Application of an index of biotic integrity for dunal, palustrine wetlands: emphasis on assessment of nonpoint source landfill effects on the Grand Calumet Lagoons
Keywords:
Community function, Community structure, Industrial landfill, FishAbstract
Using a newly modified index of biotic integrity for assessing biological integrity of fish communities in dunal, palustrine wetlands, we assessed the non-point source influence of an industrial landfill on the Grand Calumet Lagoons. The landfill is primarily an iron and steel manufacturer’s slag waste. No sensitive species, hybrids, headwater species, and either few or no simple lithophilic spawning species were collected from any of the sites in the Grand Calumet Lagoons. Species catch-per-unit of effort varied significantly between reaches in the Middle Lagoon and the West Lagoon. The most disturbed areas were adjacent to the industrial landfill and along the southern shore near the outflow from the West Lagoon. Near- and far-field stations possessed similar numbers of species and relative abundance. The near-field stations showed an increase in tolerant species, a higher proportion of omnivores and carnivores, and a lower environmental quality rating of ‘poor–very poor’. The far-field sites were classified as having ‘fair’ biological integrity and showed an increase in relative abundance, proportion of sensitive species, and an increase in simple lithophils. The loss of biological integrity in the West Pond was not accurately predicted using the modified index of biotic integrity, even though it was rated as extremely degraded by the biological diversity indices. Fish communities were negatively impacted by proximity to the landfill.
References
Arimoto, R. 1989. Atmospheric deposition of chemical contaminants to the Great Lakes. J. Great Lakes Res., 15: 339–356.
Baumann, P.C., Smith, W.D. and Parland, W.K. 1987. Tumor frequencies and contaminant concentrations in brown bullhead from an industrialized river and a recreational lake. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 116: 79–86.
Clarke, K.R. and Warwick, R.M. 1994. Changes in Marine Communities: An Approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation, Bournemouth, , England: Bourne Press.
Conover, W.J. 1971. Practical Nonparametric Statistics, New York: Wiley.
Cowardin, L.M., Carter, V., Golet, F.C. and LaRoe, E.T. 1979. Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv.. FWS/OBS-70-31.
Crawford, C.G. and Wangsness, D.J. 1987. Streamflow and water quality of the Grand Calumet River, Lake County, Indiana, and Cook County, Illinois, October 1984, U.S. Geol. Surv. Water Resources Invest. Rept., 86-4208
Davis, W.S. and Simon, T.P., eds. 1995. Biological Assessment and Criteria: Tools for Water Resource Management and Decision Making, Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers.
Doss, P.K. 1991. “Physical and chemical dynamics of the hydrogeologic system in wetlands along the southern shore of Lake Michigan”. In Ph.D. Dissertation, Dekalb: Northern Illinois University.
Gatz, D.F., Bowersox, V.C. and Su, J. 1989. Lead and cadmium loadings to the Great Lakes from precipitation. J. Great Lakes Res., 15: 246–264.
Gatz, D.F., Sweet, C.W., Basu, I., Vermette, S., Harlin, K. and Bauer, S. 1994. Great Lakes integrated atmospheric deposition network (IADN). Data Report 1990–1992. Ill. State Water Surv. Misc. Publ. 158,
Gerking, S.D. 1945. Distribution of the fishes of Indiana. Inv. Ind. Lakes Streams, 3: 1–137.
Gerking, S.D. 1955. Key to the fishes of Indiana. Inv. Ind. Lakes Streams, 4: 49–86.
Gonzales, D.A., Pearson, J.G. and Pinkham, C.F.A. 1993. “User’s manual Biosim1, Beta Version 1.0”. In A program that applies the coefficient of biotic similarity to complex data matrices, U.S. Environ. Protect. Agency. EPA-600-R-93-219.
Hartig, J.H. and Zarull, M.A., eds. 1992. Under RAPs: Toward Grassroots Ecological Democracy in the Great Lakes Basin, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Hoke, R.A., Giesy, J.P., Zabik, M. and Unger, M. 1993. Toxicity of sediments and sediment pore waters from the Grand Calumet River — Indiana Harbor, Indiana Area of Concern. Ecotox. Environ. Safety, 26: 86–112.
Holowaty, M.O., Reshkin, M., Mikulka, M.J. and Tolpa, R.D. 1992. “Working toward a remedial action plan for the Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Ship Canal”. In Under RAPs: Toward Grassroots Ecological Democracy in the Great Lakes Basin, Edited by: Hartig, J.H. and Zarull, M.A. 211–233. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. In
IDNR (Indiana Department of Natural Resources). 1994. “Water Resource Availability in the Lake Michigan Region, Indiana”. In Ind. Dept. Nat. Res., Div. Water, Water Res. Assess., 94-4
IJC (International Joint Commission). 1989. Report on Great Lakes water quality, Windsor Ontario, , Canada: Great Lakes Water Quality Board.
Karr, J.R. 1981. Assessment of biotic integrity using fish communities. Fisheries (Bethesda), 6: 21–27.
