providing early warning of potential harm, thus ideal systems to evaluate the effects of coastal suburban and urban development on environmental quality. Estuarine sediments have concentrations of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) that are associated with human activity. High concentrations of contaminants can impair faunal communities, habitat quality, and ecosystem function. Forty-three headwater creeks were sampled between 1994 and 2006 to assess contaminants, and 18 of these were sampled again in 2014/2015. Watersheds were classified as forested, forested to suburban, suburban, or urban land. These values are based on their percent impervious cover (IC) levels and change in IC from 1994–2014. Analyses of temporal data resulted in significant relationships between IC and select metals, PAHs, pesticides, PCBs, and PBDEs. In addition, 11 of the creeks sampled in 2014/2015 have paired data from 1994/1995, allowing for change analysis over the 20 years. Results indicated increasing chemical contamination occurring with increasing levels of development, although only PAHs and total dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) exhibited a statistically significant increase over time; PAHs also exhibited significantly higher concentrations in developed creeks. Additionally, several metals were deemed enriched in developed creeks based on reference conditions. These results expand our knowledge of how these systems respond to urban development and can inform managers about how human population growth along coastlines may predict altered tidal creek health.

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

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdel-Shafy HI, Mansour MS (2016) A review on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: source, environmental impact, effect on human health and remediation. Egypt J Pet 25(1):107–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) (2002) Toxicological profile: DDT, DDE, DDD.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Atlanta, GA

  • Allen J, Lu, KS (2003) Modeling and Predicting of Future Urban Growth in the Charleston, South Carolina Area. The South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium. United States

  • Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) (2005) Toxicological profile for zinc. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Atlanta, GA

  • Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) (2017) Toxicological profile: polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Atlanta, GA

  • Artigas F, Loh JM, Shin JY, Grzyb J, Yao Y (2017) Baseline and distribution of organic pollutants and heavy metals in tidal creek sediments after Hurricane Sandy in the Meadowlands of New Jersey. Environ Earth Sci 76(7):293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balthis L, Hyland J, Cooksey C, Wirth E, Fulton M, Moore J, Hurley D (2012) Support for integrated ecosystem assessments of NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS): assessments of ecological condition and stressor impacts in subtidal waters of the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 150. NOAA Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, Charleston, SC, 79

  • Benjamini Y, Hochberg Y (1995) Controlling the false discovery rate: a practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. J R Stat Soc Ser B 1:289

    Google Scholar 

  • Crossett KM, Ache B, Pacheco P, Haber K (2013) National Coastal Population Report: Population Trends from 1970 to 2020. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration State of the Coast Report Series, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Census Bureau. 19

  • Crossett KM, Culliton TJ, Wiley PC, Goodspeed TR (2004) Population trends along the coastal United States: 1980–2008. Coastal Trends Report Series, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Oceanic Service. 54

  • Cabin RJ, Mitchell RJ (2000) To Bonferroni or not to Bonferroni: when and how are the questions. Bull Ecol Soc Am 81(3):246–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) (1999) Canadian sediment quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In Canadian environmental quality guidelines. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, Winnipeg

  • Chen S, Torres R, Bizimis M, Wirth E (2012) Salt marsh sediment and metal fluxes in response to rainfall. Limnol Oceanogr Fluids Environ 2:54–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR, Gorley RN (2015) PRIMER v7: user manual/tutorial. PRIMER-E, Plymouth, 296

  • Conrad CF, Chisholm-Brause CJ (2004) Spatial survey of trace metal contaminants in the sediments of the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Mar Pollut Bull 49(4):319–324

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford KD, Weinstein JE, Hemingway RE, Garner TR, Globensky G (2010) A survey of metal and pesticide levels in stormwater retention pond sediments in coastal South Carolina. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 58(1):9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eisler R (1987) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon hazards to fish, wildlife, and invertebrates: a synoptic review. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report, 85(1.11). https://semspub.epa.gov/work/05/424365.pdf

  • Erlenkeuser H, Suess E, Willkomm H (1974) Industrialization affects heavy metal and carbon isotope concentrations in recent Baltic Sea sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 38(6):823–842

