Contaminant Subsidies to Riparian Food Webs in Appalachian Streams Impacted by Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining

Naslund, Laura C.; Gerson, Jacqueline R.; Brooks, Alexander; Walters, David; Bernhardt, Emily S.

doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b05907

Cited by 29 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…The chronic exceedances observed in the present study indicate that the spider contaminant exposure pathway may not be limited to contaminants that biomagnify but may also extend to metals expected to inhibit emergence. The results of the present study reinforce the recent work of Naslund et al (2020), who found that even though aquatic insect emergence was negatively impacted by the high Se water concentrations and Se export via emergent insects was presumably low (sensu Schmidt et al 2013), Se concentrations in tetragnathids could still exceed Se screening values for birds.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

The Spider Exposure Pathway and the Potential Risk to Arachnivorous Birds

Beaubien

Olson

Todd

et al. 2020

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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There is growing concern over the health of North American birds, with evidence suggesting substantial population declines. Spiders are prominent dietary items for many bird species and mediate the transfer of contaminants to arachnivorous birds that consume them. Few studies have investigated the potential risk the spider exposure pathway poses to these birds because most studies have focused on piscivores. In the present study, we developed new chronic and acute As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, Se, Zn, and MeHg spider-based avian wildlife values (SBAWVs) for multiple adult and nestling birds (primarily passerines) and then used the newly generated SBAWVs to characterize the risk to birds across 2 study areas: 1) 5 reaches in the southern Appalachian Mountains, an area with substantial mercury deposition but minimal anthropogenic impact, and 2) 4 reaches adjacent to the Emory River, an area impacted by the largest fly coal-ash spill in US history. We identified MeHg and Cu, Pb, Se, and Zn as contaminants of potential concern (COPC) at the Appalachian Mountain and Emory River study areas, respectively, based on dietary exposure of aquatic contaminants via riparian spiders. The identification of COPC at both study areas due to dietary spider exposure is notable not only because the spider exposure pathway has largely been uninvestigated at these sites but also because the aquatic systems in both areas have been studied extensively. Significant differences in MeHg concentrations were detected among spider taxa and suggest that the selection of spider taxa can impact risk characterization. These results indicate that the spider exposure pathway is important to consider when assessing potential risk, particularly for passerine birds.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

The Spider Exposure Pathway and the Potential Risk to Arachnivorous Birds

Beaubien

Olson

Todd

et al. 2020

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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“…The positive relationships between the extent of mined areas and degradation in water quality that we identified were not surprising. A large body of previous ecological and hydrologic research has shown that surface mining can negatively impact water quality and reduce the suitability of streams for aquatic species at local and regional scales [3,10,11,13,14]. Consistent with this research, we found substantial increases in stream conductivity, and the concentrations of manganese, sulfate, sulfur, zinc, and dissolved and suspended solids associated with increases in the proportion of upstream areas that were mined.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The release of alkaline mine drainage from weathering of rock and site waste at mine sites elevates conductivity and concentrations of metallic ions that negatively impact aquatic biota (12), leading to decreases in aquatic biodiversity (10,13). Additionally, pollutants can be transferred through food webs to downstream terrestrial ecosystems (14).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Linking mountaintop removal mining to water quality for imperiled species using satellite data

Evans

Thomas²,

Malcom

2020

Preprint

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Environmental laws need sound data to protect species and ecosystems. In 1996, a proliferation of mountaintop removal coal mines in a region home to over 50 federally protected species was approved under the Endangered Species Act. Although this type of mining can degrade terrestrial and aquatic habitats, the available data and tools limited the ability to analyze spatially extensive, aggregate effects of such a program. We used two large, public datasets to evaluate the aggregate effects of mountaintop removal coal mining on water quality over 15 years across Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. We combined an annual map of the extent of surface mines in this region from 1985 to 2015 generated from Landsat satellite imagery with public water quality data collected over the same time period from 4,260 monitoring stations within the same area. We used linear mixed models to estimate the relationship between the proportion of the area draining into a monitoring station that was mined and measures of water quality relevant to standards for sustaining aquatic life. Chronic and acute thresholds for aquatic life were exceeded thousands of times between 1985 and 2015 in streams that were important to the survival and recovery of species on the Endangered Species List. We found that mined area was positively related to increases in conductivity, manganese, sulfate, sulfur, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, and zinc. The likelihood that chronic thresholds for copper, lead, and zinc were exceeded also increased with mined area. Finally, the proportion of a watershed that was mined was positively related to the likelihood that a waterway would be designated as impaired under the Clean Water Act. Our results demonstrate that mining has downstream effects that must be considered under environmental law. These findings and the public data used in our analyses are pertinent to an upcoming re-evaluation of the effects of current mine permitting regulations to the recovery and survival of federally protected species.

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“…These capsules are often located in the digestive epithelium or tissues that surround it, and serve to sequester metals, therefore acting as a detoxification mechanism. However, the accumulation of metals in these encapsulations could be another vector of exposure for metals to upper trophic levels, although their availability is not clear and may depend on many factors such as the specific metals and prey [26,46].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenotypic Plasticity of Common Wasps in an Industrially Polluted Environment in Southwestern Finland

Badejo

Skaldina

Peräniemi

et al. 2021

Insects

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Insects vary in the degree of their adaptability to environmental contamination. Determining the responses with phenotypic plasticity in ecologically important species in polluted environments will ease further conservation and control actions. Here, we investigated morphological characteristics such as body size, body mass, and color of the common wasp Vespula vulgaris in an industrially polluted environment, considering different levels of metal pollution, and we studied the localization of contaminants in the guts of wasps. We revealed some differences in morphological characteristics and melanization of wasps collected in habitats with high, moderate, and low levels of pollution. The results indicated that V. vulgaris from highly polluted environments had reduced melanin pigmentation on the face but increased melanin pigmentation on the 2nd tergite of the abdomen. In addition, with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), we found metal particles from the midgut of wasps originating from the polluted environment. Most of the particles were encapsulated with melanin pigment. This finding confirmed that in wasps, ingested metal particles are accumulated in guts and covered by melanin layers. Our data suggest that wasps can tolerate metal contamination but respond phenotypically with modification of their size, coloration, and probably with the directions of the melanin investments (immunity or coloration). Thus, in industrially polluted areas, wasps might probably survive by engaging phenotypic plasticity with no significant or visible impact on the population.

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Contaminant Subsidies to Riparian Food Webs in Appalachian Streams Impacted by Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining

Cited by 29 publications

References 73 publications

The Spider Exposure Pathway and the Potential Risk to Arachnivorous Birds

The Spider Exposure Pathway and the Potential Risk to Arachnivorous Birds

Linking mountaintop removal mining to water quality for imperiled species using satellite data

Phenotypic Plasticity of Common Wasps in an Industrially Polluted Environment in Southwestern Finland

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