Data Management Plan

The toxicity of sediments in Biscayne Bay and many adjoining tributaries was determined as part of a bioeffects assessments program managed by NOAA's National Status and Trends Program. Biscayne Bay was selected by NOAA for this survey because data from the NSandT Mussel Watch Program and data from previous surveys of the bay had shown a potential for toxicity and other adverse biological effects. In addition, no bay-wide information had been generated on the toxicological condition of the bay sediments and several agencies had indicated a need for this type of data and a willingness to assist NOAA in collecting them. The study area was defined as extending from Dumbfoundling Bay at the north end to Little Card Sound at the south end, seaward to the barrier islands or reef, and landward to the shoreline or saltwater control structures. This area was determined to encompass a total of 484 kilometers of the sea floor. During 1995 and 1996, 226 samples were collected from randomly-chosen locations and tested for toxicity and analyzed for chemical concentrations. Data from these tests and analyses are included in the report. Samples for benthic community analyses were collected at one-third of the stations; however, data from those analyses are not included in the report but are available from NOAA's online database http://nbi.noaa.gov/data/. The survey was designed to characterize sediment quality throughout the greater Biscayne Bay area. Surficial sediment samples were collected during 1995 and 1996 from 226 randomly-chosen locations throughout nine major regions. Laboratory toxicity tests were performed as indicators of potential ecotoxicological effects in sediments. A battery of tests was performed to generate information from different phases (components) of the sediments. Tests were selected to represent a range in toxicological endpoints from acute to chronic sublethal responses. Toxicological tests were conducted to measure: reduced survival of adult amphipods exposed to solid-phase sediments; impaired fertilization success and abnormal morphological development in gametes and embryos, respectively, of sea urchins exposed to pore waters; reduced metabolic activity of a marine bioluminescent bacteria exposed to organic solvent extracts; induction of a cytochrome P-450 reporter gene system in exposures to solvent extracts; and reduced reproductive success in marine copepods exposed to solid-phase sediments. The full report is available online at http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/about/coast/nsandt/download.aspx

Process Steps:

• 1996-01-01 00:00:00 - DATA ACQUISITION/FIELD SAMPLINGSediment sampling procedures are described in the report available for download at http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/about/coast/nsandt/download.aspx DATA PREPARATION AND SAMPLE PROCESSINGFields are arranged as follows:Sample Type; Field Holding; Lab Storage; Max 1HoldingSEDIMENT:Organic contaminants; Wet ice (4C); Freezer (-20C); 1 year;Inorganic contaminants; Wet ice (4C); Freezer (-20C); 1 year;Total organic Carbon; Wet ice (4C); Freezer (-20C); 1 year;Grain size; Wet ice (4C); Refrigerated (4C); 1 year;TOXICITY BIOASSAY:Whole sediment and porewater bioassays; Wet ice (4C); Refrigerated (4C); 2 weeks; Organic extract (P450 and Microtox); Wet ice (4C); Freezer (-20C); 1 year;BENTHOS:Taxonomy; 10% buffered formalin; Transfer to 70% ethanol; Indefinitely;
• Chemicals with similar structural properties were summed and reported as "Totals" in addition to their individual measured concentrations. The components of these totals are as follows: Total DDT = sum of concentrations of ortho and para forms of parent and metabolites 2,4'DDE; 4,4'DDE; 2,4'DDD; 4,4'DDD; 2,4'DDT and 4,4'DDT. Total Chlordane = sum of concentrations of four compounds alpha-chlordane, trans-nonachlor, heptachlor, heptachlorepoxide. Total Dieldrin = sum of concentrations of two compounds aldrin and dieldrin. Total Butyl tin = sum of concentrations of parent compound and metabolites monobutyltin, dibutyltin, tributyltin, tetrabutyltin [concentrations are in terms of tin]. Total PCB = the sum of the concentrations of eighteen congeners: PCB8, PCB18, PCB28, PCB44, PCB52, PCB66, PCB101, PCB105, PCB118, PCB128, PCB138, PCB153, PCB170, PCB180, PCB187, PCB195, PCB206, and PCB209. Total low molecular weight (lmw) PAHs = sum of concentrations of twelve 2- and 3-ring PAH compounds: naphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene, 1-methylnaphthalene, biphenyl, 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, 1,6,7-trimehtylnaphthalene, fluorine, phenanthrene, 1-methylphenanthrene, and anthracene. Total high molecular weight (hmw) PAHs = sum of concentrations of twelve 4-and more-ring PAH compounds: fluoranthene, pyrene, benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluorantene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[e]pyrene, benzo[a]pyrene, perylene, dibenzathracene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, and benzo[ahi]perylene. Total PAH = low molecular weight PAHs plus high molecular weigh PAHs (sum of 24 PAH compound concentrations). Several numerical indices were chosen for analysis and interpretation of the macroinfaunal data. Infaunal abundance is reported as the total number of individuals per station and the total number of individuals per square meter (= density). Taxa richness is reported as the number of taxa represented in a given site location. Taxa diversity, which is often related to the ecological stability and environmental "quality" of the benthos, was estimated by the Shannon-Weiner Index (Shannon and Weaver, 1949). In order to quantify and compare the equitability in the fauna to the taxa diversity for a given area, Pielou's Evenness Index J' (Pielou, 1966) was calculated as J' = H'/lnS, where lnS = H'max, or the maximum possible diversity, when all taxa are represented by the same number of individuals; thus, J' = H' /H' max.
• Project Related References:Pielou, E.C. 1966. The Measurement of Diversity in Different Types of Biological Collections. J. Theoretical Biology 13:131-144.Shannon, L.C. and W. Weaver. 1949. The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Univ. of Illinois Press, Urbana, Ill. 117 p.