Abstract
Fish were collected in late 1995 from 34 National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (NCBP) stations and 12 National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) stations in the Mississippi River basin (MRB), and in late 1996 from a reference site in West Virginia. The NCBP sites represented key points (dams, tributaries, etc.) in the largest rivers of the MRB. The NAWQA sites were typically on smaller rivers and were selected to represent dominant land uses in their watersheds. The West Virginia site, which is in an Eastern U.S. watershed adjacent to the MRB, was selected to document elemental concentrations in fish used for other aspects of a larger study and to provide additional contemporaneous data on background elemental concentrations. At each site four samples, each comprising (nominally) 10 adult common carp (Cyprinus carpio, `carp') or black bass (Micropterus spp., `bass') of the same sex, were collected. The whole fish were composited by station, species, and gender for analysis of arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and selenium (Se) by atomic absorption spectroscopy and for cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) by inductively-coupled plasma emission spectroscopy. Concentrations of most of the elements examined were lower in both carpand bass from the reference site, a small impoundment located in a rural area, than from the NCBP and NAWQA sites on rivers and larger impoundments. In contrast, there were few overall differences between NCBP sites NAWQA sites. The 1995 results generally confirmed the continued weathering and re-distribution of these elemental contaminants in the MRB; concentrations declined or were unchanged from 1984–1986 to 1995 at most NCBP sites, thus continuing two-decade trends. Exceptions were Se at Station 77 (Arkansas R. at John Martin Reservoir, CO), where concentrations have been elevated historically and increased slightly (to 3.8–4.7 μg g-1 in bass and carp); and Pb, Cd, and Zn at Station 67 (Allegheny R. at Natrona, PA), where levels of these metals were high in the past and increased from 1986 to 1995.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baumann, P. C. and Gillespie R. B.: 1986, 'Selenium bioaccumulation in gonads of largemouth bass and bluegill from three power plant cooling reservoirs', Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 5, 695–701.
Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends Program (BEST): 1996, Summary Report from a Workshop on Selection of Tier 1 Bioassessment Methods, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Service, Washington, D.C., Information and Technology Report 7, 55 p.
Brigham, M. E., Goldstein, R. M. and Tornes, L. H.: 1998, Trace Elements and Organic Chemicals in Stream-Bottom Sediments and Fish Tissues, Red River of the North Basin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, 1992-1995, U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Resources Investigations Report 97-4043, Mounds View, MN, 32 p.
Brumbaugh, W. G., Krabbenhoft, D. P., Helsel, D. R., Wiener, J. G. and Echols, K. R.: 2001, A National Pilot Study of Mercury Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystems Along Multiple Gradients: Bioaccumulation in Fish, U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia, MO, Biological Science Report USGS/BRD/BSR-2001-0009, 25 pp.
Bunton, T. E., Baksi, S. M., Gelrge, S. G. and Frazier, J. M.: 1987, 'Abnormal hepatic copper storage in a teleost fish (Morone americana)', Vet. Pathol. 24, 515–524.
Colborn, T.: 1991, 'Epidemiology of Great Lakes bald eagles', J. Toxicol. Environ. Health 33, 395–453.
Crawford, J. K. and Luoma, S. N.: 1993, Guidelines for Studies of Contaminants in Biological Tissues for the National Water-Quality Assessment Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, Open-File Report Nr. 92-494, 69 p.
Eisler, R.: 1985, Cadmium Hazards to Fish, Wildlife, and Invertebrates: A Synoptic Review, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, Biol. Rep. 85(1.2).
Eisler, R.: 1994, 'A Review of Arsenic Hazards to Plants and Animals with Emphasis on Fishery and Wildlife Resources', in J. O. Nriagu (ed.), Arsenic in the Environment, Part II: Human Health and Ecosystem Effects, Wiley, New York, pp. 185–260.
Farag, A. M., Boese, C. J., Woodward, D. F. and Bergman, H. J.: 1994, 'Physiological changes and tissue metal accumulation in rainbow trout exposed to foodborne and waterborne metals', Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 13, 2021–2029.
