The influence of river plume dynamics on trace metal accumulation in calanoid copepods

Abstract

The concentrations of Ag, Cd, Cu, Hg(II), monomethylmercury (MeHg), Pb, and Zn were measured and modeled in calanoid copepods collected from the Hudson River plume in April 2005 and May 2006. Copepods in the buoyant plume were significantly (p , 0.05) enriched in Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn, and MeHg (2-to 25-fold), but depleted in Cd (by 25-40%) relative to oceanic copepods. Median burdens of Ag, Cu, and Hg(II) differed in plume copepods collected in April 2005 and May 2006 by factors of 1.5 to 3, reflecting the influence of river discharge and associated physical processes on plankton dynamics and metal bioaccumulation. Only the concentrations of Cu and Zn in plume copepods clearly showed the expected trend of highest levels near the mouth of the Hudson River and lower levels offshore. Spatial trends in concentrations of Ag and Hg(II) in plume copepods were strikingly different from those in suspended particles and the dissolved phase, apparently reflecting differences in metal bioavailability because of shifts in available food types. Modeled concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in plume copepods were within less than a factor of two of measured values, but model results showed that Hg(II) was less bioavailable, and Ag and MeHg were more bioavailable in the Hudson River plume than laboratory results would predict. Zooplankton from urban river plumes may accumulate potentially toxic levels of trace metals or act as a trophic link between metal contamination in polluted estuaries and pelagic ecosystems.

Two‐dimensional circulation and mixing in the far field of a surface‐advected river plume

“…Data used in this paper were collected as part of the Lagrangian Transport and Transformation Experiment (LaTTE) conducted between 2004 and 2006, which focused on the discharge from the Hudson River onto the Mid Atlantic Bight shelf. A major objective of this experiment was to determine the fate and transport of freshwater, biota, and contaminants in the plume, and studies of physical [ Chant et al ., ; Houghton et al ., ; Zhang et al ., ], chemical [ Wright et al ., ], and biological [ Cahill et al ., ; Moline et al ., ] processes in the plume point to the critical importance of vertical mixing processes on controlling the transport, transformation, and ultimate dispersion of dissolved and particulate matter in the plume.…”

The effect of pH on the uptake of zinc and cadmium in marine phytoplankton: Possible role of weak complexes

“…Field experiments-Surface seawater was collected from the New Jersey coast (N 39u269, W 74u149) in October 2009 and the Gulf of Alaska (N 53u669, W 158u009) between August and September 2007, using a trace metal clean pumping system. Experiments with New Jersey water (background Zn concentration, 2-9 nmol L 21 ; Field et al 1999;Wright et al 2010) were carried out at Princeton University within 4 h of collection after transport at the collection temperature (ca. 15uC).…”

Spatial delineation of the depositional footprint of the Motueka River outwelling plume in Tasman Bay, New Zealand

“…Further work would be required in order to determine whether the observed elevated sediment metals concentrations may have a direct or indirect effect on body loads within biological communities. This has been demonstrated however for the Hudson River plume, which drains from a highly urbanised catchment (Wright et al 2010).…”