A Review of Some of the Effects of Reduced Dissolved Oxygen
on the Fish and Invertebrate Resources of Ward Cove, Alaska
for
Watershed Restoration Unit
Office of Water
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 10
Seattle, WA
by
Duane W. Kama
Risk Evaluation Unit
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 10
Seattle, WA
March 6, 2003
-------
Contents
List of Figures ii
Acknowledgments iii
Executive Summary iv
1.0 Introduction 1
2.0 Literature Review 3
2.1 Effects of Low Dissolved Oxygen on Fish Growth 3
2.1.1 Salmonid Fish 3
2.1.2 Non-Salmonid Estuarine and Marine Fish 3
2.2 Effects of Low Dissolved Oxygen on Fish Diseases 4
2.2.1 Salmonid Fish 4
2.2.2 Non-Salmonid Estuarine and Marine Fish 5
2.3 Lethal Effects of Hypoxia 5
2.3.1 Salmonid Fish 5
2.3.2 Non-Salmonid Estuarine and Marine Fish 5
2.3.3 Benthic Invertebrates 6
3.0 Discussion 8
3.1 Effects of Salmonids 8
3.2 Effects of Other Estuarine and Marine Organisms 10
3.3 Fish Diseases 11
4.0 Limitations of this Review 12
5.0 Literature Cited 13
Appendix A - Native fish species potentially occurring in or near Ward Cove, AK A1
Appendix B - Location and date of occurrence of dissolved oxygen levels <4 mg/l
in and near Ward Cove, Alaska B1
Appendix C - Water quality monitoring stations in and near Ward Cove, Alaska C1
-------
List of Figures
Figure 1. Periodicity chart for anadromous salmonids in Ward Cove, Alaska 2
Figure 2. Dissolved oxygen concentrations (mg/l) in the depth range 20 to 29 m
in Ward Cove from June to November 1999 9
-------
Acknowledgments
This review could not have been completed in the short time that it was needed without
the outstanding literature research support from Ikuyo Fredrickson and Olga Shargorodska of
ASRC Aerospace Corp., contractors for the EPA Region 10 library. I also appreciate the
assistance of four Region 10 colleagues: Lorraine Edmond and Michael Watson for their
review comments on the preliminary draft, Peter Leinenbach for the spatial analysis used to
develop the dissolved oxygen contours for Figure 2, and Jennifer Wu for assistance throughout
this project.
Dave Sturdevant, of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and
Susan Walker, Linda Shaw, Lawrence Peltz, and Robert Stone of the Alaska Regional Office of
the National Marine Fisheries Service reviewed the July 17, 2002 draft and provided many
helpful suggestions.
in
-------
Executive Summary
This review was conducted to provide a better understanding of the likelihood of adverse
effects of depressed dissolved oxygen on aquatic resources in Ward Cove, a small embayment
adjacent to Tongass Narrows near Ketchikan, Alaska. Water quality monitoring from 1998 to
2002 found that dissolved oxygen levels less than 4 mg/l commonly occurred in Ward Cove
during the summer and early fall. During this time, hypoxic conditions (dissolved oxygen <2
mg/l) occurred occasionally at and near the bottom and less frequently in midwater areas. Field
and laboratory studies for species similar to those inhabiting Ward Cove indicate that sublethal
and lethal effects begin at dissolved oxygen levels of approximately 4 mg/l and 2 mg/l,
respectively.
Aquatic resources at risk in Ward Cove include the subadult or adult stages of eight
anadromous salmonids, approximately 75 non-salmonid estuarine and marine fish species, and
a benthic invertebrate fauna. Adult salmonids will usually avoid hypoxic conditions, except
when staging to enter freshwater during their annual spawning migrations. Salmonids
encountering prolonged hypoxic conditions in Ward Cove may sustain sublethal effects like
reduced reproductive success. More severe hypoxic exposures in combination with low flows
and high water temperatures in Ward Creek may result in adult mortality. Juvenile salmonids
out-migrating from Ward Creek appear to move through the cove prior to the onset of
depressed dissolved oxygen conditions.
Non-salmonid estuarine and marine fish are considerably less sensitive than salmonids
to depressed oxygen levels and can also avoid hypoxic conditions. However, some species
and life stages offish with low mobility residing in Ward Cove can be adversely affected by
depressed oxygen. Non-mobile benthic invertebrates are similarly affected. Lethal exposures
are believed to have occurred for some of these organisms as hypoxic conditions persisted for
at least 14 days during 1998 and 1999. Sublethal stress more commonly occurred as dissolved
oxygen levels less than 4 mg/l persisted within the cove from early August to mid to late
September during 1998, 1999, and 2002.
IV
-------
1.0 Introduction
Ward Cove, a small estuary adjacent to Tongass Narrows, is located approximately 5
miles north of Ketchikan, Alaska. Ketchikan Pulp Company (KPC), formerly located on the
north shore of the cove, discharged pulp mill effluent to the cove from 1954 until March 1997.
During approximately 43 years of handling logs and discharging wastes, much of the bottom of
the cove was covered by pulp residues, sunken logs, and other wood wastes (Exponent 1999).
A fish processing plant, located on the south shore, has been discharging fish wastes to the
cove since 1912 (Sturdevant 2002). In recent years, it usually operates only during a salmon
season that begins in July and continues through mid-September.
Water circulation is restricted within the cove. A counter-clockwise circulation brings
Tongass Narrow water into the cove along the south shore. Modeling indicates that the
average residence time for water in the cove is 15 days (Rodriguez 2002). Site specific
information on dissolved oxygen (DO) in Ward Cove was obtained during water quality surveys
conducted from November 1995 to October 2002 (U.S. EPA 2003). This monitoring found that
the water column is strongly stratified during the summer resulting in poor mixing of bottom
water across the well defined thermocline. Ward Creek, which enters the head of the cove,
drains a 14-square mile basin and has a mean annual stream flow that varies from 28.3 to 173
cfs (USGS 2002)
Starting in the late 1950s, reduced DO concentrations and periodic fish kills occurred in
Ward Cove (Kruse and Viteri 1988). Jones & Stokes Associates (1989) estimated that about
95% of the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) loading came from KPC's discharges. Water
quality improved with the cessation of these discharges in March 1997; however, subsequent
surveys measured DO concentrations <4 mg/l within Ward Cove during the summer from 1997
to 2002 (U.S. EPA 2003). The Alaska water quality standard for minimum DO in Ward Cove is
5.0 mg/l.
For reference, a normal oxygen level (normoxia) for the surface waters of Ward Cove is
approximately 8 mg/l at a salinity of 30 ppt and temperature of 10°C. Under natural conditions
and vertical stratification, DO levels in deeper waters can vary considerably and be reduced
significantly below 8 mg/l by respiration and the decay of organic materials. The results of a
limited survey in Ward Cove from October 1951 through September 1952 (prior to KPC),
however, found that DO concentrations from the surface down to 30 m in depth did not fall
below 7 ppm (Alaska Water Pollution Control Board 1952).
Eight anadromous salmonid species occur in Ward Cove (Figure 1). All are native to
Ward Creek except for chinook salmon, which originate from other nearby tributaries (Alaska
Department of Fish and Game 1990, Hoffman 2002). In conducting baseline studies in
preparation of a plan to modify KPC's effluent discharge system, ENSR (1994) listed 41 fish
species potentially occurring in the vicinity of Ward Cove. According to Clemens and Wilbey
(1961), Scott and Grossman (1973), Gotshall (1981), Lamb and Edgell (1986), and Kramer et
al. (1995), at least 75 non-salmonid fish species may occur within Ward Cove or in the vicinity
of the cove in Tongass Narrows. These species are listed in Appendix 1.
Depressed DO, including hypoxia, has a marked effect on many metabolic and
behavioral processes in fish. For example feeding, swimming, and migration are restricted by
hypoxia (Davis 1975). As a result, fish distribution is affected, growth is reduced, and condition
declines making the organism more susceptible to disease and predation. Community-level
effects may also occur as fish and benthic invertebrate populations are reduced and change as
a result of exposure to hypoxic conditions. In this review, waters with <2 mg/l DO are
considered hypoxic.
-------
Figure 1. Periodicity chart for anadromous salmonids in Ward Cove, Alaska (ADF&G 1990, Hoffman 2002).
Species
Coho salmon
Pink salmon
Sockeye
salmon
Chum salmon
Steelhead
Dolly
Varden
Cutthroat
trout
Chinook
salmon
Life Stage
Adult passage
Smolt passage
Adult passage
Smolt passage
Adult passage
Smolt passage
Adult passage
Smolt passage
Adult passage
Smolt passage
Adult passage
Smolt passage
Smolt rearing
Adult passage
Smolt passage
Jan
Jan
Feb
Feb
Mar
Mar
Apr
Apr
May
May
Jun
•
Jun
Jul
n
Jul
Aug
d
Aug
Sept
Sept
Oct
Oct
Nov
Nov
Dec
Dec
-------
-------
The purpose of this review is to provide a better understanding of the likelihood of
adverse effects on aquatic resources in Ward Cove caused by depressed DO. As site specific
information is not available on the effects of depressed DO within Ward Cove, a literature
review of studies from other marine and estuarine areas provides the basis for this evaluation.
An extensive but not exhaustive literature review was conducted for this assessment. Potential
effects will be assessed using site specific water quality information gauged against species-
specific information obtained from the literature review.
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Effects of Low Dissolved Oxygen on Fish Growth
Dissolved oxygen is a limiting factor for fish metabolism and determines growth and
activity levels (Brett 1979), and is one of the most important abiotic factors affecting juvenile
estuarine fish (Taylor and Miller 2001). Depressed DO may limit fish growth as noted below for
salmonid and non-salmonid estuarine and marine fish.
2.1.1 Salmonid Fish
In a review of over 30 laboratory tests on salmonids, JRB Associates (1984) found that
the relative sensitivity of each species to dissolved oxygen depletion was influenced by fish
size, test duration, temperature, and diet. Overall, growth rate tests on salmon and trout fed
unrestricted rations had median growth reductions of 25, 14, and 7% for fish held at 4, 5, and 6
mg/l. However, salmon tended to be more sensitive to reduced DO. The growth rate
reductions for juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were reduced by 47, 29,
and 16%, respectively, at DO concentrations of 3, 4, and 5 mg/l (mean temperature of tests
was 15 °C). Similarly, the growth of coho salmon (O. kisutch) and sockeye salmon (O. nerka)
was reduced 37, 21, and 11 % and 33, 22, and 12%, respectively, over the same range of DO
concentrations (mean temperatures of these tests were 18 and 15 °C, respectively). The water
temperature of growth tests is important since growth reductions may be affected less at lower
temperatures. For example, Warren et al. (1973) found that the growth rate of coho salmon
was about 35% less at 22 °C than at 9 °C at 4 mg/l DO.
2.1.2 Non-Salmonid Estuarine and Marine Fish
In developing national water quality criteria, Chapman (1986) reviewed field and
laboratory data for the adult stage of non-salmonid freshwater fish and concluded that the
production of these fish was impaired slightly at DO concentrations of 5 mg/l, moderately at 4
mg/l, and severely at 3.5 mg/l. Since the studies reviewed were for freshwater fish, they may
not be entirely applicable for the estuarine and marine species that occur in the vicinity of Ward
Cove. Some information, however, is available for marine and anadromous fish species.
According to Clemens and Wilbey (1961) and Kramer et al. (1995), at least 12 species
of flounder and sole occur in shallow waters in Southeast Alaska and may be found in the
vicinity of Ward Cove (Appendix 1). Growth studies are not available for these fish, but they are
for five related benthic fish species: the winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus),
southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma), and summer flounder (P. dentatus) from the east
coast of North America; and the plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) and dab (Limanda limanda)
from Northern Europe.
Bejda et al. (1992) measured growth in winter flounder exposed to DO concentrations of
6.7 mg/l, 2.2 mg/l, and to a diurnal fluctuation ranging from 2.5 to 6.4 mg/l. Growth rates offish
-------
exposed to the higher level were over twice those offish tested at the lower level, and were
significantly higher than the fish exposed to the diurnal fluctuation. In a similar laboratory study,
Taylor and Miller (2001) observed that the growth of juvenile southern flounder was significantly
reduced at 2.8 mg/l and at exposures ranging from 2.8 to 6.2 mg/l, but not at 4.7 mg/l. Poucher
and Coiro (1999) and U.S. EPA (2000) observed that the growth of newly metamorphosed
summer flounder was reduced at DO concentrations ranging from 1.8 to 4.49 mg/l in 10 to 14-
day studies. In 20-day laboratory studies at 15°C, Petersen and Pihl (1995) found that growth
in plaice and dab was reduced by 25 to 30% when DO saturation decreased from 80 to 60%.
Growth studies related to DO concentrations are also not available for the three cod
species likely to be present in these waters. In a laboratory study on a closely related species,
the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), Chabot and Dutil (1999) found that hypoxia decreased food
consumption and negatively influenced growth, which was measured as fish length, mass, and
condition factor. Fish length was significantly reduced at DO levels <56% saturation, and mass
and condition factors were significantly reduced at DO levels <65% saturation. The authors
believed the negative growth effects on cod in the wild due to hypoxia may be even greater
than their results showed. In their laboratory experiment, food was available ad libitum and
without exertion by the fish. In the wild, cod would almost certainly incur greater metabolic
costs capturing food, avoiding predators, and during migrations.
In another study with Atlantic cod, Saunders (1963) found that reducing ambient oxygen
from about 10 to 3 mg/l lowers the rate of oxygen consumption slightly, but the respiratory
volume (the volume of water pumped over the gills per unit time) was markedly increased. This
suggests there is an added stress because the increased metabolic cost of irrigating the gills is
not met by increased rate of oxygen consumption. As a result, growth is affected.
Ward Cove is within the range of two North American sturgeons (Scott and Grossman
1973). Of these, growth information is only available for the white sturgeon. Juvenile white
sturgeon fed ad libitum rations and tested at 15, 20 and 25 °C had significantly reduced growth
when DO concentrations were reduced from approximately 7.7 to 5.3 mg/l (Cech et al. 1984).
In another laboratory growth study, Secor and Gunderson (1998) observed that the growth of
the juvenile stage of a related species, the Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenseroxyrhyncus), was 2.9
times less at 3 mg/l than at 7 mg/l.
2.2 Effects of Low Dissolved Oxygen on Fish Diseases
Except for laboratory and hatchery exposures, little information is available on stress-
induced fish diseases caused by exposure to hypoxic conditions. However, diseases that are
endemic in some Northeast Pacific fish species such as VHSV (viral hemorrhagic septicemia
virus), a disease affecting fish kidneys and livers, may be brought on by other stressors such as
crowding or contaminant exposure (Hershberger et al. 1999, Carls et al. 1998).