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg ED, Gamble E, Griffin JJ, Koide M (1977) Pollution history of Narragansett Bay as recorded in its sediments. Estuar Coast Mar Sci 5(4):549–561

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grabe SA, Barron J (2004) Sediment contamination, by habitat, in the Tampa Bay estuarine system (1993–1999): PAHs, pesticides and PCBs. Environ Monit Assess 91(1-3):105–144

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hackney CT, Burbanck WD, Hackney OP (1976) Biological and physical dynamics of a Georgia tidal creek. Chesap Sci 17(4):271–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson PJ, Evans DW, Colby DR, Zdanowicz VS (1993) Assessment of elemental contamination in estuarine and coastal environments based on geochemical and statistical modeling of sediments. Mar Environ Res 36(4):237–266

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman EJ, Mills GL, Latimer JS, Quinn JG (1984) Urban runoff as a source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to coastal waters. Environ Sci Technol 18(8):580–587

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holland AF, Sanger DM, Gawle CP, Lerberg SB, Santiago MS, Riekerk GH, Zimmerman LE, Scott GI (2004) Linkages between tidal creek ecosystems and the landscape and demographic attributes of their watersheds. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 298:151–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyland JL, Van Dolah RF, Snoots TR (1999) Predicting stress in benthic communities of Southeastern U.S. estuaries in relation to chemical contamination of sediments. Environ Toxicol Chem 18(11):2557–2564

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Irwin RJ, VanMouwerik M, Stevens L, Seese MD, Basham W (1997) Environmental contaminants encyclopedia: PAH entry. National Park Service, Water Resources Division, Fort Collins, Colorado

  • Kucklick J, Sivertsen S, Sanders M, Scott G (1997) Factors influencing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations and patterns in South Carolina sediments. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 213:13–29

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lerberg SB (1997) Effects of watershed development on macrobenthic communities in the tidal creeks of the Charleston Harbor Estuary. Master’s Thesis. University of Charleston, Charleston, SC

  • Lerberg SB, Holland AF, Sanger DM (2000) Responses of tidal creek macrobenthic communities to the effects of watershed development. Estuaries 23(6):838–853

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Long ER, Field LJ, MacDonald DD (1998a) Predicting toxicity in marine sediments with numerical sediment quality guidelines. Environ Toxicol Chem 17(4):714–727

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Long ER, Macdonald DD, Smith SL, Calder FD (1995) Incidence of adverse biological effects within ranges of chemical concentrations in marine and estuarine sediments. Environ Manag 19(1):81–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long ER, Scott GI, Kucklick J, Fulton M, Thompson B, Carr RS, Biedenbach J, Scott KJ, Thursby GB, Chandler GT, Anderson JW, Sloane GM (1998b) Magnitude and extent of sediment toxicity in selected estuaries of South Carolina and Georgia. NOAA Tech Memo NOS ORCA 128:289

    Google Scholar 

  • Malik ZH, Ravindran KC (2020) Bioaccumulation of salts and heavy metals by Suaeda Monoica a salt marsh halophyte from paper mill effluent contaminated soil. Int J Sci Technol Res 9(3):7248–7254

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer-Pinto M, Ledet J, Crowe TP, Johnston EL (2020) Sublethal effects of contaminants on marine habitat-forming species: a review and meta-analysis. Biol Rev 95:1554–1573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McHouell B (2016) Evaluating the impacts of coastal development on the sinuosity and water quality of tidal creek headwaters in the Southeast. Master’s thesis. University of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina

  • Mallin M, Lewitus A (2004) The importance of tidal creek ecosystems. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 298:145–149

  • Moran MD (2003) Arguments for rejecting the sequential Bonferroni in ecological studies. Oikos 100(2):403–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthukrishnan B, Selvakumar A, Field R, Sullivan A (2005) The Use of Best Management Practices (BMPs) in Urban Watersheds. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 600/R-04/184 (NTIS PB2007-107266)

  • National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) (1999) DDT [General Fact Sheet]. Corvallis, OR

  • Noyes PD, Lema SC, Macaulay LJ, Douglas NK, Stapleton HM (2013) Low level exposure to the flame retardant BDE-209 reduces thyroid hormone levels and disrupts thyroid signaling in fathead minnows. Environ Sci Technol 47(17):10012–10021