Farag, A. M., Stansbury, M. A., Hogstrand, C., MacConnell, E. and Bergman, H. L.: 1995, 'The physiological impairment of free-swimming brown trout exposed to metals in the Clark Fork River, Montana', Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 52, 2038–2050.
Garbarino, J. R., Hayes, H. C., Roth, D. A., Antweiler, R. C., Brinton, T. I. and Taylor, H. E.: 1995, 'Heavy Metals in the Mississippi River', in R. H. Meade (ed.), Contaminants in the Mississippi River, 1987-1992, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, Circular 133, pp. 53–72.
Goldstein, R. M., Brigham, M. E. and Stauffer, J. C.: 1996, 'Comparison of mercury concentrations in liver, muscle, whole bodies, and composites of fish from the Red River of the North', Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 53, 244–252.
Goldstein, R. M. and DeWeese, L. R.: 1999, 'Comparison of trace element concentrations in tissue of common carp and implications for monitoring', J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 35, 1133–1140.
Gooch, J. W. and Matsamura, F.: 1987, 'Toxicity of chlorinated bornane (toxaphene) residues isolated from Great Lakes lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)', Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 16, 349–355.
Goolsby, D.: 1996, NASQAN II, Redesign Plan for the National Stream Quantity Accounting Network, U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Reston, Virginia, pp. 30–60.
Gundersen, D. T., Miller, R., Mischler, A., Elpers, K., Mims, S. D., Millar, J. G. and Blazer, V.: 2000, 'Biomarker response and health of polychlorinated biphenyl and chlordane-contaminated paddlefish from the Ohio River Basin, U.S.A.', Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 19, 2275–2285.
Harrison, S. E. and Klaverkamp, J. F.: 1990, 'Metal contamination in liver and muscle of northern pike (Esox lucius) and white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) and in sediments from lakes near the smelter at Flin Flon, Manitoba', Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 9, 941–956.
Heiny, J. S. and Tate, C. M.: 1997, 'Concentration, distribution, and comparison of selected trace elements in bed sediment and fish tissue in the South Platte River Basin, U.S.A., 1992-1993', Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 32, 246–259.
Henny, C. L., Blus, L. J., Hoffman, D. J. and Grove, R. A.: 1994, 'Lead in hawks, falcons and owls downstream from a mining site on the Coeur d'Alene River, Idaho', Environ. Monit. Assess. 29, 267–288.
Hirsch, R. M., Alley, M. and Wilber, W. G.: 1988, Concepts for a National Water-Quality Assessment Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, Circular 1021, 42 p.
Horowitz, A. J., Elrick, K. A. and Smith, J. J.: 2001, 'Annual suspended sediment and trace element fluxes in the Mississippi, Columbia, Colorado, and Rio Grande drainage basins', Hydrol. Process. 15, 1169–1207.
Hunter, R. G., Carroll, J. H. and Butler, J. S.: 1981, 'The relationship of trophic level to arsenic burden in fish of a southern Great Plains lake', J. Freshw. Ecol. 1, 121–127.
Jarvinen, A. W. and Ankley, G. T.: 1999, Linkage of Effects to Tissue Residues: Development of a Comprehensive Database for Aquatic Organisms Exposed to Inorganic and Organic Chemicals, SETAC Press, Pensacola, FL, 358 p.
Jearld Jr., A.: 1983, 'Age Determination', in L. A. Nielsen and D. L. Johnson (eds), Fisheries Techniques, American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD, pp. 301–324.
Kalkhoff, S. J., Savoca, M. E., Tobias, J. L., Sadorf, E. M. and Birkenholtz, T. L.: 1994, National Water-Quality Assessment Program-Eastern Iowa Basins, U.S. Geological Survey, Iowa City, IA, Fact Sheet 94-031, 2 p.
Law, R. J.: 1996, 'Metals in Marine Mammals', in W. N. Beyer, G. H. Heinz and A. W. Redmon-Norwood (eds), Environmental Contaminants in Wildlife: Interpreting Tissue Concentrations, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 357–376.