Karr, J.R., Fausch, K.D., Angermeier, P.L., Yant, P.R. and Schlosser, I.J. 1986. Assessing biological integrity in running waters: a method and its rationale. Ill. Nat. Hist. Surv. Spec. Publ. 5,
Kloepper-Sams, P.J., Swanson, S.M., Marchant, T., Schryer, R. and Owens, J.W. 1994. Exposure of fish to biologically treated bleached kraft effluent. 1. Biochemical, physiological and pathological assessment of Rocky Mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) and longnose suckers (Catostomus catostomus). Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 13: 1469–1482.
Meek, S.E. and Hildebrand, S.F. 1910. A synoptic list of the fishes known to occur within fifty miles of Chicago. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ. 142, Zool. Ser., 7: 223–338.
Moore, P.A. 1959. The Calumet Region: Indiana’s Last Frontier, Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau.
Munkittrick, K.R., Port, C.B., Van Der Kraak, G.J., Smith, I.R. and Rokosh, D.A. 1991. Impact of bleached kraft mill effluent on population characteristics, liver MFO activity, and serum steroid levels of Lake Superior white sucker (Catostomus catostomus) population. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 48: 1371–1380.
Munkittrick, K.R., Van Der Kraak, G.J., McMaster, M.E. and Port, C.B. 1992. Response of hepatic MFO activity and plasma sex steroids to secondary treatment of bleached kraft pulp mill effluent and mill shutdown. Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 11: 1427–1439.
NADP (National Atmospheric Deposition Program), Fort Collins: Colorado State University.
OEPA (Ohio Environmental Protection Agency). 1989. Biological criteria for the protection of aquatic life. Volume III. Standardized biological field sampling and laboratory methods for assessing fish and macro-invertebrate communities, Columbus: Ecol. Assess. Sect., Div. Water Quality, Planning and Assess.
Pearson, J.G. and Pinkham, C.F.A. 1992. Strategy for data analysis in environmental surveys emphasizing the index of biotic similarity and BIOSIM1. Water Environ. Res., 64(7): 901–909.
Reash, R.J. and Berra, T.M. 1989. Incidence of fin erosion and anomalous fishes in a polluted stream and a nearby clean stream. Water Air Soil Pollut., 47: 47–63.
Simon, T.P. 1998. Modification of an index of biotic integrity and development of reference condition expectations for dunal, palustrine wetland fish communities along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Manage., 1: 57–70.
Simon, T.P. 1989. Sub-chronic toxicity evaluations of major point source dischargers in the Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Canal, Indiana, using the embryo-larval survival and teratogenicity test. Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 98: 241–255.
Simon, T.P. 1991. Development of index of biotic integrity expectations for the ecoregions of Indiana, I. Central Corn Belt Plain, Chicago, Illinois: U.S. Environ. Protect. Agency. EPA 905-9-91-025
Simon, T.P. and Lyons, J. 1995. “Application of the index of biotic integrity to evaluate water resource integrity in freshwater ecosystems”. In Biological Assessment and Criteria: Tools for Water Resource Management and Decision Making, Edited by: Davis, W.S. and Simon, T.P. 245–262. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers. In
Simon, T.P., Bright, G.R., Rud, J. and Stahl, J. 1989. Water quality characterization of the Grand Calumet River basin using the index of biotic integrity. Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 98: 257–265.
Simon, T.P., Lubin, A. and LeCurieux, F. 1990. Predictive abilities of Environmental Protection Agency subchronic toxicity test endpoints for complex effluents. Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 99: 29–37.
Simon, T.P., Sobiech, S.A., Sparks, D.A. and Jop, K. Assessing the ecological integrity of the East Branch Grand Calumet River: response of four biological indicators In review.
Smith, P.W. 1971. Illinois streams: a classification based on their fishes and an analysis of factors responsible for the disappearance of native species. Ill. Nat. Hist. Surv. Biol. Notes 76,
Stewart, P.M. and Butcher, J.T. 1997. “Grand Calumet Lagoons”. In U.S. Army Corps of Enginners. Grand Calumet River — Indiana Harbor Canal Sediment Cleanup and Restoration Alternatives Project. Appendix F, 237–267. Chicago, Illinois: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, Great Lakes and Ohio Division. In:
Swanson, S.M., Schryer, R., Shelast, R., Kloepper-Sams, P.J. and Owens, J.W. 1994. Exposure of fish to biologically treated bleached-kraft mill effluent. 3. Fish habitat and population assessment. Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 13: 1497–1507.
USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency). 1985. Master plan for improving water quality in the Grand Calumet River/Indiana Harbor Canal USEPA, EPA 905-9-84-003C.
Washington, H.G. 1984. Diversity, biotic and similarity indices: a review with special relevance to aquatic ecosystems. Water Resour., 18: 653–694.
Yoder, C.O. and Rankin, E.T. 1995. “Biological criteria program development and implementation in Ohio”. In Biological Assessment and Criteria: Tools for Water Resource Management and Decision Making, Edited by: Davis, W.S., Simon, W.S. and T.P. 109–144. Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers. In:
Zar, J.H. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis, 2nd ed., Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Manuscripts must be original. They must not be published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. It is required that the lead author of accepted papers complete and sign the MSU Press AEHM Author Publishing Agreement and provide it to the publisher upon acceptance.
