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Incorporation of sublethal effects and indirect mortality in modeling population-level impacts of a stress, with an example involving power-plant entrainment and striped bass

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6314936
The problems involved in including sublethal effects and indirect mortality in modeling the population-level impacts of a stress are discussed. Interactions of stressed individuals at one trophic level with those at the next lower and higher trophic levels are considered, particularly with reference to power plant entrainment as the source of stress. An equation is derived for the conditional mortality rate due to a stress that incorporates both direct and indirect mortality. Preliminary experiments to test for sublethal effects of heat shock on the feeding of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) larvae suggest that striped bass larvae may be less likely to feed following heat shocks of the type used in these experiments. However, once larvae do start feeding, these experiments suggest that the amount eaten is not substantially influenced by the preceding heat shock. The relationship between setting standards and modeling population-level impacts, and the use of application factors for each, are considered.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-26
OSTI ID:
6314936
Report Number(s):
NUREG/CR-0638; ORNL/NUREG/TM-288
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English