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An assessment of chemical contaminants, toxicity and benthic infauna in sediments from the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
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2020
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[PDF-8.20 MB]
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Description:This project resulted in the collection and analysis of sedi-ments for chemical contaminants and bioeffects within the estuarine portion of the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve or SARI. Working closely with partners from the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources and the National Park Service, four strata were established in the estuarine portion of the SARI, and 13 sediment samples along with a sediment core were collected. Samples were analyzed for a suite of over 270 organic (e.g., hydrocar-bons and pesticides) and inorganic (e.g., metals) chemical contami-nants. The 13 samples collected were also analyzed for bioeffects, including the HRGS P450 assay, sea urchin embryo development assay, and an assessment of the benthic infaunal community.The results of the chemical con-taminant analysis indicated low to moderate concentrations of the contaminants analyzed relative to published sediment quality guide-lines. The only contaminants which exceeded a published sediment quality guideline were zinc and copper, both in the Marina stratum. Copper was close to a concentra-tion at which impacts occur.The sea urchin development assay results were confounded by high levels of ammonia in the sediment samples, and may have been related to recent rainfall, or to the remnant effects (i.e., plant detritus) from the 2017 hurricanes. The HRGS P450 assay indicated the presence of toxic contaminants in both the Marina and Mangrove Lagoon strata, some of which may have been beyond the list of compounds analyzed.The assessment of benthic infaunal organisms in the sed-iments indicated no significant differences between stra-ta. However, diversity was lowest at a site in the Marina stratum, and at one of the sites in the Mangrove Lagoon stratum. Correlations between the benthic infaunal com-munity and contaminants, indicated a significant negative correlation between taxa richness (number of species at the sites), and the ERMq, an indicator of pollution due to the presence of multiple contaminants.
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CoRIS Project ID:CRCP Project ID ; 31213
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Rights Information:Public Domain
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Compliance:Submitted
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