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parker C (2018) An assessment of Southeast United States Headwater tidal creek sediment contamination and the macrobenthic community over a twenty-year period in relation to coastal development. Master’s thesis. University of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina

  • Perneger TV (1998) What’s wrong with Bonferroni adjustments. BMJ Br Med J 316(7139):1236–1238

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Plumb RH, Jr. (1981) Procedure for handling and chemical analysis of sediment and water samples. Technical Report EPA/CE-81-1, prepared by Great Lakes Laboratory, State University College at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, for the US Environmental Protection Agency/Corps of Engineers Technical Committee on Criteria for Dredged and Fill Material. The US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, CE, Vicksburg, Mississippi.

  • Prince KD, Crotty SM, Cetta A, Delfino JJ, Palmer TM, Denslow ND, Angelini C (2021) Mussels drive polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) biomagnification in a coastal food web. Sci Rep 11:9180

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2013) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. http://www.R-project.org/

  • Rice WR (1989) Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43(1):223–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rigaud S, Garnier JM, Moreau X, Jong-Moreau L, Mayot N, Chaurand P, Radakovitch O (2019) How to assess trace elements bioavailability for benthic organisms in lowly to moderately contaminated coastal sediments? Mar Pollut Bull 140:86–100

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders M (1995) Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and surface sediment from two estuaries in South Carolina. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 28(4):397–405

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanger D (1998) Physical, chemical, and biological environmental quality of tidal creeks and salt marshes in South Carolina estuaries (Doctoral dissertation). University of South Carolina, South Carolina, 478

  • Sanger D, Bergquist A, Blair A, Riekerk G, Wirth E, Webster L, Felber J, Washburn T, DiDonato G, Holland AF (2011) Gulf of Mexico tidal creeks serve as sentinel habitats for assessing the impact of coastal development on ecosystem health. NOAA Tech Memo NOS NCCOS 136:64

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanger D, Blair A, DiDonato G, Washburn T, Jones S, Chapman R, Bergquist D, Riekerk G, Wirth E, Stewart J, White D, Vandiver L, White S, Whitall D (2008) Support for integrated ecosystem assessments of NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserves System (NERRS), Volume I: The impacts of coastal development on the ecology and human well-being of tidal creek ecosystems of the US Southeast. https://aquadocs.org/handle/1834/19934

  • Sanger D, Blair A, DiDonato G, Washburn T, Jones S, Riekerk G, Wirth E, Stewart J, White D, Vandiver L, Holland AF (2015) Impacts of coastal development on the ecology of tidal creek ecosystems of the US Southeast including consequences to humans. Estuaries Coasts, 38:49–66

  • Sanger DM, Holland AF, Scott GI (1999a) Tidal creek and salt marsh sediments in South Carolina coastal estuaries: I. Distribution of trace metals. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 37(4):445–457

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanger DM, Holland AF, Scott GI (1999b) Tidal creek and salt marsh sediments in South Carolina coastal estuaries: II. Distribution of organic contaminants. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 37(4):458–471

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Santschi PH, Presley BJ, Wade TL, Garcia-Romero B, Baskaran M (2001) Historical contamination of PAHs, PCBs, DDTs, and heavy metals in Mississippi river Delta, Galveston bay and Tampa bay sediment cores. Mar Environ Res 52(1):51–79

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schropp SJ, Lewis FG, Windom HL, Ryan JD, Calder FD, Burney LC (1990) Interpretation of metal concentrations in estuarine sediments of Florida using aluminum as a reference element. Estuaries 13(3):227–235

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson IC, Roger PA (1995) The impact of pesticides on nontarget aquatic invertebrates in wetland ricefields: a review. In. Impact of pesticides on farmer health and the rice environment. Springer, Dordrecht, p. 249–270

    Google Scholar 

  • The Nature Conservancy. (2016) Southeast U.S. Coastal Resilience. Retrieved from. http://coastalresilience.org/project/southeastus/

  • Taylor D (1974) Natural distribution of trace metals in sediments from a coastal environment, Tor Bay, England. Estuar Coast Mar Sci 2(4):417–424

