THE GREAT RIVERS NEWS
,™
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA/620/N-06/002 Vol. 2 No. 2
March 2006
eNVIRONMBNTAU MONITORJNq ANIi ASS6SSM6NT
PROGRAM
J
EMAP-ORE highlights, updates, and
other goings on
• The Great Rivers Ecosystems Field Operations Manual is
now electronically published at the EMAP website. Please
use this version for future work, http://www.epa.gov/emap/
qreatriver/fom.html
• EMAP-GRE training will be held in St. Louis, MO at the
Holiday Inn Riverport, June 20-21, 2006. Crew leaders and
members are asked to attend this event. More details to
follow
• Information Management Tidbits
2004 crew-verified data for all rivers except Lower Missouri
River fish is now in SWIM. Remember this is still consid-
ered raw data, and therefore, not acceptable for publication
use.
2005 data verification is underway, and should be posted
end of April.
2004 water chemistry, sediment nutrients, fish tissue, sedi-
ment toxicity and chemistry, and invertebrate lab data is
nearly validated and expected to be posted to SWIM soon.
Data validation and restructuring is also underway by the
indicator leads. We expect a structured data set by au-
tumn, in time for data workshops.
Fish Genetic Analyses Provide Information
on Ecological Condition
John Martinson (NERL/ORD/USEPA)
Sediment Enzyme Activity In the Great
Rivers of the Central Basin
During the 2005 field season for
the EMAP Great Rivers Project,
small fish (<12 cm) and fin clips
from larger fish were collected
from a limited number of sites for
genetic analysis. Over 2000 sam-
ples representing approximately 75
species were collected. The sam-
ples will have selected genes se-
quenced in order to provide infor-
mation that can be used to en-
hance the EMAP Great Rivers
Study. Initially a sub-sampling of
the collected fish will be analyzed
to provide a quantitative method
for validating the quality of EMAP
field identifications, and to look for
evidence of cryptic species within
the EMAP samples. Preliminary
results from an analysis of the cyt
b gene in 61 specimens indicate
very good agreement with refer-
ence sequences for two species,
shorthead redhorse and river
shiner. Sequence alignment for a
shorthead redhorse sampled from
a study site showed near perfect
homology with reference
(GenBank) sequence. In total, 891
of 895 bases matched perfectly,
providing confirmation of the
shorthead redhorse's taxonomic
classification. There were, how-
ever, a few anomalies. One fish
morphologically identified as a
river shiner and two fish identified
as golden shiners were genetically
divergent from reference se-
quences and may represent other
(possibly cryptic) species.
It was proposed at the recent GRE
Technical meeting that genetic
methodologies be used to address
the incidence of hybridization for
the 2006 samplings. Genetic data
are extremely important for evalu-
ating instances of hybridization, as
morphological clues to hybrid
status are often ambiguous. Hy-
bridization rates may provide use-
ful indicators of environmental
quality if hybrid individuals are
found to be associated with dis-
turbed habitats, as has been hy-
pothesized.
Brian Hill (NHEERL/ORD/USEPA)
Surface water quality in aquatic ecosys-
tems is determined by interactions with
base geology, soils, transported materi-
als, and the atmosphere. It is often sig-
nificantly deteriorated by agriculture,
industry, mining, urbanization, and other
human activities. Water quality monitor-
ing is often constrained by logistical and
economic considerations, and the scope
of water quality sampling varies with site
conditions and research objectives.
The purpose of this research was to
compare the extracellular enzyme activ-
ity (EEA) of the sediment microbial as-
semblage in their processing of organic
carbon, as related to nutrient chemistry
in the Great Rivers of the Central United
States. We compared a suite of hydro-
lytic enzymes produced by sediment
microbial assemblages with measured
nutrients in those sediments and the
overlying waters in the Missouri, Upper
Mississippi, and Ohio Rivers. Our under-
lying premise is that organic matter proc-
essing by sediment microbial assem-
blages is so tightly governed by C:N:P
ratios that carbon processing rates are
directly controlled by nutrient availability.
