Influence of natural acidity and fisheries management activities upon the status of Adirondack fish populations

Book · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:5324583

Retzsch, W C; Everett, A G

Acidification and the disappearance of fish from some Adirondack waters does not appear to be caused solely by acid rain. Acidification is a natural process under certain conditions and precipitation acidified by industrial emissions appears to be only one of many possible causes of pond, lake and stream acidification. Factors other than acid precipitation can cause acidification or reduce fish stocks. As a result of glaciation, northern New York State has hundreds of glacial ponds and lakes, most of which are dystrophic or oligotrophic. Many such waters are located in the western and central portions of the Adirondacks, an area frequently cited as exhibiting the most pronounced effects of acid rain. It is widely recognized that natural unpolluted bogs and peat deposits result in low pH environments. Seasonal and weather conditions also appear to have a substantial effect upon the acidity of peat-bog outflows. An evaluation of recent survey data on critically acidified Adirondack waters indicates that of 192 waters with values less than pH 5.0, approximately 61 percent appear to be directly influenced by natural bog conditions and an additional 14 percent are probably influenced. A review of historical and recent survey data suggest that significant factors, such as natural causes of acidification, low oxygen concentrations, high CO/sub 2/ and H/sub 2/S concentrations, and extreme temperatures may have been ignored or underestimated in evaluating the cause of acidification and fish disappearances in some Adirondack waters. Another factor responsible for the current status of fish stocks in the Adirondacks involves past and present fishery resource management activities.

• OSTI ID: 5324583
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

520200* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
560305 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Vertebrates-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACID RAIN
ACIDIFICATION
ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS
ANIMALS
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FEDERAL REGION II
FISHERIES
FISHES
LAKES
MANAGEMENT
MOUNTAINS
NEW YORK
NORTH AMERICA
PH VALUE
PONDS
POPULATION DYNAMICS
RAIN
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
SURVEYS
USA
VERTEBRATES