Lemly, A. D.: 1996, 'Selenium in Aquatic Organisms', in W. N. Beyer, G. H. Heinz and A. W. Redmon-Norwood (eds), Environmental Contaminants in Wildlife: Interpreting Tissue Concentrations, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 427–445.
Lowe, T. P., May, T. W., Brumbaugh, W. G. and Kane, D. A.: 1985, 'National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program-Concentrations of seven elements in freshwater fish, 1978-1981', Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 14, 363–388.
Maeda, S.: 1994, 'Biotransformation of Arsenic in the Freshwater Environment', in J. O. Nriagu (ed.), Arsenic in the Environment, Part I: Cycling and Characterization, Wiley, New York, pp. 155–187.
Mallory, M. J.: 1994, National Water-Quality Assessment Program-The Mississippi Embayment, U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Jackson, MS, Fact Sheet 94-047, 2 p.
May, T. W. and McKinney, G. L.: 1981, 'Cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and selenium concentrations in freshwater fish, 1976-1977, National PesticideMonitoring Program', Pestic.Monit. J. 15, 14–38.
Meade, R. H.: 1995, Contaminants in the Mississippi River, 1987-1992, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO, Circular 1133, 140 p.
Messer, J. J., Linthurst, R. A. and Overton, W. S.: 1991, 'An EPA program for monitoring ecological status and trends', Environ. Monit. Assess. 17, 67–78.
Pita, F. W. and Hyne, N. J.: 1975, 'The depositional environment of zinc, lead, and cadmium in reservoir sediments', Water Res. 9, 701–706.
Rostad, C. E.: 1997, 'From the 1988 drought to the 1993 flood: Transport of halogenated organic compounds with the Mississippi River suspended sediment at Thebes, Illinois', Environ. Sci. Technol. 31, 1308–1312.
Schmitt, C. J.: 1999, 'Environmental Contaminants', in M. J. Mac, P. A. Opler, C. E. Puckett Haecker and P. D. Doran (eds), Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources, Vol. 1, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, pp. 131–166.
Schmitt, C. J. (ed.): 2002a, Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) program: Environmental Contaminants and their Effects on Fish in the Mississippi River Basin, U.S.
Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Biological Science Report USGS/BRD/BSR 2002-0004, Columbia, MO, 217 p.
Schmitt, C. J.: 2002b, 'Organochlorine chemical residues in fish from the Mississippi River basin, 1995', Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 43, 81–97.
Schmitt, C. J., Blazer, V. S., Dethloff, G., Tillitt, D. E., Gross, T. S., DeWeese, L. R., Smith, S. B., Goede, R. W., Bartish, T. A. and Kubiak, T. J.: 1999a, Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Program: Field Procedures for Assessing the Exposure of Fish to Environmental Contaminants, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Columbia, MO, Information and Technology Report USGS/BRD-1999-0007, 68 pp.
Schmitt, C. J. and Brumbaugh, W. G.: 1990, 'National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program: Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, selenium, and zinc in freshwater fishes of the United States, 1976-1984', Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 19, 731–747.
Schmitt, C. J. and Bunck, C. M.: 1995, 'Persistent Environmental Contaminants in Fish and Wildlife', in E. T. LaRoe, G. S. Farris, C. E. Puckett, P. D. Doran and M. J. Mac (eds), Our Living Resources: A Report to the Nation on the Distribution, Abundance, and Health of U.S. Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems, National Biological Service, Washington, DC, pp. 413–416.
Schmitt, C. J., Caldwell, C. A., Olsen, B., Serdar, D. and Coffey, M.: 2002, 'Inhibition of erythryocyte ?-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) activity in fish from waters affected by lead smelters', Environ. Monit. Assess. 77, 99–119.
Schmitt, C. J. and Dethloff, G. M.: 2000, Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Program: Selected Methods for Monitoring Chemical Contaminants in Aquatic Ecosystems, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Columbia, Missouri, Information and Technology Report USGS/BRD/ITR-2000-0005, 81 p.
