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| Current fisheries research and future ecosystems science in the Northeast Center: collected
abstracts of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Eighth Science Symposium, Atlantic City, New Jersey,
February 3-5, 2004. Northeast Fish. Sci. Cent. Ref. Doc. 04-01
SESSION VI |
| A
petroleum fingerprinting study of ribbed mussels and sediments from
a previously contaminated and a freshly contaminated site in the
Arthur Kill |
Session VI, Abstract VI-1
ORAL PRESENTATION |
Bruce W. Dockum1, Ashok D. Deshpande1,
and Amy M. Tesolin2
1NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 74 Magruder Road, Highlands, NJ 07732
2Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan |
In
January 1990, an oil spill damaged salt marshes along the banks of
the Arthur Kill (New York and New Jersey). In
the years following the spill, Spartina alterniflora seedlings
were planted at many of the damaged sites and successfully re-established. In
1996, we began a study to compare the petroleum contamination levels
at these restored sites with those found at un-restored sites in the
Arthur Kill and to understand the importance of the ribbed mussels
as the possible sentinel biomarkers of petroleum related spills. Our
field collection protocol included sediment and ribbed mussel samples
from six salt marsh sites in the Arthur Kill that included Tufts Point
and Con Edison Tower. During this study, the protocols for mussel
and sediment collection, mussel processing and selection, sample extraction
and analysis using aliphatic hydrocarbons (normal and the branched
compounds: pristane and phytane) and total petroleum hydrocarbons
(TPH) were developed and used for analysis of these samples.
On May 15, 1997, a spill
from RTC 320 tanker barge containing 50,000 gallons of #2 Fuel Oil
occurred south of the Rahway River. This spill
occurred soon after the collection of the second series of sediment
and mussel samples for the original study. On May 20, 1997, additional
ribbed mussel and sediment samples were collected at Tufts Point and
Con Edison Tower to assess the effect of this new spill on the marsh
environment and to attempt “fingerprinting” of the aliphatic hydrocarbon
components present in this new oil and these new samples. The same
protocols for collection and analysis of these additional samples followed
those of the original study. Finally additional mussels were collected
from Tufts Point during July 1997 to assess the longer term effects
of the spill.
Examination of the GC/FID
chromatograms shows that the spill impacted the Tufts Point site
more severely than Con Edison Tower. The effects
of the oil are observed most clearly in several of the ribbed mussel
samples collected from Tufts Point soon after the occurrence of the
spill. Weathering of the oil over time obscures the long term effect
on the site. Visual inspection of the chromatographic peak pattern,
a comparison of the ratio of the normal hydrocarbons n-C18 to
n-C17 to the ratio of the isoprenoid hydrocarbons pristane
to phytane, and factor analysis of aliphatic hydrocarbon data show
a strong correlation between the hydrocarbon components in the spilled
oil to those in the ribbed mussel tissue from Tufts Point. The correlation
for the data from the Tufts Point sediment samples is less clear.
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| Update
on coastal Maine river Atlantic salmon smolt studies: 2003 |
Session VI, Abstract VI-2
ORAL PRESENTATION |
James Hawkes1, John Kocik1 and
Gregory Mackey2
1NOAA Fisheries Maine Field Station/ NEFSC P.O. Box
190, 31 Main Street Orono, ME 04473
2 Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission/Downeast Regional
Office, Rte. 1A, P.O. Box 178 Jonesboro, Maine 04648 |
The
goal of our research is to quantify and compare Atlantic salmon smolt
production across several Maine rivers. These
comparisons are undertaken to (1) develop a better understanding of
overwinter parr to smolt survival, population dynamics, and outmigration
timing; and (2) strengthen stock assessments and population viability
analyses. Atlantic salmon populations in Maine rivers are critically
low and recent survival estimates from juvenile to adult stages are
well below replacement levels. Beginning with the deployment of a
single rotary screw trap on the Narraguagus River in 1996, NOAA-Fisheries
and the Atlantic Salmon Commission have been investigating production,
survival and migration of Atlantic salmon smolts in coastal Maine rivers. Today
the salmon smolt research program operates 11 rotary screw traps on
five rivers: four traps deployed in the Narraguagus, three traps in
the Penobscot, one trap each on the Sheepscot, Pleasant and Dennys
Rivers. These platforms support the field operations for the smolt
production research, as well for mass marking and ultrasonic telemetry
studies aimed at elucidating hatchery smolt movement patterns and survival
rates. Findings of each of these field programs are summarized and
briefly discussed.