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tiner RW (2013) Tidal Wetlands primer: an introduction to their ecology, natural history, status, and conservation. University of Massachusetts Press, Amhurst and Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) (2004) Method 9060A: total organic carbon, part of test methods for evaluating solid waste, physical/chemical methods. US EPA, Washington, DC, 5

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) (2012) National Coastal Condition Report IV. US EPA, Washington, DC, 298

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) (2015) Learn about Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) [Policies and Guidance]. US EPA, Washington, DC

  • Van Dolah RF, Riekerk GHM, Levisen MV, Scott GI, Fulton MH, Bearden D, Sivertsen S, Chung KW, Sanger DM (2005) An evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) runoff from highways into estuarine wetlands of South Carolina. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 49(3):362–370

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dolah RF, Sanger DM, Filipowicz AB (2004) A baseline assessment of environmental and biological condition in the May River, Beaufort County, South Carolina. A final report submitted to the Town of Bluffton, SC. Produced by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the United States Geological Survey, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service

  • Vernberg F, Vernberg W, Blood E, Fortner A, Fulton M, McKellar H, Michener W, Scott G, Siewicki T, El Figi K (1992) Impact of urbanization on high-salinity estuaries in the southeastern United States. Neth J Sea Res 30:239–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Lin Z, Lin K, Wang C, Zhang W, Cui C, Lin J, Dong Q, Huang C (2011) Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in water, sediment, soil, and biological samples from different industrial areas in Zhejiang, China. J Hazard Mater 197:211–219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Washburn T, Sanger D (2011) Land use effects on macrobenthic communities in southeastern United States tidal creeks. Environ Monit Assess 180(1-4):177–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein JE, Crawford KD, Garner TR (2010) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination in stormwater detention pond sediments in coastal South Carolina. Environ Monit Assess 162(1–4):21

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wiegert RG, Freeman BJ (1990) Tidal salt marshes of the southeast Atlantic Coast: a community profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report 85(7.29), 67

  • Windom HL, Schropp SJ, Calder FD, Ryan JD, Smith Jr. RG, Burney LC, Lewis FG, Rawlinson CH (1989) Natural trace metal concentrations in estuarine and coastal marine sediments of the southeastern United States. Environ Sci Technol 23(3):314–320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Lv Z, Guan B, Liu Y, Li F, Li S, Ma Y, Yu J, Li Y (2013) Status of macrobenthic community and its relationships to trace metals and natural sediment characteristics. CLEAN Soil Air Water 41(10):1027–1034

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

A special thanks to Dany Burgess, Aaron Burnette, Michelle Evans, Sharleen Johnson, Marty Levisen, Brian McHouell, Robbie O’Quinn, Kevin Pitts, George Riekerk, Eddrika Russell, Denise Sanger, and Andrew Tweel for their help in the field, as well as to LouAnn Reed, Ed Wirth, Brian Shaddrix, and Emily Pisarski for their time spent processing contaminant samples. We are grateful to Jeffrey Hyland and Lauren Swam and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive criticism which strengthened this manuscript. South Carolina Marine Resources Center Contribution No. 864.

Author Contributions

DS contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and statistical analysis were performed by DS and CP. Sample processing was performed by CP and EW. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CP and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This manuscript was prepared in part as a result of work sponsored by the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium with NOAA financial assistance number NA100AR4170073. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, NOAA, or the State of South Carolina. South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium and NOAA may copyright any work that is subject to copyright and was developed, or for which ownership was purchased, under financial assistance number NA100AR4170073. The South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium and NOAA reserve a royalty-free, nonexclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so. Partial funding was also contributed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA

    Catharine Parker

  2. Marine Resources Research Institute, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, 217 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA

    Catharine Parker & Denise Sanger

  3. National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA

    Edward Wirth

Authors
  1. Catharine Parker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Denise Sanger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Edward Wirth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Catharine Parker.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Parker, C., Sanger, D. & Wirth, E. An Assessment of Southeast United States Headwater Tidal Creek Sediment Contamination Over a Twenty-Year Period in Relation to Coastal Development. Environmental Management 72, 883–901 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-023-01835-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-023-01835-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation