Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of Mining-Derived Metals on Riffle-Dwelling Crayfish in Southwestern Missouri and Southeastern Kansas, USA

  • Published:
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Riffle-dwelling crayfish populations were sampled at 16 sites in 4 tributaries of the Spring River located within the Tri-State Mining District in southwest Missouri. Crayfish density, physical habitat quality, and water quality were examined at each site to assess the ecological effects of mining-derived metals on crayfish. Metals (lead, zinc, and cadmium) were analyzed in samples of surface water, sediment, detritus, and whole crayfish. Sites were classified a posteriori into reference, mining, and downstream sites primarily based on metal concentrations in the materials analyzed. Three species of crayfish (Orconectes neglectus neglectus, O. macrus, and O. virilis) were collected during the study; however, only O. n. neglectus was collected at all sites. Mean crayfish densities were significantly lower at mining sites than at reference sites. Mean concentrations of metals were significantly correlated among the materials analyzed and were significantly greater at mining and downstream sites than at reference sites. Principal component analyses showed a separation of sites due to an inverse relationship among crayfish density, metals concentrations, and physical habitat quality variables. Sediment probable-effects quotients and surface-water toxic unit scores were significantly correlated; both indicated risk of toxicity to aquatic biota at several sites. Metals concentrations in whole crayfish at several sites exceeded concentrations known to be toxic to carnivorous wildlife. Mining-derived metals have the potential to impair ecosystem function through decreased organic matter processing and nutrient cycling in streams due to decreased crayfish densities.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allert AL, Wildhaber ML, Schmitt CJ, Chapman D, Callahan E (1997) Toxicity of sediments and pore-waters and their potential impact on Neosho madtom, Noturus placidus, in the Spring River system affected by historic zinc-lead mining and related activities in Jasper and Newton Counties, Missouri; and Cherokee County, Kansas. Final report to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service-Region 3, Columbia Missouri Ecological Services Field Office. United States Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia

  • Allert AL, Fairchild JF, DiStefano RJ, Schmitt CJ, Besser JM, Brumbaugh WG et al (2008) Effects of lead-zinc mining on crayfish (Orconectes hylas) in the Black River watershed, Missouri. Freshw Crayfish 16:97–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Allert AL, Fairchild JF, DiStefano RJ, Schmitt CJ, Brumbaugh WG, Besser JM (2009a) Ecological effects of lead mining on Ozark streams—in-situ toxicity to woodland crayfish (Orconectes hylas). Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 72:1207–1219

    Google Scholar 

  • Allert AL, Fairchild JF, Schmitt CJ, Besser JM, Brumbaugh WG, Olson SJ (2009b) Effects of mining-derived metals on riffle-dwelling benthic fishes in Southeast Missouri, USA. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 72(6):1642–1651

    Google Scholar 

  • Allert AL, DiStefano RJ, Fairchild JF, Schmitt CJ, Brumbaugh WG (2010) Effects of mining-derived metals on riffle-dwelling crayfish and in-situ toxicity to juvenile Orconectes hylas and Orconectes luteus in the Big River of southeast Missouri, USA. United States Geological Survey Administrative report, submitted to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia

  • American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, and Water Environment Federation (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. American Public Health Association, Washington DC

  • Angelo RT, Cringan MS, Chamberlain DL, Stahl AJ, Haslouer SG, Goodrich CA (2007) Residual effects of lead and zinc mining on freshwater mussels in the Spring River Basin (Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, USA). Sci Total Environ 384:467–496

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bain MB, Stevenson NJ (1999) Aquatic habitat assessment—common methods. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda

    Google Scholar 

  • Bain MA, Finn JT, Booke HE (1985) Quantifying stream substrate for habitat analysis studies. N Am J Fish Manag 5:499–506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barks JH (1977) Effects of abandoned lead and zinc mines and tailings piles on water quality in the Joplin area, Missouri. United States Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report 77–75. United States Geological Survey, Rolla

    Google Scholar 

  • Besser JM, Brumbaugh WG, Brunson EL, Ingersoll CG (2005) Acute and chronic toxicity of lead in water and diet to the amphipod Hyalella azteca. Environ Toxicol Chem 24(7):1807–1815