Hence, EEA should directly reflect not
only the activity of the microbial commu-
nity, but also the nutrient status of the
environment. EEA was significantly dif-
ferent between rivers (MS>MO>OH), and
was correlated with chemistry, nutrient
ratios, and atmospheric N deposition.
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Page 2
THE GREAT RIVERS NEWS
LETTER
Fish Contaminant Data Shows Presence of PCBs and Fire Retardant Chemicals
Dan Tettenhorst et al. UES Services
Whole fish composites from
the Ohio, Lower Missouri,
and Upper Mississippi Riv-
ers were analyzed for envi-
ronmental contaminants as
part of the USEPA's Envi-
ronmental Monitoring and
Assessment Program for
Great Rivers Ecosystems
(EMAP-GRE). Two hun-
dred forty-seven (247)
samples were assayed for
22 organochlorine pesti-
cides, 20 PCS congeners,
and 6 PBDEs by GC-
uECD. The median con-
centration and its nonpara-
metric 95% confidence
interval were calculated for
each analyte within each
river and fish size group.
Results revealed statisti-
cally higher concentrations
of total PCBs, total PBDEs,
Xchlordanes (ICHL), and
£DDT for the Ohio River
samples than the Missouri
River and Upper Missis-
sippi River samples (Figure
1). There were few signifi-
cant differences in the ana-
lyte concentrations be-
tween the samples col-
lected from the Upper Mis-
sissippi and Lower Missouri
Rivers. The dominant con-
taminants in all three rivers
were PCS congeners #153
and #138, PBDE congener
#47, trans-nonachlor, cis-
chlordane, dieldrin, and
p,p'-DDE. The predomi-
nance of PBDE #47 out of
all PBDE congeners,
(Figure 2), is different than I
the congener ratio of the
commercial flame retardant
formulations. This can be I
explained by information I
from recent literature that
shows PBDE #47 has a
higher uptake, and is more
efficiently absorbed within I
fish.
There were significant con-
centration differences for
certain analytes between
large fish and small fish
samples with the exception
of chlordanes on the Mis-
sissippi River and PBDE
#47 on the Ohio River.
PBDE #99 had the only
significant difference be-
tween large and small fish
samples on the Missouri
River. Small fish can be
used to assess risk to pis-
civorous wildlife, whereas
large fish are more sensi-
tive to contaminants in the
total environment. Small
fish, being ubiquitous, may
be a more representative
sample at the site. Large
fish, being more mobile,
represent contamination
from a broader area. Re-
sults presented here reflect
the samples collected and
do not necessarily reflect
the entire river system.
• Lower Missouri River
D Upper Mississippi River
DOhio River
Figure 1. Total PCB congeners (ZPCB), total PBDE congeners QPBDE), total chlordanes
(ICHL), and total DDTs (IDDT) median concentrations for large fish samples from the Ohio,
Upper Mississippi and Lower Missouri Rivers.
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D PBDE #47
• PBDE #100
D PBDE #99
B PBDE #154
Large Fish: Larger Fish:
Freshwater drum Sauger
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Small Fish:
Emerald shiner
Figure 2. Median conger-specific PBDE concentrations and the 95% confidence intervals for
two large fish and one small fish species (with n>9) collected from the Ohio River.
The Great Rivers Newsletter is periodic publication of the EPA's Mid-Continent Ecology Divi-
sion in Duluth, MN. The newsletter is designed to disseminate timely information about the
EMAP-GRE project among EPA investigators; state, federal, and tribal collaborators; and other
stakeholders. Contact Mark Pearson, editor (pearson.mark@epa.gov; 218-529-5205) to obtain
copies of the newsletter. The newsletter and other EMAP information can be found on this
website : www.epa.gov/emap/greatriver
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