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| Changes
in the proportion of naturally reared Atlantic salmon smolts to hatchery
smolts emigrating from the Penobscot River, ME, during 2000-2003 |
Session VI, Abstract VI-3
ORAL PRESENTATION |
Christine Lipsky1, James Loftin1,
Edward Hastings1, and Russell Brown2
1NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 31 Main St., Orono, ME 04473
2NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543 |
Beginning in 2000, NOAA-Fisheries has
operated rotary screw traps in the lower Penobscot River to capture/recapture
emigrating Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts. One objective
of this program is to determine the relative proportion of stocked
smolts to naturally reared smolts, and to assess the annual variability
in this ratio.
During 2000-2003,
smolts were captured in the rotary traps between April and June. Fin scores were assigned to each fish based
on the degree of erosion, with a fin score of 0 indicating no erosion,
and a score of 3 indicating almost complete erosion of the fins, commonly
seen in hatchery-reared fish. Fish with a fin score of 0 or 1 that
had no tags or marks were sampled for scales, which were subsequently
analyzed to determine age and life history. The proportion of stocked
smolts to naturally reared smolts has remained relatively stable over
the past four years. The 2003 smolt season produced a slightly higher
percentage of naturally reared smolts than in previous years.
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| Update
on NOAA Fisheries aerial surveys for right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) off the northeastern United
States |
Session VI, Abstract
VI-4
ORAL PRESENTATION |
Timothy V.N. Cole, Peter A. Duley, Kelly
A. Houle, Misty D. Nelson, Richard M. Pace III, Brenda K. Rone, Alison
K. Stimpert and Frederick W. Wenzel
NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026 |
Since the last NEFSC Science Symposium
in 2001, the Protected Species Branch aerial surveys for North Atlantic
right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) have logged 1012 hours during
204 survey flights. Although most of our survey effort takes place
in the spring, for the past two years the surveys have been extended
into November. A new survey scheme provides systematic survey coverage
over a study area that encompasses all U.S. waters north of 41E 20'
N and east of 72E 50' W. Flights are performed at a speed of 100 knots
at an altitude of 230 meters (750 feet) using high-wing aircraft equipped
with bubble windows. All marine mammals sighted during the surveys
are recorded on a computer data logging system, and photographs are
taken of right whales for individual identification. In 2003, we developed
and tested a new digital camera system. For this Symposium, we will
present cetacean distributions observed in the study area during the
2002 and 2003 surveys, as well as images collected by the new camera
system.
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| Sand lance
as an intermediate vector in the trophic transfer of contaminants
in the endangered humpback whales |
Session VI, Abstract
VI-5
ORAL PRESENTATION |
Ashok D. Deshpande1, Bruce W.
Dockum1, and Salvatore Testaverde2
1NOAA/NMFS/NEFSC, 74 Magruder Road, Highlands,
NJ 07732
2National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional
Office |
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
is the fourth most numerically depleted large cetacean worldwide behind
the right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), the blue whale (Balaenoptera
musculus), and the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). Some
of the major actions recommended in the NMFS 1991 Humpback Whale Recovery
Plan include the monitoring of parasite load and anthropogenic contaminant
levels in the tissues of whales and their prey, and the identification
and mitigation of possible adverse impacts of human activities and
pollution on important habitat.
A mature humpback whale
is estimated to require approximately 800,000 calories or almost
0.75 metric ton of food a day. Generally, humpbacks
consume 95% fish and 5% zooplankton on the Stellwagen Bank, and their
principal food source is a small, demersal school fish called sand
lance or sand eel (Ammodytes spp.). We hypothesized sand lance
as an intermediate vector in the trophic transfer of contaminants in
the humpback whales.
Previous attempts at measuring
contaminants in sand lance in our laboratory and in the laboratories
of other researchers were marginally
successful due to a variety of reasons including analytical interferences
and the presence of contaminants near the detection limits. We modified
and tested an analytical procedure that minimized the interferences
and increased the concentrations of target contaminants above the detection
limits. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners and organochlorine
pesticides were positively detected and quantified in samples of individual
sand lance. Based upon daily consumption rates we estimated the potential
exposure of humpback whales to contaminants on the Stellwagen Bank.
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