National Status and Trends: Bioeffects Program - Magnitude and Extent of Sediment Toxicity in Four Bays of the Florida Panhandle: Pensacola, Choctawhatchee, St. Andrew and Apala...

The toxicity of sediments in Pensacola, Choctawhatchee, St. Andrew and Apalachicola Bays was determined as part of bioeffects assessments performed by NOAA's National Status and Trends Program. The objectives of the survey were to determine: (1) the spatial patterns in toxicity throughout each bay, (2) the spatial extent of toxicity throughout and among the bays, (3) the severity or degree of toxicity, and (4) the relationships between chemical contamination and toxicity. The survey was conducted over two years: Pensacola Bay and St. Andrew Bay were sampled in 1993; and Choctawhatchee Bay, Apalachicola Bay and Bayou Chico (a sub-basin of Pensacola Bay) were sampled during 1994. Surficial sediment samples were collected from 123 randomly-chosen locations throughout the five areas. Multiple toxicity tests were conducted on all samples, and chemical analyses were performed on 102 of the 123 samples. Toxicological tests were conducted to determine survival, reproductive success, morphological development, metabolic activity, and genotoxicity; all bays showed toxicity in at least some of the samples. Toxicity was most severe in Bayou Chico, an industrialized basin adjoining Pensacola Bay. Other developed bayous adjoining Pensacola Bay and the other bays also showed relatively severe toxicity. The main basins of the bays generally showed lower toxicity than the adjoining bayous. The different toxicity tests, however, indicated differences in severity, incidence, spatial patterns, and spatial extent in toxicity. The most sensitive test, a bioassay of metabolic activity of bioluminescent bacteria, indicated toxicity was pervasive throughout the entire study area. The least sensitive test, an acute bioassay performed with a benthic amphipod, indicated toxicity was restricted to a very small portion of the area. Causes of toxicity were not determined in the survey. However, mixtures of potentially toxic substances, including pesticides, petroleum constituents, trace metals, and ammonia, were associated statistically with the measures of toxicity. The concentrations of many substances were highest in Bayou Chico, where the most severe toxicity was observed. At these toxic sites, some of the substances had considerably elevated concentrations, often exceeding numerical guidelines or known toxicity thresholds. The relationships between toxicity and chemical concentrations differed among the bays and toxicity tests.

Specific objectives of the study were to: (1) Determine the presence and severity of toxic responses;(2) Estimate the spatial extent of toxicity;(3) Identify spatial patterns of toxicity in each system; (4) Characterize the relationships between toxicity and the concentrations of potential toxicants in the sediments.The dataset objective is to report information about chemical residues in sediment and sediment toxicity characteristics of the system.

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Magnitude and Extent of Sediment Toxicity in Four Bays of the Florida Panhandle: Pensacola, Choctawhatchee, St. Andrew and Apalachicola. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS ORCA 117. October 1997. Silver Spring, Maryland.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS Ed Long (retired), NOAA Ocean Service, National Status and Trends Program SAMPLE COLLECTION INVESTIGATORS Ed Long (retired), NOAA Ocean Service, National Status and Trends Program SAMPLE PROCESSING FACILITIES - Organic and inorganic chemicals in sediment: (1) - 1993 - Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, Georgia.(2) - 1994 - Battelle Ocean Sciences National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Charleston, SC.SAMPLE PROCESSING FACILITIES - Toxicity assays:(1) Microtox and Mutatox Assay - ABC Laboratories, Inc., Columbia, MO;(2) Sea Urchin Fertilization Assay - US Geological Survey, Marine Ecotoxicology Research Station, Corpus Christi, TX;(3) Sea Urchin Embryological Development Assay - US Geological Survey, Marine Ecotoxicology Research Station, Corpus Christi, TX;(4) Amphipod Survival Assay - 1993 - US Geological Survey, Marine Ecotoxicology Research Station, Corpus Christi, TX;(5) Amphipod Survival Assay - 1994 - Science Applications International Corporation, Narragansett, RI

The dataset is composed of two relational files listed below. The "SITES" data file reports the location coordinates. The geographical information provided for a sampling site (the estuary stratum and site) is useful when interpreting the results of other data files. The "INDICATOR" data file reports parameter results for chemical and toxicity assays. Description of data parameters see report http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/about/coast/nsandt/download.aspx

NOAA, National Status and Trends Program

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Sampling sites were located with a global position system (Trimble NavGraphic XL GPS) and a compensated LORAN C unit. Both units were calibrated and their accuracy verified each morning at a channel marker within the study area.Organic and Inorganic Contaminants - Analytical methods followed performance-based analytical protocols and employed quality-assurance steps of the National Status and Trends Program (NSandT) (Lauenstein and Cantillo, 1993). Available online: http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/about/coast/nsandt/download.aspx

Data are believed to be complete

All chemical contaminant values have been rounded to three significant digits. To accommodate the wide range of values, all concentration values have been formatted to the thousandth unit (0.001). The method detection limits (MDLs) within compound classes are listed in appendix B of the report http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/about/coast/nsandt/download.aspx)