Yellow perch larval survival studies and the potential effects of an ash storage facility in the Zekiah Swamp watershed, Wicomico River, Maryland

Technical Report · Mon Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

OSTI ID:6271899

Buron, W H; Pinkney, A E; Gurley, J

Bioassay studies were conducted to determine if leachate from a coal ash depository was a potential factor in reducing abundance of yellow perch spawning stocks in Zekiah Swamp Run, a tributary of the Wicomico River, Maryland. In situ bioassays conducted in Zekiah Swamp Run in 1989 and 1990 using yellow perch yolk-sac larvae resulted in higher mortality upstream and downstream of the ash storage facility relative to reference stations in both years. Similar high mortality was observed at the upstream unaffected site and the downstream potentially affected site, suggesting that poor larval survival in these locations is a system-wide phenomenon. Analysis of water samples for metals, inorganic monomeric-aluminum, volatile organics, pH and measurements of physical parameters did not identify a specific cause for the high mortality observed. Surveys of the abundance and distribution of yellow perch egg strands during spring 1990 revealed that over 1,500 females spawned in a relatively restricted area in the vicinity of the fall line. In contrast to poor larval survival observed at upstream locations above the fall line, good survival was observed in bioassays conducted at a location below the fall line. Results to date are insufficient to establish the specific factors causing high mortality of larval yellow perch above the fall line. However, the ash storage site does not appear to be a contributing factor at the present time.

• Research Organization: Versar, Inc., Columbia, MD (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6271899
• Report Number(s): PB-91-129619/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
560300 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ALUMINIUM
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ASHES
BIOASSAY
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FEDERAL REGION III
FISHES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
LARVAE
LEACHATES
MANAGEMENT
MARYLAND
MATERIALS
MATTER
METALS
MIXTURES
MORTALITY
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PH VALUE
POLLUTION
RESIDUES
SENSITIVITY
SOLID WASTES
SOLUTIONS
SURVIVAL TIME
USA
VERTEBRATES
VOLATILE MATTER
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER POLLUTION
WATERSHEDS