Landfill impacts on aquatic plant communities and tissue metal levels at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
- National Biological Service, Porter, IN (United States). Lake Michigan Ecological Station
- Purdue Univ.North Central, Westville, IN (United States). Section of Biology and Chemistry
One important environmental issue facing Northwest Indiana and park management at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INOU) is the contamination of water, sediment and biota by persistent toxic substances. Aquatic plant communities were used to evaluate the water/organismal quality of the Grand Calumet Lagoons and two dunal ponds (pannes) at Gary, Indiana, which are partially located in the Miller Woods Unit of INDU. The lagoon is divided into several areas, the USX Lagoon is located between sections of a large industrial landfill (steel slag and other material). The Marquette Lagoon is located further away from the landfill and tends to be upgradient from the landfill. The West Panne (WP) is located next to the landfill, while the East Panne (EP) is separated from the landfill and the WP by a high dune ridge. Plant populations shift toward fewer submergent aquatics, with a higher abundance of tolerant taxa in the western section of the USX Lagoon. These differences are supported by cluster analysis. Heavy metals in root tissue of Scirpus americanus and other plant species from the pannes were significantly higher than those found in shoots. Shoot tissue metal levels in plants collected from the lagoons were higher than root tissue metal levels. The WP site has the most elevated tissue metal levels for most metals assayed, while the EP site shows similar contaminant levels. The plant distributions observed and tissue metal concentrations measured suggest that INDU`s aquatic plant community has been affected by the industrial landfill and that there exists a hydrological connection between the ponds.
- OSTI ID:
- 382719
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137-; ISBN 1-880611-03-1; TRN: IM9645%%270
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) world conference, Vancouver (Canada), 5-9 Nov 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Second SETAC world congress (16. annual meeting): Abstract book. Global environmental protection: Science, politics, and common sense; PB: 378 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Industrial landfill affects on fish communities at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INDU)
Effects of seepage from fly-ash settling ponds and construction dewatering on ground-water levels in the Cowles Unit, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana. Water-resources investigations (final) 1976-77