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A National Network to Monitor Contaminants and their Effects in Large Rivers
Background:
In its 1995 review of the BEST Program, the National Research Council (NRC) recommended that “The current National Contaminants Biomonitoring Program (NCBP) should be upgraded to include a brad range of contaminant–exposure and –effects indicators, which should then be folded into the BEST Program.” The NCBP, originally managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), was initiated in 1967 as part of the National Pesticide Monitoring Program. The NCBP Program included periodic collections of freshwater fish, European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), and duck wings and chemical residue analyses for accumulative environmental contaminants. The NCBP was designed to document temporal and geographic trends in occurrence of contaminants in tissue and demonstrated generally declining concentrations of organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and some inorganic contaminants in sampled biota. (Prouty and Bunck 1986; Bunck et al. 1987; Schmitt and Brumbaugh 1990; Schmitt et al. 1990; Schmitt and Bunck 1995). The NCBP starling network was last sampled in 1985; the fish network was last sampled (in its entirety) in 1986
In response to the NRC recommendation and understanding that many modern contaminants do not readily bioaccumulate in biota, the BEST Program developed a set of biomarkers intended to demonstrate the effects of contaminants in resident biota (ref. Vail document- “BEST 1996”). BEST selected and applied a subset of biomonitoring methods to assess contaminant impacts in resident fish in large river habitats. Methods selected for use in the BEST large river monitoring effort specifically included residue chemistry to ensure linkage to historic NCBP Program findings. The BEST Project first applied a standard suite of methods in the Mississippi River in 1995. Lessons learned through the initial round of sampling were incorporated into the BEST Large River Monitoring Network (LRMN). In addition to the Mississippi, through its LRMN, the BEST Project has assessed the effects of contaminants on selected species in large inter jurisdictional rivers of U.S, including the Columbia, Rio Grande, Yukon, Colorado, Pee Dee, Apalachicola, Savanna, and Mobile Rivers. In 2006, the BEST Project plans to sample the Potomac, Delaware, Susquehanna rivers in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.
Rationale:
Large rivers were selected for monitoring for both the NCBP and the follow-on BEST sampling effort because they serve as important conduits of contaminants, reflect atmospheric inputs, and channel regional contaminant transport. In addition, rivers reflect land use, point and non-point contaminant inputs and are conceptually linked to general condition of the terrestrial habitat within the watershed. Large rivers and their associated floodplain habitats are biologically complex, support diverse species assemblages, provide migration corridors not only for fish, but also for a variety of DOI Trust resources including migratory waterbirds, shorebirds, raptors, and songbirds. For example, the Mississippi River and its tributaries are home to one-third of the freshwater fish of North America (including lampreys, gars, sturgeons, bowfin, paddlefish) and most of the mussels of the U.S. The Mississippi River corridor provides habitat for 36% of North American waterfowl.
Unique emphasis
While other efforts evaluate the "health" of riverine systems, few provide direct indications of contaminant-effects on resident species in large inter jurisdictional rivers of the US. The BEST Program is unique among national monitoring programs with its emphasis on characterizing the effects of environmental contaminants on the health of the biota and their supporting habitat. BEST accomplishes this through the application of both chemical concentration measurements and biological responses or effects measurements. Contaminant effects are measured by evaluating biochemical, physiological, morphological, and histopathological responses of organisms.
Implementation:
In the early implementation of the LRMN, the BEST Project responded to management directives which emphasized collocating sampling at established NCBP, NAWQA and NASQAN sites. Beginning in 2004, sampling designs were modified to incorporate a random sampling design. Since that time, sampling designs applied to the Colorado, Pee Dee, Apalachicola, Savanna, and Mobile Rivers incorporated probabability based site selection.
Objectives of the LRMN
The objectives for monitoring contaminants and their effects in large rivers are to:
1) Provide a coarse resolution of the distribution of contaminants and effects in large rivers of the country.
2) Assess if contaminants in fish, and their effects, are changing over long time scales.
3) Provide critical comparative and interpretive information for scientist conducting site-specific investigations; information that is currently lacking with most of the biological effect measures.
4) Identify topics to be addressed through synthesis and applied research within BEST and to guide follow-up investigations and research.
Obtaining LRMN Data
Data from the LRMN are available through an online interactive query tool. Data can be searched by basin, type of contaminant, or by the biological endpoint. Click on the image below to go to the LRMN online database tool
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The following is a selection of LRMN Reports. Additional LRMN reports and products are hosted by the Coumbia Environmental Research Center at: http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/pubs/pubs.htm#1
BEST Large River Fish Health Data Query Tool: This is an interactive database that includes fish health data from the BEST Programs large river monitoring activities.Online at: http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/data/best/search/index.htm
Field Procedures
Selected Methods
Illustrated Field Guide
Mississippi River Basin
Rio Grande River Basin
Columbia River Basin
Yukon River Basin
Colorado River Basin
Southeast River (Mobile, Apalachicola, Savannah, and Pee Dee) Basins Report
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