TY - JOUR
T1 - Selenium Bioaccumulation Across Trophic Levels and Along a Longitudinal Gradient in Headwater Streams
AU - Cianciolo, Thomas R.
AU - McLaughlin, Daniel L.
AU - Zipper, Carl E.
AU - Timpano, Anthony J.
AU - Soucek, David J.
AU - Whitmore, Keridwen M.
AU - Schoenholtz, Stephen H.
N1 - Funding Information:
The present study was funded by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy. We thank M. Council-Troche for his assistance in developing a custom method to analyze selenium speciation and the generous use of laboratory equipment. In addition, we thank D. Mitchem for assisting with microwave digestion procedures, Z. Orndorff for running samples on the ICP?MS, and F. Akbar-Buchannan and M. Chaplin for their assistance with field work. K.M. Whitmore's current address: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
PY - 2020/3/1
Y1 - 2020/3/1
N2 - Toxic effects of selenium (Se) contamination in freshwaters have been well documented. However, study of Se contamination has focused on lentic and larger order lotic systems, whereas headwater streams have received little scrutiny. In central Appalachia, surface coal mining is a common Se source to headwater streams, thus providing a useful system to investigate Se bioaccumulation in headwater food chains and possible longitudinal patterns in Se concentrations. Toward that end, we assessed Se bioaccumulation in 2 reference and 4 mining-influenced headwater streams. At each stream, we sampled ecosystem media, including streamwater, particulate matter (sediment, biofilm, leaf detritus), benthic macroinvertebrates, salamanders, and fish, every 400 m along 1.2- and 1.6-km reaches. We compared media Se concentrations within and among streams and evaluated longitudinal trends in media Se concentrations. Selenium concentrations in sampled media were higher in mining-influenced streams compared with reference streams. We found the highest Se concentrations in benthic macroinvertebrates; however, salamanders and fish bioaccumulated Se to potentially harmful levels in mining-influenced streams. Only one stream demonstrated dilution of streamwater Se with distance downstream, and few longitudinal patterns in Se bioaccumulation occurred along our study reaches. Collectively, our results provide a field-based assessment of Se bioaccumulation in headwater food chains, from streamwater to fish, and highlight the need for future assessments of Se effects in headwater streams and receiving downstream waters. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:692–704.
AB - Toxic effects of selenium (Se) contamination in freshwaters have been well documented. However, study of Se contamination has focused on lentic and larger order lotic systems, whereas headwater streams have received little scrutiny. In central Appalachia, surface coal mining is a common Se source to headwater streams, thus providing a useful system to investigate Se bioaccumulation in headwater food chains and possible longitudinal patterns in Se concentrations. Toward that end, we assessed Se bioaccumulation in 2 reference and 4 mining-influenced headwater streams. At each stream, we sampled ecosystem media, including streamwater, particulate matter (sediment, biofilm, leaf detritus), benthic macroinvertebrates, salamanders, and fish, every 400 m along 1.2- and 1.6-km reaches. We compared media Se concentrations within and among streams and evaluated longitudinal trends in media Se concentrations. Selenium concentrations in sampled media were higher in mining-influenced streams compared with reference streams. We found the highest Se concentrations in benthic macroinvertebrates; however, salamanders and fish bioaccumulated Se to potentially harmful levels in mining-influenced streams. Only one stream demonstrated dilution of streamwater Se with distance downstream, and few longitudinal patterns in Se bioaccumulation occurred along our study reaches. Collectively, our results provide a field-based assessment of Se bioaccumulation in headwater food chains, from streamwater to fish, and highlight the need for future assessments of Se effects in headwater streams and receiving downstream waters. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:692–704.
KW - Benthic macroinvertebrates
KW - Fish
KW - Food chain
KW - Salamanders
KW - Trophic transfer
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U2 - 10.1002/etc.4660
DO - 10.1002/etc.4660
M3 - Article
C2 - 31900941
AN - SCOPUS:85079240698
VL - 39
SP - 692
EP - 704
JO - Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
JF - Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
SN - 0730-7268
IS - 3
ER -