National Status and Trends: Bioeffects Program - Biological Effects of Toxic Contaminants in Sediments from Long Island Sound and Environs

A survey of sediment toxicity was carried out by NOAA's National Status and Trends Program in the coastal bays that surround Long Island Sound in New York and Connecticut. The survey objectives were to determine the spatial distribution and severity of toxicity, and to analyze the relationships between toxicity and chemical contamination in the sediments. Sediment samples from three stations in each of 20 coastal bays and one Long Island Sound site were tested for toxicity with three independent protocols: (1) a 10-day amphipod survival test of the whole, solid-phase sediments with Ampelisca abdita, (2) a 48-hour exposure of clam larvae, Mulinia lateralis, to sediment elutriates, with normal development and survival as the endpoints, and (3) a microbial bioluminescence test (MicrotoxR) using solvent extracts of the sediments. Separate samples from these same stations were analyzed chemically for a broad suite of potentially toxic contaminants, including heavy metals, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls. Additional sediment samples were obtained from up to six additional stations in a few of the coastal bays; these samples were examined only for heavy metals contamination and the data are included in an appendix to this report.The survey results indicate that sediment toxicity is widespread in the coastal bays of Long Island Sound. Significant toxicity was indicated for the sediments from at least one of the stations in each of the 20 coastal bays sampled in this survey. Manhassett Bay, Oyster Bay, and Little Neck Bay, New York were the three most toxic bays, respectively, as indicated by the incidence of significant toxicity from the three tests on samples from three stations. Only 11 of the 60 stations showed no significant toxicity in any of the three tests. Branford Harbor and the Connecticut River were indicated as the least toxic bays by this approach. About one-fifth of the total area (79.1 km2) sampled within the 20 embayments was indicated as significantly toxic by all three tests (survival of amphipods and larval bivalves, and MicrotoxTM).

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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Biological Effects of Toxic Contaminants in Sediments from Long Island Sound and Environs. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS ORCA 80. August 1994. Silver Spring, Maryland.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS Ed Long (retired), NOAA Ocean Service, National Status and Trends Program SAMPLE COLLECTION INESTIGATORS Ed Long (retired), NOAA Ocean Service, National Status and Trends Program SAMPLE PROCESSING FACILITIES - Organic and inorganic chemicals in sediment: Battelle Ocean Sciences, Duxbury, Massachusetts SAMPLE PROCESSING FACILITIES - Toxicity assays:(1) Microtox Assay - Parametrix, Inc., Seattle, WA; (2) Amphipod Survival Assay - Science Applications International Corporation, Narragansett, RI; (3) Bivalve Larvae Tests - 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. For a description of data parameters see report http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/about/coast/nsandt/download.aspx

NOAA, National Status and Trends Program

These data were prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Any views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Although all data have been used by NOAA, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by NOAA as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by NOAA in the use of these data or related materials.

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NOAA requests that all individuals who download NOAA data acknowledge the source of these data in any reports, papers, or presentations. If you publish these data, please include a statement similar to: "Some or all of the data described in this article were produced by the NOAA's Ocean Service through its National Status and Trends Program (NSandT)".

MESUREMENT QUALITY OBJECTIVES Sampling sites were located with a global position system and a LORAN C unit. 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://www.ccma.nos.noaa.gov/publications/tm71v1.pdf, http://www.ccma.nos.noaa.gov/publications/tm71v2.pdf, http://www.ccma.nos.noaa.gov/publications/tm71v3.pdf, http://www.ccma.nos.noaa.gov/publications/tm71v4.pdf

All 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