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Besser JM, Brumbaugh WG, May TW, Schmitt CJ (2007) Biomonitoring of lead, zinc, and cadmium in streams draining lead-mining and non-mining areas, southeast Missouri, USA. Environ Monit Assess 129:227–241

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Besser JM, Brumbaugh WG, Allert AL, Poulton BC, Schmitt CJ, Ingersoll CG (2009a) Ecological impacts of lead mining on Ozark streams—toxicity of sediment and pore water. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 72:516–526

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Besser JM, Brumbaugh WG, Hardesty DK, Hughes JP, Ingersoll CG (2009b) Assessment of metal-contaminated sediments from the Southeast Missouri (SEMO) mining district using sediment toxicity tests with amphipods and freshwater mussels. United States Geological Survey Administrative report submitted to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services Office, Region 3, Environmental Contaminants Division, Columbia Missouri. United States Geological Survey, Columbia

  • Brumbaugh WG, Schmitt CJ, May TW (2005) Concentrations of cadmium, lead, and zinc in fish from mining-influenced waters of northeastern Oklahoma—sampling of blood, carcass, and liver for aquatic biomonitoring. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 49:76–88

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brumbaugh WG, May TW, Besser JM, Allert AL, Schmitt CJ (2007) Assessment of elemental concentrations in streams of the New Lead Belt in southeastern Missouri, 2002–05. United States Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5057. http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2007/5057/. Accessed 14 May 2009

  • Burkey JL, Simon TP (2010) Reach- and watershed-scale associations of crayfish within an area of varying agricultural impact in West-Central Indiana. Southeast Nat 9(sp3):199–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information theoretic approach, 2nd edn. Springer-Verlag, New York, p 488

  • Clark JM (2009) Abiotic and biotic factors affecting size-dependent crayfish (Orconectes obscures) distribution, density, and survival. Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, Kent

  • Conover WJ, Iman RL (1981) Rank transformations as a bridge between parametric and nonparametric statistics. Am Stat 35:124–129

    Google Scholar 

  • Creed RP Jr (1994) Direct and indirect effects of crayfish grazing in a stream community. Ecology 75:2091–2103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Czarnezki JM (1985) Accumulation of lead in fish from Missouri streams impacted by lead mining. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 34:736–745

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davis JV, Schumacher JG (1992) Water quality characterization of the Spring River basin, southwestern Missouri and southeastern Kansas. United States Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report 90–4176. United States Geological Survey, Rolla

    Google Scholar 

  • Dillman CB, Wagner BK, Wood RM (2010) Phylogenetic estimation of species limits in dwarf crayfishes from the Ozarks, Orconectes macrus and Orconectes nana (Decapoda: Cambaridae). Southeast Nat 9(sp3):185–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiStefano RJ (2005) Trophic interactions between Missouri Ozarks stream crayfish communities and sport fish predators—increased abundance and size structure of predators cause little change in crayfish community densities. Project F-1-R-054, Study S-41, Job 4, Final report. Missouri Department of Conservation, Columbia

  • DiStefano RJ, Decoske JJ, Vangilder TM, Barnes LS (2003) Macrohabitat partitioning among three crayfish species in two Missouri streams, USA. Crustaceana 76:343–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiStefano RJ, Herleth-King SS, Imhoff EI (2008) Distribution of the imperiled Meek’s crayfish (Orconectes meeki meeki, Faxon) in the White River drainage of Missouri, USA—associations with multi-scale environmental variables. Freshw Crayfish 16:27–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Farag AM, Woodward DF, Brumbaugh WG, Goldstein JG, MacConnell E, Hogstrand C et al (1999) Dietary effects of metals-contaminated invertebrates from the Coeur d’Alene River, Idaho, on cutthroat trout. Trans Am Fish Soc 128:578–592

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Flinders CA, Magoulick DD (2003) Effects of stream permanence on crayfish community structure. Am Midl Nat 149(1):134–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flinders CA, Magoulick DD (2005) Distribution, habitat use, and life history of stream-dwelling crayfish in the Spring River drainage of Arkansas and Missouri with a focus on the Mammoth Spring crayfish (Orconectes marchandi). Am Midl Nat 154:358–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gore JA, Bryant RM Jr (1990) Temporal shifts in physical habitat of the crayfish, Orconectes neglectus (Faxon). Hydrobiologia 199:131–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill AM, Lodge DM (1995) Multi-trophic-level impact of sublethal interactions between bass and omnivorous crayfish. J N Am Benthol Soc 14:306–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs HH Jr (1993) Trophic relationships of North American freshwater crayfishes and shrimps. Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingersoll CG, MacDonald DD, Wang N, Crane JL, Field LJ, Haverland PS et al (2001) Predictions of sediment toxicity using consensus-based freshwater sediment quality guidelines. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 41(1):8–21

