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Title: Threadfin shad impingement: effect of cold stress. Report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for period October 1, 1976-September 30, 1978

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5227586

Temperature greatly influenced impingement of threadfin shad, young-of-the-year gizzard shad, and probably young-of-the-year river herring. Temperature also greatly influenced any potential effects that loss of these prey had on predators. Natural cold kills of threadfin and young-of-the-year gizzard shad masked any ecological effects due to impingement. Most of the shad, had they not been impinged, would have died due to cold stress, and these dead shad would have decomposed rather than been eaten by scavengers. Loss of shad had a measurable short-term effect on sauger, as determined by changes in condition factor, and this loss of shad contributed to an increase in percent empty stomachs of skipjack herring, striped bass, and white bass. Thermal refuges, including the Kingston Steam Plant discharge, were identified for gizzard shad and hybrid shad. Hybrid shad made up 11.2% of the total threadfin population sampled both years (1976-1977 and 1977-1978). Blood serum electrolytes (Na/sup +/, K/sup +/, Cl/sup -/) were not found to be good predictable indicators of cold stress of young gizzard shad. 24 refs., 23 figs., 18 tabs.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
5227586
Report Number(s):
NUREG/CR-1044; ORNL/NUREG/TM-340; ON: TI86000153
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Environmental Sciences Division Publication No. 1495
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English