2.2.1 Salmonid Fish
In reviewing stress-induced fish diseases in hatcheries, Wedemeyer (1970) and
Wedemeyer and Wood (1974) found that facultative fish pathogens continuously present in
most waters cause diseases to occur when fish immune systems weaken. The authors listed
furunculosis (Aeromonas salmonicida), aeromonad and pseudomonad hemorrhagic septicemia,
and vibriosis (Vibrio anguillarum) as diseases for which low dissolved oxygen is one of several
environmental factors predisposing fish to epizootics. Wedemeyer and Wood (1974) also
determined that optimum fish health usually occurred at dissolved oxygen concentrations of 6.9
mg/l or higher. Water temperatures >16 °C are another important factor predisposing fish to
-------
diseases (Ordal and Rucker 1944, Fryer and Pilcher 1974, Servizi and Jensen 1977); however,
the virulence of bacterial kidney disease in juvenile coho salmon and steelhead may not be
related to water temperature (Fryer et al. 1976) and the virulence of Flavobacterium
psychrophilum infection in coho may be highest at low temperatures (Ordal and Pacha 1963).
2.2.2 Non-Salmonid Estuarine and Marine Fish
There are many endemic diseases in the marine environment. Vibriosis and the protist
Ichthyophonussp. are important diseases affecting cod, herring, and flatfish (Millemann 1969).
According to Meyers and Winton (1995), VHSV is enzootic in the Northeastern Pacific among
Pacific herring (C. pallasi) and Pacific cod (G. macrocephalus) stocks. Further, viral
erythrocytic necrosis, a disease that affects fish blood and livers, has been associated with
epizootics and high mortality in Pacific herring in Southeast Alaska, including in Ward Cove
(Meyers et al. 1986). Unfortunately, water quality analyses at the time of this fish kill in Ward
Cove did not substantiate the cause of death (B. Hoffman, Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation, personal communication cited by Meyers et al. 1986).
Research reviewed by Austin (1999) indicates that some fish diseases result from
generally adverse water quality including organic enrichment and oxygen depletion.
2.3 Lethal Effects of Hypoxia
Hypoxia has caused acute mortality to fish and benthic organisms in marine areas all
over the world, and sensitive species have been periodically or permanently removed from
many areas (Diaz and Rosenberg 1995). Rosenberg (1980) found that a notable deterioration
of the benthic community began rather abruptly at 2 mg/l of DO. Diaz (2001) noted a variance
in the point at which various aquatic species suffocate, but effects generally starts to appear
when DO drops below 2 mg/l.
2.3.1 Salmonid Fish
Based on a literature review completed by Hicks (2000), salmonid mortality would not be
expected when minimum oxygen concentrations are at 3.5 to 4.0 mg/l, even at water
temperatures as high as 20 °C. He found that mortality generally increases at concentrations
below 3.0 mg/l, with mortality becoming consistently high at oxygen levels at or below 2.5 to 2.0
mg/l depending on water temperature. Hicks noted, however, that most of the studies that he
reviewed were conducted in a laboratory where fish were free of the stresses and biological
interactions found in a field environment. To compensate for these additional stresses, he
recommends that daily minimum oxygen concentrations be maintained above 4.0 to 4.5 mg/l to
prevent any reasonable chance of direct mortality to juvenile or adult salmonids.
2.3.2 Non-Salmonid Estuarine and Marine Fish
Available information indicates estuarine and marine fish are considerably less sensitive
than salmonids to depressed DO. Burggren and Randall (1978) provide an example of this in
their study of the white sturgeon, which may live in marine, estuarine, or freshwater areas.
They observed that juvenile white sturgeon survived extreme hypoxic exposures (5 to 10% of
normoxic levels) for 25 to 35 minutes and lacked any compensatory increases in ventilation and
oxygen consumption after return to normoxic conditions. They concluded the sturgeon appears
to reduce total energy expenditures during periods of reduced oxygen availability. Similarly,
Croaker and Cech (1997) found that juvenile white sturgeon decreased overall energy
expenditures during hypoxia via reductions in spontaneous swimming activity. They believed
-------
this behavior may increase the survival of white sturgeon trapped in hypoxic areas.
In another example of non-salmonids being less sensitive to hypoxia, Kim et al. (1995)
found that the juvenile stage of four Western Pacific fish species could withstand hypoxic
conditions in laboratory experiments. Of these, the rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli, and the olive
flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, are most closely related to the fish species inhabiting
Southeast Alaska. The acute lethal DO levels for the rockfish and flounder were 0.79 and 0.66
mg/l, respectively.
U.S. EPA (2000) used the results of 10 years of research conducted mainly in the
laboratory, but supported in part by field observations, to develop salt water criteria for DO in
coastal and estuarine areas from Cape Cod, MA to Cape Hatteras, NC. These
recommendations for DO criteria are meant to apply within 3 miles from shore in the defined
area, and likely would need to be modified if used as water quality criteria in any other coastal
region of the United States. The basic research supporting this effort provides useful
information on how hypoxia affects juvenile and adult salt water animals. Survival to hypoxia by
12 invertebrate and 11 fish species (almost all data are for juveniles) native to the east coast
was determined using accepted guidelines (Stephan et al. 1985). For exposures ranging from
24 to 96 hours, LC50s (lethal concentrations for one half of the test animal population) for the
fish ranged from 0.90 mg/l for the windowpane flounder (Scopthalmus aquosus) to 1.63 mg/l for
the pipe fish (Syngnathus fuscus). In addition to these fish, four other fish species tested are
closely related to West Coast species. They are (with LC50 levels): fourspine stickleback
(Apeltes quadracus) - 0.91 mg/l, Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) -1.12 mg/l, summer
flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) -1.32 mg/l, and the winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus)
-1.38 mg/l.
In another laboratory study, Hoff (1967) found that the lethal DO levels for three Atlantic
Ocean fish species varied with water temperature. Of those tested, only the winter flounder (P.
americanus) is closely related to Southeast Alaska fish species. Hoff determined that the lethal
DO levels for the winter flounder ranged from 1.03 to 0.66 mg/l at water temperatures ranging
from 25 to 12 °C. In comparison, Plante et al. (1998) found that survival to hypoxia by Atlantic
cod (G. morhua) from the Gulf of St. Lawrence was not measurably affected in LC50 tests at 6
and 2 °C. These authors noted that no cod survived 10% saturation, only a few survived 16%
saturation, and no mortality occurred at 34 and 40% DO saturation during their
96-hr tests.
2.3.3 Benthic Invertebrates
Even though some benthic invertebrate species can tolerate hypoxia, the benthic
communities may be significantly affected by periodic hypoxia. In Chesapeake Bay, Dauer
(1993) observed that macrobenthic communities in areas exposed to low DO (<2 ppm) events
during the summer were characterized by lower values for community biomass, number or
individuals, and species richness. These areas also had lower numbers of infauna living
deeper than 5 cm in the sediment, lower equilibrium species (long-lived species found in
undisturbed or unstressed habitats), and a greater dominance of opportunistic species in
comparison to reference areas. In a review of benthic faunal reactions to oxygen deficiency in
ten fjords and estuaries in Northern Europe, Rosenberg (1980) found that the number of
species, abundance, and biomass declined abruptly at approximately 2 mg/l DO. He also found
that some species, mainly molluscs, survived periodic DO depletion, but that most species did
not tolerate hypoxia for extended periods of time. Similar results were obtained by Nilsson and
Rosenberg (1994), who found that the structure of the benthic community changed during
hypoxia. These authors observed that the number of species was significantly reduced at DO
-------
levels of about 1.0 mg/l DO, compared to normoxia (>8.0 mg/l), and that two polychaete
species were able to tolerate hypoxia better than clams, echinoderms, sea cucumbers, and
snails.
In comparison to the above studies, Diaz et al. (1992) found that the macrobenthic
community structure (diversity, species richness and evenness) was not affected by mild
hypoxia (levels near 2 ppm DO) for a few days in a study in the York River, just off the
Chesapeake Bay. The benthos was dominated, however, by four polychaete species that are
common to the area. During hypoxic events, many different infaunal species were seen lying
on the sediment surface where they were more susceptible to predators. Pihl et al. (1992)
documented the opportunistic exploitation by predators on benthic prey sublethally affected
during hypoxic events.
In the development of saltwater criteria (U.S. EPA 2000), LC50 tests showed that
invertebrate species may survive periodic hypoxia. Of the 12 invertebrates tested, eight
species are more closely related to the invertebrate fauna in Southeast Alaska. The LCSOs for
these species ranged from 0.43 mg/l (for the Atlantic surfclam, Spisula solidissima) to 1.27 mg/l
(for the mysid, Americamysis bahia). The balance of the eight invertebrates were represented
by one amphipod species, two species of crab, and three species of shrimp. Similar results
were found in a laboratory study conducted by Rosenberg et al. (1991), who observed that
eight infaunal species from the Northeast Atlantic continental shelf tolerated hypoxic conditions
for several days to weeks. The authors found, however, that exposures of 32 to 43 days at DO
levels of about 1.4 mg/l caused high mortalities to four bivalve and two echinoderm species.
With an emphasis on Canadian species, Davis (1975) reviewed the minimum DO
requirements of aquatic life, including aquatic invertebrates. He found these requirements to
be species-specific and that tolerance to hypoxia tended to be correlated with habitat. With the
information available in 1975, Davis found it difficult to determine safe levels of DO for aquatic
invertebrate communities. Subsequent research on hypoxia in British Columbian waters
provides further information on the minimum DO levels required by invertebrates.
Levings (1980) found that infauna and sedentary epifauna in 24 km2 of Howe Sound were killed
when DO levels decreased below 0.5 mg/l. In studying hypoxic conditions in Saanich Inlet,
Jamieson and Pikitch (1988) believed the minimum lethal tolerance limit for the spot prawn
(Pandulus platyceros) was approximately 1 ml/l dissolved oxygen, but munid decapods (Munida
quadrispina) were unaffected at that DO level, and pink shrimp (P. Jordan!) moved to avoid the
zone with <1ml/l dissolved oxygen. Burd and Brinkhurst (1984, 1985) observed that large adult
M. quadrispina were consistently found at DO levels as low as 0.1 to 0.15 ml/l in Saanich Inlet
where their population density was greatest. [Conversion of dissolved oxygen from ml/l to mg/l
is dependant on pressure, salinity, and temperature. In a marine environment, 2 ml/l is roughly
equal to 2.8 mg/l (Wu 2002)].
With regard to important commercial shrimp species, Renaud (1986) suggested that
hypoxia in bottom waters off Louisiana affected the abundance and distribution of brown shrimp
(Penaeus aztecus) and white shrimp (P. setiferus). Brown shrimp avoided DO concentrations
< 2 ppm, while white shrimp avoided concentrations <1.5 ppm. The minimum critical holding
level for unfed (i.e., starved) spot prawn in a laboratory study was found to be 3.5 to 4.0 mg/l
DO (at salinity of 30 ppt and 5 °C). Below this level, metabolism declined directly with lowering
oxygen concentration until asphyxial levels were reached (Whyte and Carswell 1982).
-------
3.0 Discussion
The purpose of this review is to provide a better understanding of the potential adverse
effects of depressed dissolved oxygen on aquatic resources in Ward Cove. From the above
literature review, two bench mark levels are apparent below which adverse effects occur //
dissolved oxygen is depressed on a wide scale (i.e., in space and time) in a water body and
aquatic resources are present. These levels are 2 and 4 mg/l. As DO falls below 2 mg/l,
aquatic species begin to suffer acute mortality and adverse community level effects occur. At
DO levels between 2 and 4 mg/l, chronic effects like reduced growth or increased susceptibility
to disease impair fish health, particularly if other stressors are present.
Because KPC discharged high BOD wastes to Ward Cove until March 1997, only the
results of DO monitoring in Ward Cove after 1997 will be gauged against information obtained
from this literature review. DO conditions prior to 1998 may not represent conditions that occur
today as KPC has permanently stopped all operations. The post-1997 monitoring data
(Appendix B) show that DO <2 mg/l occurred more frequently in waters near the bottom in the
central part of Ward Cove, and less frequently in the upper water column. As DO
concentrations typically decrease with increasing water depth, hypoxic conditions will more
likely occur near the bottom. In considering cove-wide monitoring, hypoxic conditions appear to
have persisted in bottom waters in the central part of Ward Cove for at least two to four weeks
(see stations 44, 45, and 46 in Table B1 in Appendix B) during August 1998 and from August to
September 1999. The station locations are shown in Appendix C.
Figure 2 shows dissolved oxygen levels at water depths ranging from 20 to 29 m in the
cove on five days when monitoring occurred from June to October 1999. During this time,
hypoxia occurs only in one small cell within the cove in this depth range. This depth range was
selected as it is a good representation of the spatial and temporal variability of DO conditions
that occur in or near midwater areas each summer.
During the monitoring period from 1998 to 2002, DO levels between 2 and 4 mg/l were
commonly observed in Ward Cove. As shown in Appendix B, these conditions began at water
depths greater than approximately 20 m in mid to late July and continued until early October.
During this time, DO levels between 2 and 4 mg/l may also occur in water as shallow as 15 m.
The adult stage of seven salmonid species (Figure 1), the adult or juvenile stage of
approximately 75 non-salmonid estuarine and marine fish species (Appendix 1), and benthic
and pelagic invertebrates are present during the time depressed DO conditions occurred in
Ward Cove and adjacent waters. Further, year-round resident subadult chinook salmon, known
to rear and feed in Tongass Narrows and adjacent embayments (Hoffman 2002), may also be
exposed to these conditions.
3.1 Effects on Salmonids
Depressed dissolved oxygen conditions are unlikely to significantly affect the growth of
juvenile or adult salmonids migrating through or feeding in or near Ward Cove. Some minor
indirect effects, however, may occur as a result of hypoxia-induced changes to food chain
organisms inhabiting the cove and adjacent waters.
The growth cycles of the adult stage of all seven anadromous salmon and trout species
native to Ward Creek should be completed prior to their arrival in the cove from the ocean.
Some feeding by adult cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden may occur in or near the cove as they
hold in preparation for entering Ward Creek. The growth of subadult chinook salmon, a fish
species not native to Ward Creek, is also not likely affected by exposures to these conditions.
Whitmore et al. (1960) observed that juvenile chinook salmon can sense and avoid hypoxic
-------
Figure 2. Dissolved oxygen concentrations (mg/l) in the depth range 20 to 29 m in Ward Cove
from June to November 1999.
June 30, 1999
July 28, 1999
Discharge
Location
/\/ Shoreline
• Sampling Locations
/\/20 Meter Depth Boundary
/\/ Dissolved Oxygen Contour
(20 - 29 meter depth) (6/30/!
oreline
Sampling Locations
2Q Meter Depth Boundary
Dissolved Oxygen Contour
(20-29 meter depth) (7/28/:
August 13, 1999
September 20, 1999
Discharge
Location
/\/ Shoreline
Sampling Locations
/"\/ 20 Meter Depth Boundary
/\/ Dissolved Oxygen Contours
(20-29 meter depth) (8/13/9
,-?,
oreline
Sampling Locations
20 Meter Depth Boundary
Dissolved Oxygen Contoi
(20-29 meter depth) (9/20
October 30, 1999
'Discharge
Location
/\/ Shoreline
• Sampling Locations
y'y/20 Meter Depth Boundary
,A / Dissolved Oxygen Contour
(20-29meterdepth)(10/3C
10
-------
waters. Juvenile salmonids from Ward Creek temporarily rearing in Ward Cove are also
unlikely to be affected directly by depressed DO since they are believed to move through the
cove from April to mid June each year, which is prior to the onset of these conditions (Figure 1).
Returning adult salmonids may be present in the cove when the lowest dissolved
oxygen and highest water temperatures occur in late summer and early fall. Adult salmonids
will usually avoid hypoxic conditions, except when staging to enter freshwater during the latter
part of their annual spawning migrations. Severe depressed DO levels at this time in
combination with low flows and high water temperatures in Ward Creek can result in adult
mortality. Fish kills have not been observed recently in the cove, likely because the depressed
DO conditions have not extended into a greater portion of the water column in combination with
low flows in Ward Creek.
In a review, Hicks (2000) noted that mortality to salmonids generally increased at
dissolved oxygen concentrations below 3 mg/l, with mortality becoming consistently high at
oxygen levels at or below 2.5 mg/l. However, at lower water temperatures they may be able to
survive mean concentrations as low as 2.2 to 2 mg/l. A large part of the middle of Ward Cove
was at or below these levels for at least two to four weeks during August 1998 and from August
to September 1999. These levels occurred at or near the bottom, however, presenting less of a
risk of mortality to returning adult salmon and trout.
Salmonids encountering prolonged hypoxic conditions in Ward Cove may sustain
sublethal effects like reduced reproductive success, which may be an important consideration.
If gravid adult salmonids are delayed from reaching their spawning grounds due to depressed
oxygen conditions in combination with other stressors like increased water temperature,
fecundity may be impaired. Reduced recruitment may adversely affect some of the smaller
anadromous fish populations entering Ward Creek. The approximate size of these runs are:
pink salmon - 1,000's, early coho salmon - 1000's, late coho salmon - 100's, chum salmon -
100's, sockeye salmon - 100's, dolly varden - 1000's, Spring steelhead - 100's, Fall steelhead -
100's, cutthroat trout - 100's (Hoffman 2002).
3.2 Effects on Other Estuarine and Marine Organisms
In comparison to salmonids, the potential for depressed DO conditions to adversely
affect the growth of other estuarine and marine fish species in Ward Cove is much higher
because these fish are present year-round, may be present in the more sensitive juvenile stage,
and are more commonly found in deeper water where hypoxic conditions are more prone to
occur. It is not possible to quantify growth loss by estuarine and marine fish species with the
information that is available. Field and laboratory studies, however, show that growth is
affected by the depressed DO conditions similar to those observed in Ward Cove. For
example, Bejda et al. (1992) measured reduced growth in winter flounder exposed for 10 to 11
weeks to DO concentrations of 2.3 mg/l or to a fluctuating DO concentration ranging from 2.5 to
6.5 mg/l.
Non-salmonid estuarine and marine fish are less sensitive to depressed oxygen levels
than salmonids. Most of the studies cited in section 2.3.2 for the lethal effects of hypoxia were
laboratory exposures with juvenile fish. For exposures of 1 to 4 days, lethal DO concentrations
for these fish ranged from approximately 1.6 to 0.9 mg/l (U.S. EPA 2000). In Ward Cove, DO
concentrations in or near this range occurred during August 1998 and August and September
1999, and these conditions usually occurred at or near the bottom. These conditions were
more widespread in August 1998 (6 of the 9 stations in Ward Cove) than in August and
September 1999 (4 of the 9 stations). During the five-year observation period, hypoxic
conditions were observed only in 1998, 1999, and 2002, when they ranged from 1.99 to 0.64
11
-------
mg/l. Further, DO levels below 1 mg/l were observed only on two occasions during this time
(0.64 mg/l on 8/6/98 at 14.8 m at station 43, and 0.76 mg/l on 9/20/99 at 40 m at station 44).
Depressed DO conditions likely have the greatest effect on benthic invertebrate fauna,
particularly those that are not mobile, have weak swimming abilities, or live within the sediment.
In literature reviews, Rosenberg (1980) and Wu (2002) found that prolonged hypoxia may
cause major deterioration of the benthic community structure. A field study in Byford Estuary
on the coast of Sweden found that benthic invertebrates can tolerate exposures to DO
concentrations of <1 mg/l for a few days without any significant effect, but long term exposures
to DO concentrations of 1 to 2 mg/l caused a 20 species reduction in the benthos (Rosenberg
1977). This mortality or the migration of mobile species from hypoxic areas can result in a
significant change in the benthic community structure. Information is not available showing
similar reductions in Ward Cove, but the spatial and temporal distribution of DO concentrations
<2 mg/l indicate that these adverse effects may occur seasonally within the cove.
Some invertebrates can easily withstand or appear to prefer hypoxic conditions
(Rosenberg 1980, Burd and Brinkhurst 1984, Diaz et al. 1992), but these organism are believed
to be the exception rather than the rule.
Lastly, the distribution and abundance of aquatic species may be adversely affected as
many fish and invertebrate species detect and successfully avoid hypoxic conditions. During
hypoxic events in the lower York River off the Chesapeake Bay in 1989, spot (Leiotomus
xanthurus), hogchocker (Trinectes maculatus), Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus),
mantis shrimp (Squilla empusa), and blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) were observed migrating
from deeper to shallower water (Pihl et al. 1991, Diaz et al. 1992). Similarly, juvenile spot,
Atlantic croaker, pinfish (Lagodon rhompoides), Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus),
southern flounder (P. lethostigma), red hake (Urophycis chuss), and brown shrimp (P. aztecus)
could detect and move away from hypoxic water in laboratory exposures (Deubler and Posner
1963, Bejda et al. 1987, Wannamaker and Rice 2000). Due to small size and weak swimming
ability, however, it is difficult for juvenile fish to avoid hypoxic conditions (Breitburg 1992).
Further, when juvenile fish do avoid hypoxia they typically move up in the water column where
they may become more susceptible to predation (Bejda et al. 1987).
3.3 Fish Diseases
Environmental stress, including hypoxia, may weaken fish immune systems resulting in
increased susceptibility to disease (Wedemeyer et al. 1976). Mellergaard and Nielsen (1995)
believed that the stress of oxygen deficiency, especially at sublethal levels, triggered an
outbreak of two viral diseases, lymphocystis and epidermal papilloma, in dab (L. limanda) in
Northern Europe. Determining the importance of hypoxia as a stressor in Ward Cove is not
possible given the lack of information on fish diseases in and near the cove and on all stresses
potentially affecting fish in this area. Contaminated bottom sediments in the cove may also be
an important stressor for fish and benthic life. The virulence of several endemic diseases,
however, is increased by exposure to reduced dissolved oxygen levels (Wedemeyer et al.
1976).
Given that the incidence of disease in wild fish is rare in Southeast Alaska (Meyers
2002) and that widespread and persistent hypoxia does not occur, hypoxia-induced disease is
likely less of a problem than other factors affecting fish species in Ward Cove.
12
-------
4.0 Limitations of this Review
It is important to point out several limitations with this assessment: (1) there may be
juvenile salmonids from streams other than Ward Creek moving through Ward Cove during the
time when deteriorated water quality occurs, (2) those days or areas within Ward Cove when
DO was lowest may not have been surveyed, (3) the DO values in Figure 2 are estimations,
and lack of observations in Tongass Narrows weakens the confidence in the DO levels shown
for that area, (4) the biochemical and physiological responses of affected aquatic life were not
addressed, and (5) the synergistic or additive effect of organic pollution with hypoxia was not
addressed.
13
-------
5.0 Literature Cited
Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 1990. Application for reservation of water- Ward Creek,
Land Administration No. 12719. pp. 7 + 4 appendices. ADF&G, Div. Sport Fish. Res.
Tech. Serv., Anchorage, AK.
Alaska Water Pollution Control Board. 1952. Ward Cove survey. AWPCB, Rep. No. 7,
Ketchikan, AK (cited in Kruse and Viteri 1988).
Austin, B. 1999. The effects of pollution on fish health. J. Appl. Microbiol. Sym. Suppl. 85:
234S-242S.
Bejda, A.J., A.L. Studholme and B.L. Olla. 1987. Behavioral responses of red hake, Urophycis
chuss, to decreasing concentrations of dissolved oxygen. Environ. Biol. Fish. 19: 261-
268.
Bejda, A.J., B.A. Phelan and A.L. Studholme. 1992. The effect of dissolved oxygen on the
growth of young-of-the-year winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus. Environ.
Biol. Fishes 34: 321-327.
Breitburg, D.L. 1992. Episodic hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay: Interacting effects of recruitment,
behavior, and physical disturbance. Ecol. Monographs 62: 525-546.
Brett, J.R. 1979. Environmental factors and growth. In: W.S. Hoar, D.J. Randall and J.R. Brett
(ed.) Fish physiology, Vol. VIII, Bioenergetics and growth. Academic Press, New York.
Burd, B.J. and R.O. Brinkhurst. 1984. The distribution of the galatheid crab Munida quadrispina
(Benedict, 1902) in relation to oxygen concentrations in British Columbia fjords. J. Exp.
Mar. Biol. Ecol. 81:1-20.
Burd, B.J. and R.O. Brinkhurst. 1985. The effect of oxygen depletion on the galatheid crab
Munida quadrispina in Saanich Inlet, British Columbia, pp. 435-443. ln\ J.S. Gray and
M.E. Christensen (ed.) Marine biology of polar of polar regions and effects of stress on
marine organisms. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Burggren, W.W. and D.J. Randall. 1978. Oxygen uptake and transport during hypoxic exposure
in the sturgeon, Acipensertransmontanus. Respiration Physiol. 34: 171-183.
Carls, M.G., G.D. Marty, T.R. Meyers, R.E. Thomas and S.D. Rice. 1998. Expression of viral
hemorrhagic septicemia virus in prespawning Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) exposed to
weathered crude oil. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 55: 2300-2309.
Cech, J.J., S.J. Mitchell and T.E. Wragg. 1984. Comparative growth of juvenile white sturgeon
and striped bass: Effects of temperature and hypoxia. Estuaries 7: 12-18.
Chabot, D. and J.-D. Dutil. 1999. Reduced growth of Atlantic cod in non-lethal hypoxic
conditions. J. Fish Biol. 55: 472-491.
14
-------
Chapman, G. 1986. Ambient water quality criteria for dissolved oxygen, pp. 46. U.S. EPA, Off.
Water, EPA 440/5-86-003, Washington, D.C.
Clemens, W.A. and G.V. Wilbey. 1961. Fishes of the Pacific coast of Canada, pp. 443. Fish.
Res. Bd. Can. Bull. No. 68, Ottawa, Canada.
Croaker, C.E. and J.J. Cech. 1997. Effects of environmental hypoxia on oxygen consumption
rate and swimming activity in juvenile white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, in
relation to temperature and life intervals. Environ. Biol. Fish. 50: 383-389.
Dauer, D.M. 1993. Biological criteria, environmental health and estuarine macrobenthic
community structure. Mar. Pollution Bull. 26: 249-257.
Davis, J.C. 1975. Minimal dissolved oxygen requirements of aquatic life with emphasis on
Canadian species: a review. J. Fish. Res. Bd. Can. 32: 2295-2332.
Deubler Jr., E.E. and G.S. Posner. 1963. Response of postlarval flounders, Paralicthys
lethostigma, to water of low oxygen concentrations. Copeia 2: 312-317.
Diaz, R.J., R.J. Neubauer, L.C. Schaffner, L. Pihl and S.P. Baden. 1992. Continuous monitoring
of dissolved oxygen in an estuary experiencing periodic hypoxia and the effect of
hypoxia on macrobenthos and fish. Sci. Total Environ. Suppl. 1992: 1055-1068.
Diaz, R.J. and R. Rosenberg. 1995. Marine benthic hypoxia: A review of ecological effects and
the behavioural responses of benthic macrofauna. Ocean. Mar. Biol. Annual Rev. 33:
245-303.
Diaz, R.J. 2001. Overview of hypoxia around the world. J. Environ. Qual. 30: 275-281.
ENSR Consulting and Engineering. 1994. Mixing zone request and environment analysis for
outfall extension project. Rep. for Ketchikan Pulp Co., Doc. No. 4025-024-400,
Ketchikan, AK.
Exponent. 1999. Ward Cove sediment remediation project, detailed technical studies report.
Volume I, Remedial investigation and feasibility study. Rep. for KPC, Cont. No.
8600BOW.001 1602 0599 LJ21, Bellevue, WA.
Fryer, J.L. and K.S. Pilcher. 1974. Effects of temperature on diseases of salmonid fishes, pp.
92 + appendices. U.S. EPA, Off. Res. Dev., EPA-660/3-73-020, Washington, DC.
Fryer, J.L., K.S. Pilcher, J.E. Sanders, J.S. Rohovec, J.L. Zinn, W.J. Groberg and R.H. McKoy.
1976. Temperature, infectious diseases, and the immune response in salmonid fish. pp.
56 + appendix. U.S. EPA, Off. Res. Dev., EPA-600/3-76-021.
Gotshall, D.W. 1981. Pacific Coast inshore fishes, pp. 96. Western Marine Enterprises,
Ventura, CA.
15
-------
Hershberger, P.K., R.M. Kocan, N.E. Elder, T.R. Meyers and J.R. Winton. 1999. Epizootiology
of viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus in Pacific herring from the spawn-on-kelp fishery in
Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. Dis. Aquat. Organisms 37: 23-31.
Hicks, M. 2000. Evaluating criteria for the protection of aquatic life in Washington's surface
water quality standards - Dissolved oxygen. Draft discussion paper and literature
summary, pp. 76. Washington State Dep. Ecol., Pub. No. 00-10-071, Olympia, WA.
Hoff, J.G. 1967. Lethal oxygen concentrations for three marine fish species. J. Water Poll.
Control Federation 39: 267-277.
Hoffman, S. 2002. Alaska Dept. Fish Game, Ketchikan. Personal communication on April 26,
2002.
Jamieson, G.S. and E.K. Pikitch. 1988. Vertical distribution and mass mortality of prawns,
Pandalus platyceros, in Saanich Inlet, British Columbia. Fish. Bull. 86: 601-608.
Jones & Stokes Associates. 1989. Ward Cove water quality assessment. Rep. to U.S. EPA
Region 10, Cont. No. 68-02-4381, Bellevue, WA.
JRB Associates. 1984. Analysis of data relating dissolved oxygen and fish growth. Rep. to U.S.
EPA, Cont. No. 68-01-6388, McLean, VA (cited in Chapman 1986).
Kim, I.-N., Y.-J. Chang and J.-Y. Kwon. 1995. The patterns of oxygen consumption in six
species of marine fish. J. Korean Fish. Soc. 28: 373-380.
Kramer, D.E., W.H. Barss, B.C. Paust and B.E. Bracken. 1995. Guide to Northeast Pacific
flatfishes, pp. 104. Univ. Alaska Sea Grant, Mar. Advisory Bull. No. 47, Fairbanks, AK.
Kruse, A. and A. Viteri. 1988. Ward Cove water quality analysis, pp. 23 + 4 appendices. Alaska
Dept. Environ. Conserv., Juneau, AK.
Lamb, A. and P. Edgell. 1986. Coastal fishes of the Pacific Northwest, pp. 224. Harbour Pub.
Co., Madeira Park, BC.
Levings, C.D. 1980. Demersal and benthic communities in Howe Sound basin and their
responses to dissolved oxygen deficiency. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 951. 27 pp.
Mellergaard, S. and E. Nielsen. 1995. Impact of oxygen deficiency on the disease status of
common dab Limanda limanda. Dis. Aquat. Organisms 22:101-114.
Meyers, T.R., A.K. Hauck, W.D. Blankenbeckler and T. Minicucci. 1986. First report of viral
erythrocytic necrosis in Alaska, USA, associated with epizootic mortality in Pacific
herring, Clupea harengus pallasi (Valenciennes). J. Fish Dis. 9: 479-491.
Meyers, T.R. and J.R. Winton. 1995. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus in North America.
Annual Rev. Fish Dis. 5: 3-24.
16
-------
Meyers, T.R. 2002. Alaska Dept. Fish Game, Juneau. Personal communication on July 1,
2002.
Millemann, R.E. 1969. Unpublished notes on parasites and diseases offish. Oregon State
Univ., Corvallis, OR.
Nilsson, H.C. and R. Rosenberg. 1994. Hypoxic responses of two marine benthic communities.
Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 115: 209-217.
Ordal, E.J. and R.R. Rucker. 1944. Pathogenic myxobacteria. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 56:
15-18.
Ordal, E.J. and R.E. Pacha. 1963. The effects of temperature on disease in fish. pp. 39-56. In:
E.F. Eldridge (ed.) Water temperature - Influences, effects, and control, Proc. Twelfth
Pacific NW Sym. Water Poll. Res., Corvallis, OR.
Petersen, J.K. and L. Pihl. 1995. Responses to hypoxia of plaice, Pleuronectesplatessa, and
dab, Limanda limanda, in the south-east Kattegat: distribution and growth. Environ.
Biol. Fish. 43: 311-321.
Pihl, L., S.P. Baden and R.J. Diaz. 1991. Effects of periodic hypoxia on distribution of demersal
fish and crustaceans. Mar. Biol. 108: 349-360.
Pihl, L., S.P. Baden, R.J. Diaz and L.C. Schaffner. 1992. Hypoxia-induced structural changes in
the diet of bottom-feeding fish and Crustacea. Mar. Biol. 112: 349-361.
Plante, S., D. Chabot and J.-D. Dutil. 1998. Hypoxia tolerance in Atlantic cod. J. Fish Biol. 53:
1342-1356.
Poucher, S. and L. Corio. 1999. Data printout of ICp values for effects of dissolved oxygen on
growth of saltwater species. U.S. EPA, Atlantic Ecol. Div., Memo, to G.B. Thursby,
Narragansett, Rl (cited in U.S. EPA 2000).
Renaud, M.L. 1986. Hypoxia in Louisiana coastal waters during 1983: implications for fisheries.
Fish. Bull. 84:19-26.
Rodriguez, H. 2002. Tetra Tech, Atlanta, GA. Personal communication on December 2, 2002.
Rosenberg, R. 1977. Benthic macrofauna dynamics, production, and dispersion in an oxygen-
deficient estuary of west Sweden. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 26:107-133.
Rosenberg, R. 1980. Effect of oxygen deficiency on benthic macrofauna in fjords, pp. 499-514.
In: H.J. Freeland, D.M. Farmer and C.D. Levings (ed.) Fjord oceanography. Plenum
Press, New York.
Rosenberg, R., B. Hellman and B. Johansson. 1991. Hypoxic tolerance of marine benthic
fauna. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 79: 127-131.
17
-------
Saunders, R.L. 1963. Respiration of the Atlantic cod. J. Fish. Res. Bd. Can. 20: 373-386.
Scott, W.B. and E.J. Grossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada, pp. 966. Fish. Res. Bd.
Canada, Bull. No. 184, Ottawa, Canada.
Secor, D.H. and I.E. Gunderson. 1998. Effects of hypoxia and temperature on survival, growth,
and respiration of juvenile Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrhyncus. Fish. Bull. 96: 603-
613.
Servizi, J.A. and J.O.T. Jensen. 1977. Resistance of adult sockeye salmon to acute thermal
shock, pp. 11. Inter. Pacific Salmon Fish. Comm., Prog. Rep. No. 34, New Westminster,
BC.
Stephan, C.E., D.I. Mount, D.J. Hansen, J.H. Gentile, G.A. Chapman and W.A. Brungs. 1985.
Guidelines for deriving numerical national water quality criteria for the protection of
aquatic organisms and their uses. NTIS Pub. No. PB85-227049.
Sturdevant, D. 2002. Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Juneau. Personal
communication on September 16, 2002.
Taylor, J.C. and J.M. Miller. 2001. Physiological performance of juvenile southern flounder,
Paralichthys lethostigma (Jordan and Gilbert, 1884), in chronic and episodic hypoxia. J.
Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 258: 195-214.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2000. Ambient aquatic life water quality criteria for
dissolved oxygen (saltwater): Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras. pp. 49 + 10 appendices. U.S.
EPA, Off. Water Res. Dev., EPA-822-R-00-012, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2003. Unpublished Ward Cove water quality monitoring
data. EPA Reg. 10, Seattle, WA.
USGS. 2002. Obtained from their web site: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ak/nwis/discharge
Wannamaker, C.M. and J.A. Rice. 2000. Effects of hypoxia on movements and behavior of
selected estuarine organisms from the southeastern United States. J. Exp. Mar. Biol.
Ecol. 249: 145-163.
Warren, C.E., P. Doudoroff and D.L. Shumway. 1973. Development of dissolved oxygen criteria
for freshwater fish. pp. 73 + 4 appendices. U.S. EPA, Ecol. Res. Ser. Rep. EPA-R3-73-
019, Washington, D.C.
Wedemeyer, G. 1970. The role of stress in the disease resistance of fishes, pp. 30-35. In: S.F.
Snieszko (ed.) A symposium on diseases of fishes and shellfishes. Amer. Fish. Soc.,
Spec. Pub. No. 5, Washington, D.C.
Wedemeyer, G.A. and J.W. Wood. 1974. Stress as a predisposing factor in fish diseases, pp.
8. U.S. Dept. Interior, Fish Wildl. Sen/., Div. Coop. Res., Leaflet FDL-38, Washington,
D.C.
18
-------
Wedemeyer, G.A., P.P. Meyer and L. Smith. 1976. Environmental stress and fish diseases, pp.
1-192. In: S.F. Snieszko and H.R. Axelrod (ed.) Diseases of Fishes, T.F.H. Pub.,
Neptune City, NJ.
Whitmore, C.M., C.E. Warren and P. Doudoroff. 1960. Avoidance reactions of salmonid and
centrarchid fishes to low oxygen concentrations. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 89: 17-26.
Whyte, J.N.C. and B.L. Carswell. 1982. Determinants for live holding the spot prawn Pandalus
platvceros. Brandt. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 1129. 29 pp.
Wu, R.S.S. 2002. Hypoxia: from molecular responses to ecosystem responses. Mar. Poll. Bull.
45:35-45.
19
-------
Appendix A - Native fish species potentially occurring in or near Ward Cove, AK
Pacific lamprey
River lamprey
Spotted ratfish
Spiny dogfish
Salmon shark
Basking shark
Longnose skate
Big skate
White sturgeon
Green sturgeon
Capelin
Pacific herring
Surf smelt
Eulachon
Pink salmon
Chum salmon
Coho salmon
Sockeye salmon
Chinook salmon
Cutthroat trout
Steelhead
Dolly Varden
Pacific cod
Pacific tomcod
Walleye pollock
Sablefish
Plainfin midshipman
Threespine stickleback
Northern clingfish
Bay pipefish
Brown rockfish
Quillback rockfish
China rockfish
Copper rockfish
Black rockfish
Blue rockfish
Dusky rockfish
Bocaccio (juv.)
Silvergray rockfish
Greenstripe rockfish
Canary rockfish
Tiger rockfish
Rougheye rockfish
Yellowtail rockfish
Pacific Ocean perch
Puget Sound rockfish
Lampetra tridentata1
L. ayres/1
Hydrolagus colliei2i 3
Squalus acanthias2i 3
Lamna ditropis 2
Cetorhinus maximus2
Raja rhina2i 4
R. binoculata2i 3
Acipenser transmontanus 1
A. medirostris 1
Mallotus villosus4
Clupea pallasi2i 4
Hypomesus pretiosus2i 4
Thaleichthys pacificus2i 4
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
O. keta1
O. kisutch 1
O. nerka 1
O. tshawytscha 1
O. clarki1
O. mykiss1
Salvelinus malma1
Gadus macrocephalus2i 4
Microgadus proximus2i 4
Theragra chalcogramma2i 4
Anoplopoma fimbria 2i 4
Porichthys notatus2i 4
Gasterosteus aculeatus1?2?4
Gobiesox maeandricus4
Syngnathus leptorhynchus2i 4
Sebastes auriculatus2i 4'5
S. maliger2'4-5
S. nebulosus2-4-5
S. caurinus2'4'5
S. melanops2i 4'5
S. mystinus2i 4? 5
S. ciliatus2'4-5
S. paucispinis2i 4'5
S. brevispinis2?4?5
S. elongatus2-4-5
S. pinniger2'4'5
S. nigrocinctus2i 4i 5
S. aleutianus2'4-5
S. flavidus2'4-5
S. alutus2'4-5
S. emphaeus2i 4? 5
A1
-------
Widow rockfish
Kelp greenling
Whitespotted greenling
Rock greenling
Ling cod
Painted greenling
Cabezon
Red Irish lord
Brown Irish lord
Smoothhead sculpin
Buffalo sculpin
Pacific staghorn sculpin
Pile perch
Striped seaperch
Pacific sand lance
Pacific halibut
Starry flounder
Flathead sole
C-O sole
Curlfin sole
Butter sole
Rock sole GUV.)
English sole GUV.)
Dover sole
Slender sole
Rex sole
Sand sole
Pacific sanddab
Wolf eel
S. entomelas2-4-5
Hexagrammos decagrammus2i 4
H. stelleri2-4
H. lagocephalus2i 4
Ophiodon elongatus2i 4
Oxylebius pictus2i 4
Scorpaenichthys marmoratus 2i 4
Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus 2i 4
H. spinosus 2?4
Artedius lateralis 2-4
Enophrys bison 2i 4
Leptocottus armatus2i 4
Rhacochilus vacca2i 4
Embiotoca lateralis2i 4
Ammodytes hexapterus2i 4
Hippoglossus stenolepis2i 4
Platichthys stellatus 2-4
Hippoglossoides elassodon 2i 4
Pleuronichthys coenosus 2i 4
P. decurrens2i 4
Pleuronectes isolepis2i 4
P. bilineatus2-4
P. vetulus2-4
Microstomus pacificus2i 4
Eopsetta exilis2i 4
Errex zachirus2i 4
Psettichthys melanostictus2i 4
Citharichthys sordius2i 4
Anarrhichthys ocellatus2
Note: This list may not include all fish species that could possibly occur in Ward Cove and the waters of
nearby Tongass Narrows or those that are only present during part of their life cycle. Further some of the
above listed species may occur only rarely in this area.
Appendix A References:
1. Scott, W.B. and E.J. Grossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fish. Res. Board Can. Bull. No.
184 966 pp.
2. Clemens, W.A. and G.V. Wilby. 1961. Fishes of the Pacific coast of Canada. Fish. Res. Board Can.
Bull. No. 68. 443 pp.
3. Gotshall, D.W. 1981. Pacific Coast inshore fishes. Western Marine Enterprises, Ventura, CA. 96 pp.
4. Lamb, A. and P. Edgell. 1986. Coastal fishes of the Pacific Northwest. Harbour Pub. Co., Madeira
Park, BC. 224 pp.
5. Kramer, D.E., W.H. Barss, B.C. Paust and B.E. Bracken. 1995. Guide to Northeast Pacific flatfishes.
Univ. Alaska Sea Grant, Mar. Advisory Bull. No. 47, Fairbanks, AK. 104 pp.
A2
-------
Appendix B - Location and date of occurrence of dissolved oxygen levels <4 mg/l in and near Ward Cove, Alaska
Table B1. Water depths with dissolved oxygen levels <2 mg/l and >2 but <4 mg/l at stations in and near Ward Cove, 1998 to 2002.
Notes: A dash (-) indicates that DOs were >4 mg/l. Underlined water depths are the deepest DO measurement at the station and
are usually representative of the layer of water on the bottom. The maximum water depth at a station varies apparently due to poor
station positioning, drifting, and differences in tidal elevation during the time that monitoring occurred. See Appendix C for station
locations.
Date
7-11-98
7-23-98
8-6-98
8-20-98
9-3-98
9-17-98
10-1-98
DO
mg/l
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
Station
41
-
-
-
-
11.8
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
42
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
43
-
-
-
-
14.8-17.5
-
-
17.8
-
-
-
-
-
-
44
-
-
-
-
15-20
20.1 - 25_
20 -22.2
-
-
25 - 28.4
-
25 - 31.4
-
29.9 - 34.7
45
-
-
-
-
-
14.
-
-
-
21.9
-
-
-
-
46
-
35-41.6
-
-
14.9
20 - 20.1
25&50
20-25
30 - 45.1
50.1 - 51.2
-
25.1
35-38_
-
35-39.6
44.9 - 45.1
-
29.6-43,
47
-
-
-
-
-
-
25
19.9
25.2 - 30.1
-
-
-
-
-
28.6
48
-
-
-
-
-
15
20.1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
49
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
50
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
51
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
B1
-------
Table B1 - (Continued 2 of 3)
Date
7-28-99
8-13-99
8-31-99
9-20-99
9-30-99
8-4-00
9-5-00
DO
mg/1
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
Station
41
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
42
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
43
-
-
-
20.1 - 21.2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
44
-
25-27.9
24
20
-
-
-
30 - 31.3
-
30 - 34.2
-
29.9
-
-
45
-
23.1
25.1 -32.9
20.2
34.9
-
34.2
25
-
29.9 - 30.5
-
IS.
-
-
46
-
25
40-42.4
-
25
35-42.7
-
30-35
45
40-41.3
35
-
30-38.1
-
-
-
35 - 37.4
47
-
20
-
30.1
39.9 - 49.8
-
35-40.1
40.1
34.9 & 43.4
-
44.
-
-
-
-
48
-
-
-
20-25.7
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
49
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
40-50.4
-
-
-
-
-
-
50
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
15.8
-
-
51
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
B2
-------
Table B1 - (Continued 3 of 3)
Date
7-30-01
8-11-01
8-2-02
8-14-02
9-13-02
10-11-02
DO
mg/1
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
<2
>2-<4
41
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
-
-
-
42
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
-
-
-
43
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
-
-
-
44
-
19.9
-
_
-
15-30
20
25-30
-
-
-
-
45
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
-
-
-
Station
46
-
20
-
_
-
29.9 - 32.6
-
20 - 33.9
-
40
-
30-31.2
47
-
_
-
_
-
19.7 & 30
-
14.9-19.7
-
-
-
-
48
-
_
-
25.1-26.7
20
_
-
_
-
-
-
-
49
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
-
-
-
50
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
-
-
-
51
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
-
-
-
B3
-------
Appendix C - Water quality monitoring stations in and near Ward Cove, Alaska
Tongass Narrows
Profile Stations
Current Stations
Tide Station
52
TOP
Figure C1. Location of monitoring stations in Ward Cove and Tongass Narrows.
C1
------- |