Impact of habitat variability on biological assessments at hazardous waste sites -- design and data interpretation considerations
- Roy F. Weston, Inc., Edison, NJ (United States)
Biological assessment methods that use aquatic macroinvertebrate communities to assess environmental impacts have been developed and used at hazardous waste sites. Shifts in community structure and function typically are attributed to the availability and toxicity of a contaminant, and information of this nature may be incorporated into remedial decisions. However, chemical stressors are often associated with habitat characteristics that may result in or contribute to an observed biological response. An ecological assessment focusing on benthic macroinvertebrates was conducted in a third order stream adjacent to a hazardous waste site. Habitat variability throughout the study area complicated the selection of sampling locations and equipment, and threatened to obscure potential ecological impairment associated with contaminants. For example, a 540 hectare impoundment exists approximately 100 meters upstream of the site which affects water quality, nutrient availability, and hydrology. Furthermore, portions of the stream adjacent to and immediately downstream of the site consist of a series of small, interconnecting braids that form the central core of a riparian wetland hydrosystem. Finally, historic and current riparian landaus includes mining, industrial, commercial, residential, and forested areas. Several reference areas, replicate and multihabitat samples, and careful habitat analysis were used to discriminate between habitat and contaminant effects. Although contaminants were detected in the stream, results of the macroinvertebrate survey and habitat analysis suggest that shifts in community structure and function were driven by habitat characteristics and that contaminants were not biologically available or present in toxic concentrations.
- OSTI ID:
- 40154
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9410273-; TRN: IM9520%%349
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 15. annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Denver, CO (United States), 30 Oct - 3 Nov 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 15th annual meeting: Abstract book. Ecological risk: Science, policy, law, and perception; PB: 286 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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