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knowlton MF, Boyle TP, Jones JR (1983) Uptake of lead from aquatic sediment by submersed macrophytes and crayfish. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 12(5):535–541

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lodge DM, Hill AM (1994) Factors governing species composition, population size, and productivity of cool-water crayfish. Nord J Freshw Res 69:111–136

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald DD, Ingersoll CG, Berger TA (2000) Development and evaluation of consensus-based sediment quality guidelines for freshwater ecosystems. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 39:20–31

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald DD, Ingersoll CG, Crawford M, Prencipe H, Besser JM, Brumbaugh WG et al (2010) Advanced screening-level ecological risk assessment (SLERA) for aquatic habitats within the Tri-State Mining District, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Draft Final Technical Report submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, Dallas, Texas, Region 7, Kansas City, Kansas, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia

  • Magoulick DD, DiStefano RJ (2007) Invasive crayfish Orconectes neglectus threatens native crayfishes in the Spring River drainage of Arkansas and Missouri. Southeast Nat 6(1):141–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maret TR, MacCoy DE (2002) Fish assemblages and environmental variables associated with hardrock mining in the Coeur d’Alene river basin, Idaho. Trans Amer Fish Soc 131:865–884

    Google Scholar 

  • May TW, Wiedmeyer RH, Brumbaugh WG, Schmitt CJ (1997) The determination of metals in sediment pore waters and in 1 N HCl-extracted sediments by ICP-MS. At Spectrosc 18:133–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell DJ, Smock LA (1991) Distribution, life history and production of crayfish in the James River, Virginia. Am Midl Nat 126(2):353–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Momot WT (1995) Redefining the role of crayfish in aquatic ecosystems. Rev Fish Sci 3:33–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Momot WT, Gowing H, Jones PD (1978) The dynamics of crayfish and their role in ecosystems. Am Midl Nat 99(1):10–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfleiger WL (1996) The crayfishes of Missouri. Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabalais MR, Magoulick DD (2006) Influence of an invasive crayfish species on diurnal habitat use and selection by a native crayfish species in an Ozark stream. Am Midl Nat 155:295–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabeni CF (1985) Resource partitioning by stream-dwelling crayfish—the influence of body size. Am Midl Nat 113:20–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabeni CF, Gossett M, McClendon DD (1995) Contribution of crayfish to benthic invertebrate production and trophic ecology of an Ozark stream. Freshw Crayfish 10:163–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt CJ, Wildhaber ML, Hunn JB, Nash T, Tieger MN, Steadman BL (1993) Biomonitoring of lead-contaminated Missouri streams with an assay for erythrocyte δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity in fish blood. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 25:464–475

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt CJ, Brumbaugh WG, Linder GL, Hinck JE (2006) A screening-level assessment of lead, cadmium, and zinc in fish and crayfish from northeastern Oklahoma, USA. Environ Geochem Health 38:445–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt CJ, Brumbaugh WG, Besser JM, Hinck JE, Bowles DE, Morrison LW et al (2008) Protocol for monitoring metals in Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri, Version 1.0. United States Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008–1269. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1269/. Accessed 14 May 2009

  • Stein RA, Magnuson JJ (1976) Behavioral response of crayfish to a fish predator. Ecology 57(4):751–761

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart DR (1986) A brief description of the historical, ore production, mine pumping, and prospecting of the Tri-State Zinc-Lead District of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. In: Hagni RD (ed) Guidebook to the geology and environmental concerns in the Tri-States Lead-Zinc District, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma. Division of Geology and Land Survey-Department of Natural Resources, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, pp 16–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Strahler AN (1952) Dynamic basis of geomorphology. Geol Soc Am Bull 63:305–923

    Google Scholar 

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (1992) Framework for ecological risk assessment. EPA-630-R-92-001. USEPA, Washington DC