Schmitt, C. J., Dwyer, F. J. and Finger, S. E.: 1984, 'Bioavailability of Pb and Zn from mine tailings as indicated by erythrocyte ?-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA-D) activity in suckers (Pisces: Catostomidae), Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 41, 1030–1040.
Schmitt, C. J., Wildhaber, M. L., Hunn, J. B., Nash, T., Tieger, M. N. and Steadman, B. L.: 1993, 'Biomonitoring of lead-contaminated Missouri streams with an assay for erythrocyte ?-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity in fish blood', Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 25, 464–475.
Schmitt, C. J., Zajicek, J. L., May, T. W., and Cowman, D. F.: 1999b, 'Organochlorine residues and elemental contaminants in U.S. freshwater fish, 1976-1986: National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program', Rev. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 162, 43–104.
Settle, D. M. and Patterson, C. C.: 1980, 'Lead in albacore: Guide to lead pollution in Americans', Science 207, 1167–1176.
Stansley, W. and Roscoe, D. E.: 1999, 'Environmental toxicology-chlordane poisoning of birds in New Jersey, U.S.A.', Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 18, 2095–2099.
Taylor, L. N., McGeer, J. C., Wood, C. M. and McDonald, D. G.: 2000, 'Physiological effects of chronic copper exposure to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in hard and soft water: Evaluation of chronic indicators', Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 19, 2298–2308.
Tillitt, D. E., Ankley, G. T., Giesy, J. P., Ludwig, J. P., Kurita-Matsuba, H., Weseloh, D. H., Ross, P. S., Bishop, C. A., Sileo, L., Stromborg, K. L., Larson, J. and Kubiak, T. J.: 1992, 'Polychlorinated biphenyl residues and egg mortality in double-crested cormorants from the Great Lakes', Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 11, 1281–1288.
Trefry, J. H. S., Metz, S., Trocine, R. P. and Nelsen, T. A.: 1985, 'A decline in lead transport by the Mississippi River', Science 230, 439–441.
U.S. Council on Environmental Quality: 1997, Sustainable Development in the U.S.: An Experimental Set of Indicators-Interim Report, CEQ, Interagency Sustainable Development Indicators Working Group, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA): 1984, Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Arsenic, EPA 440/5-84-037, Washington DC.
U.S. EPA: 2000, Guidance for Data Quality Assessment-Practical Methods for Data Analysis, Office of Environmental Information,Washington, D.C., Report EPA/600/R-96/084, EPA QA/G-9, QA00 update.
Wageman, R., Snow, N. B., Rosenberg, D. M. and Lutz, A.: 1978, 'Arsenic in sediments, water and aquatic biota from lakes in the vicinity of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada', Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 7, 169–191.
Wiener, J. G., Krabbenhoft, D. P., Heinz, G. H. and Scheuhammer, A. M.: 2002, 'Ecotoxicology of Mercury', in D. J. Hoffman, B. A. Rattner, G. A. Burton Jr. and J. Carins Jr. (eds), Handbook of Ecotoxicology, 2nd ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 407–461.
Wildhaber, M. L., Allert, A. L., Schmitt, C. J., Tabor, V. M., Mulhern, D., Powell, K. L. and Sowa, S. P.: 2000, 'Natural and anthropogenic influences on the distribution of the threatened Neosho madtom in a Midwestern warmwater stream', Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 129, 243–261.
Woodward, D. F., Goldstein, J. N. and Farag, A. M.: 1997, 'Cutthroat trout avoidance of metals and conditions characteristic of a mining waste site: Coer d'Alene River, Idaho', Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 126, 699–706.
Yeardley Jr., R. B., Lazorchak, J. M. and Paulsen, S. G.: 1998, 'Elemental fish tissue contamination in northeastern U.S. lakes: Evaluation of an approach to regional assessment', Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 17, 1875–1884.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schmitt, C.J. Concentrations of Arsenic, Cadmium, Copper, Lead, Selenium, and Zinc in Fish from the Mississippi River Basin, 1995. Environ Monit Assess 90, 289–321 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EMAS.0000003594.64248.0a
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EMAS.0000003594.64248.0a