The role of periphyton in mediating the effects of pollution in a stream ecosystem.

Environmental Management
Walter R HillArthur J Stewart

Abstract

The effects of pollutants on primary producers ramify through ecosystems because primary producers provide food and structure for higher trophic levels and they mediate the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and contaminants. Periphyton (attached algae) were studied as part of a long-term biological monitoring program designed to guide remediation efforts by the Department of Energy's Y-12 National Security Complex on East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. High concentrations of nutrients entering EFPC were responsible for elevated periphyton production and placed the stream in a state of eutrophy. High rates of primary production at upstream locations in EFPC were associated with alterations in both invertebrate and fish communities. Grazers represented >50% of the biomass of invertebrates and fish near the Y-12 Complex but <10% at downstream and reference sites. An index of epilithic periphyton production accounted for 95% of the site-to-site variation in biomass of grazing fish. Analyses of heavy metals in EFPC periphyton showed that concentrations of zinc, cadmium, copper and nickel in periphyton decreased exponentially with distance downstream from Y-12. Zinc uptake by periphyton was estimated to reduce th...Continue Reading

References

May 1, 1997·Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology·W R Hill, G E Napolitano
Apr 12, 2005·Environmental Science & Technology·Walter R Hill, Ingvar L Larsen
Nov 22, 2005·Critical Reviews in Biotechnology·S K Mehta, J P Gaur
May 15, 2007·Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America·Clay Runck
Nov 6, 2007·Trends in Ecology & Evolution·Walter K Dodds

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Citations

Jan 29, 2011·Environmental Management·John G SmithSigurd W Christensen
Mar 8, 2011·Environmental Management·Mark J Peterson
Mar 8, 2011·Environmental Management·George R SouthworthTeresa J Mathews
Nov 28, 2012·Ecotoxicology·Justin N MurdockRichard E Lizotte
Nov 15, 2012·Environmental Monitoring and Assessment·Agustina CortelezziAlberto Rodrigues Capítulo
Jan 29, 2014·Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology·Carrie L H MarrKevin D Reynolds
Jan 19, 2016·Environmental Science and Pollution Research International·Juanjuan WanYonghong Wu
Jun 29, 2012·Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety·Miling LiG Allen Burton

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