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (1993) Wildlife exposure factors handbook. EPA-600-R-93-187. USEPA, Washington DC

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (1997) Ecological risk assessment guidance for Superfund—process for designing and conducting ecological risk assessments. EPA-540-R-97-006. USEPA, Washington DC

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (1999) Screening level ecological risk assessment protocol for hazardous waste combustion facilities. Peer draft review, v. 1. EPA-530-D-99-001A. USEPA, Washington DC

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (2005) Procedures for the derivation of equilibrium partitioning sediment benchmarks (ESBs) for the protection of benthic organisms: Metal mixtures (cadmium copper, lead nickel, silver, and zinc). EPA-600-R-Q2-011, USEPA, Office of Research and Development, Washington DC

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (2006) National recommended water quality criteria, updated 2009. http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/wqctable/index.html. Accessed 15 May 2009

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (2007) Ecological soil screening levels for nickel. Interim final OSWER directive 9285.7–76. http://www.epa.gov/ecotox/ecossl/pdf/eco-ssl_nickel.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2009

  • Vannote RL, Minshall GW, Cummins KW, Sedell JR, Cushing CE (1980) The river continuum concept. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 37:130–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang N, Ingersoll CG, Ivey CD, Hardesty DK, May TW, Augspurger T et al (2010) Sensitivity of early life stages of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) to acute and chronic toxicity of lead, cadmium, and zinc in water. Environ Toxicol Chem 29:2053–2063

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Westhoff JT, Guyot JA, DiStefano RJ (2006) Distribution of the imperiled Williams’ crayfish (Orconectes williamsi) in the White River drainage of Missouri—associations with multi-scale environmental variables. Am Midl Nat 156(2):273–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wigginton AJ, Birge WJ (2007) Toxicity of cadmium to six species in two genera of crayfish and the effect of cadmium on molting success. Environ Toxicol Chem 26:548–554

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wildhaber ML, Schmitt CJ (1996) Estimating aquatic toxicity as determined through laboratory tests of Great Lakes sediments containing complex mixtures of environmental contaminants. Environ Monit Assess 41:255–289

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wildhaber ML, Schmitt CJ, Allert AL (1997) Elemental concentrations in benthic invertebrates from the Neosho, Cottonwood, and Spring rivers. Final report to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 6, Manhattan, Kansas. United States Geological Survey, Columbia

    Google Scholar 

  • Wildhaber ML, Allert AL, Schmitt CJ, Tabor VM, Mulhern D, Powell KL et al (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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams AB (1952) Six new crayfishes of the genus Orconectes (Decapoda: Astacidae) from Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Trans Kans Acad Sci 55(3):330–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Richardson JS, Negishi JN (2004) Detritus processing, ecosystem engineering and benthic diversity—a test of predator-omnivore interference. J Anim Ecol 73:756–766

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the private landowners who allowed us to access the studied streams. Personnel who assisted in the study included staff from the Missouri Department of Conservation and from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Columbia Environmental Research Center. We thank J. Besser, J. Hinck, N. Wang, and two anonymous reviewers for providing insightful comments that greatly improved the quality of this manuscript. This study was jointly funded by the USGS, the United States Department of the Interior Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program, the Missouri Department of Conservation, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. This manuscript has been reviewed in accordance with USGS policy. All procedures performed conformed with USGS guidelines for the humane treatment of the test organisms during culture and experimentation. The use of trade names does not constitute USGS or United States Government endorsement.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Columbia Environmental Research Center, United States Geological Survey, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA

    Ann L. Allert, Christopher J. Schmitt, James F. Fairchild & William G. Brumbaugh

  2. Missouri Department of Conservation, Central Regional Office and Conservation Research Center, 3500 East Gans Road, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA

    Robert J. DiStefano

Authors
  1. Ann L. Allert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert J. DiStefano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Christopher J. Schmitt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. James F. Fairchild
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. William G. Brumbaugh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ann L. Allert.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 232 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Allert, A.L., DiStefano, R.J., Schmitt, C.J. et al. Effects of Mining-Derived Metals on Riffle-Dwelling Crayfish in Southwestern Missouri and Southeastern Kansas, USA. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 63, 563–573 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9797-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9797-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation