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N. Wang

Publications and source records attributed to N. Wang.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2024

Monitoring of wave, current, and sediment dynamics along the Fog Point Living Shoreline, Glenn Martin National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland

Living shorelines with salt marsh species, rock breakwaters, and sand nourishment were built along the coastal areas in the Glenn Martin National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland, in 2016 in response to Hurricane Sandy (2012). The Fog Point living shoreline at Glenn Martin National Wildlife Refuge was designed with the “headland - breakwater - embayment” pattern. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, Northeastern University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Louisiana State University studied wave, current, and sediment dynamics to assess the effectiveness of the Fog Point living shoreline structures in terms of wave attenuation and erosion reduction. Wave gages, current meters, sediment traps, sediment tiles, and lateral erosion pins were deployed along the Fog Point shoreline during February 10–14, 2020. Because of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions, sensors were not retrieved until August 25, 2021, which was 18 months after field deployment, resulting in tremendous loss or damage of sensors and sediment measurements. Monitoring data indicated that wave heights were substantially reduced at locations behind the breakwater (headland) compared to the wave heights in the offshore location, but not at the location in the control area (the embayment). Current patterns and current velocities at the location behind the breakwater were complex and changed dramatically compared to the current patterns and current velocities offshore. Sediments were blocked by the breakwater most of the time except during periods of storms with wave heights larger than 0.9 meter, when waves overtopped the breakwater and brought sediments to the tidal flat and salt marshes behind the breakwater. Behind the breakwater, both sediment deposition and erosion were observed during the 18 months of monitoring. Continued low elevation marsh edge erosion from wave undercutting along the embayment was observed, especially at the existing wave-cut gullies. Monitoring results indicate that the “breakwater + marsh planting” structure along the Fog Point shoreline has limited shoreline protection capacity. Marsh edge erosion behind the breakwater was likely caused by the limited sediment supply from marine sources for transport and delivery, as well as the effects of circulation and current velocity on the settling and deposition of suspended sediments from eroded marshes. Marsh edge erosion continued in the embayment or control area where no shoreline restoration structures were implemented. Long-term (decadal scale) monitoring and adaptive management of living shoreline structures could help to assess the effectiveness of wave attenuation for reducing shoreline erosion and enhancing vegetation growth for trapping sediments and the effectiveness of marsh surface elevation growth for keeping pace with sea level rise.

Maryland↗
USGS2011

Evaluation of influence of sediment on the sensitivity of a unionid mussel ( Lamsilis silquoidea ) to ammonia in 28-day water exposures

A draft update of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) for ammonia substantially lowers the ammonia AWQC, primarily due to the inclusion of toxicity data for freshwater mussels. However, most of the mussel data used in the updated AWQC were generated from water-only exposures and limited information is available on the potential influence of the presence of a substrate on the response of mussels in laboratory toxicity tests. Our recent study demonstrated that the acute sensitivity of mussels to ammonia was not influenced by the presence of substrate in 4-d laboratory toxicity tests. The objective of the current study was to determine the sensitivity of mussels to ammonia in chronic 28-d water exposures with the sediment present (sediment treatment) or absent (water-only treatment). The chronic toxicity test was conducted starting with two-month-old juvenile mussels (fatmucket, Lampsilis siliquoidea ) in a flow-through diluter system, which maintained consistent pH (≈8.3) and six concentrations of total ammonia nitrogen (N) in overlying water and in sediment pore water. The chronic value (ChV, geometric mean of the no-observed-effect concentration and the lowest-observed-effect concentration) was 0.36 mg N/L for survival or biomass in the water-only treatment, and was 0.66 mg N/L for survival and 0.20 mg N/L for biomass in the sediment treatment. The 20% effect concentration (EC20) for survival was 0.63 mg N/L in the water-only treatment and was 0.86 mg N/L in the sediment treatment (with overlapping 95% confidence intervals; no EC20 for biomass was estimated because the data did not meet the conditions for any logistic regression analysis). The similar ChVs or EC20s between the water-only treatment and the sediment treatment indicate that the presence of sediment did not substantially influence the sensitivity of juvenile mussels to ammonia in the 28-d chronic laboratory water exposures.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗
USGS2008

Influence of pH on the acute toxicity of ammonia to juvenile freshwater mussels (fatmucket, Lampsills siliquoidea)

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of pH on the toxicity of ammonia to juvenile freshwater mussels. Acute 96-h ammonia toxicity tests were conducted with 10-d-old juvenile mussels (fatmucket, Lampsilis siliquoidea) at five pH levels ranging from 6.5 to 9.0 in flow-through diluter systems at 20??C. Acute 48-h tests with amphipods (Hyalella azteca) and 96-h tests with oligochaetes (Lumbriculus variegatus) were conducted concurrently under the same test conditions to determine the sensitivity of mussels relative to these two commonly tested benthic invertebrate species. During the exposure, pH levels were maintained within 0.1 of a pH unit and ammonia concentrations were relatively constant through time (coefficient of variation for ammonia concentrations ranged from 2 to 30% with a median value of 7.9%). The median effective concentrations (EC50s) of total ammonia nitrogen (N) for mussels were at least two to six times lower than the EC50s for amphipods and oligochaetes, and the EC50s for mussels decreased with increasing pH and ranged from 88 mg N/L at pH 6.6 to 0.96 mg N/L at pH 9.0. The EC50s for mussels were at or below the final acute values used to derive the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's acute water quality criterion (WQC). However, the quantitative relationship between pH and ammonia toxicity to juvenile mussels was similar to the average relationship for other taxa reported in the WQC. These results indicate that including mussel toxicity data in a revision to the WQC would lower the acute criterion but not change the WQC mathematical representation of the relative effect of pH on ammonia toxicity. ?? 2008 SETAC.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗
USGS2008

Differential exposure, duration, and sensitivity of unionoidean bivalve life stages to environmental contaminants

Freshwater mussels (superfamily Unionoidea) are in serious global decline and in urgent need of protection and conservation. The declines have been attributed to a wide array of human activities resulting in pollution and water-quality degradation, and habitat destruction and alteration. Linkages among poor water quality, pollutant sources, and mussel decline in rivers and streams have been associated with results of laboratory-based tests of specific pollutants. However, uncertainties remain about the relationship of laboratory data to actual contaminant exposure routes for various mussel species, life stages, and in the habitats occupied during these exposures. We evaluated the pathways of exposure to environmental pollutants for all 4 life stages (free glochidia, encysted glochidia, juveniles, adults) of unionoidean mussels and found that each life stage has both common and unique characteristics that contribute to observed differences in exposure and sensitivity. Free glochidia typically are exposed only briefly (e.g., seconds to days) through surface water, whereas adults sustain exposure over years to decades through surface water, pore water, sediment, and diet. Juveniles live largely burrowed in the sediment for the first 0 to 4 y of life. Thus, sediment, pore water, and diet are the predominant exposure routes for this life stage, but surface water also might contribute to exposure during certain periods and environmental conditions. The obligate parasitic stage (encysted glochidia stage) on a host fish might be exposed from surface water while partially encysted or from toxicants in host-fish tissue while fully encysted. Laboratory methods for testing for acute and chronic exposures in water have advanced, and toxicant-specific information has increased in recent years. However, additional research is needed to understand interactions of life history, habitat, and long-term exposure to contaminants through water, pore water, sediment, and diet so that the risks of environmental exposures can be properly assessed and managed. ?? 2008 by The North American Benthological Society.

Journal of the North American Benthological Societ↗
USGS2007

Intra- and interlaboratory variability in acute toxicity tests with glochidia and juveniles of freshwater mussels (Unionidae)

The present study evaluated the performance and variability in acute toxicity tests with glochidia and newly transformed juvenile mussels using the standard methods outlined in American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Multiple 48-h toxicity tests with glochidia and 96-h tests with juvenile mussels were conducted within a single laboratory and among five laboratories. All tests met the test acceptability requirements (e.g., ???90% control survival). Intralaboratory tests were conducted over two consecutive mussel-spawning seasons with mucket (Actinonaias ligamentina) or fatmucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea) using copper, ammonia, or chlorine as a toxicant. For the glochidia of both species, the variability of intralaboratory median effective concentrations (EC50s) for the three toxicants, expressed as the coefficient of variation (CV), ranged from 14 to 27% in 24-h exposures and from 13 to 36% in 48-h exposures. The intralaboratory CV of copper EC50s for juvenile fatmucket was 24% in 48-h exposures and 13% in 96-h exposures. Interlaboratory tests were conducted with fatmucket glochidia and juveniles by five laboratories using copper as a toxicant. The interlaboratory CV of copper EC50s for glochidia was 13% in 24-h exposures and 24% in 48-h exposures, and the interlaboratory CV for juveniles was 22% in 48-h exposures and 42% in 96-h exposures. The high completion success and the overall low variability in test results indicate that the test methods have acceptable precision and can be performed routinely. ?? 2007 SETAC.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗
USGS2007

Acute toxicity of copper, ammonia, and chlorine to glochidia and juveniles of freshwater mussels (Unionidae)

The objective of the present study was to determine acute toxicity of copper, ammonia, or chlorine to larval (glochidia) and juvenile mussels using the recently published American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard guide for conducting laboratory toxicity tests with freshwater mussels. Toxicity tests were conducted with glochidia (24- to 48-h exposures) and juveniles (96-h exposures) of up to 11 mussel species in reconstituted ASTM hard water using copper, ammonia, or chlorine as a toxicant. Copper and ammonia tests also were conducted with five commonly tested species, including cladocerans (Daphnia magna and Ceriodaphnia dubia; 48-h exposures), amphipod (Hyalella azteca; 48-h exposures), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss; 96-h exposures), and fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas; 96-h exposures). Median effective concentrations (EC50s) for commonly tested species were >58 ??g Cu/L (except 15 ??g Cu/L for C. dubia) and >13 mg total ammonia N/L, whereas the EC50s for mussels in most cases were 40 ??g/L and above the FAV in the WQC for chlorine. The results indicate that the early life stages of mussels generally were more sensitive to copper and ammonia than other organisms and that, including mussel toxicity data in a revision to the WQC, would lower the WQC for copper or ammonia. Furthermore, including additional mussel data in 2007 WQC for copper based on biotic ligand model would further lower the WQC. ?? 2007 SETAC.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗
USGS2007

Chronic toxicity of copper and ammonia to juvenile freshwater mussels (Unionidae)

The objectives of the present study were to develop methods for conducting chronic toxicity tests with juvenile mussels under flow-through conditions and to determine the chronic toxicity of copper and ammonia to juvenile mussels using these methods. In two feeding tests, two-month-old fatmucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea) and rainbow mussel (Villosa iris) were fed various live algae or nonviable algal mixture for 28 d. The algal mixture was the best food resulting in high survival (???90%) and growth. Multiple copper and ammonia toxicity tests were conducted for 28 d starting with two-month-old mussels. Six toxicity tests using the algal mixture were successfully completed with a control survival of 88 to 100%. Among copper tests with rainbow mussel, fatmucket, and oyster mussel (Epioblasma capsaeformis), chronic value ([ChV], geometric mean of the no-observed-effect concentration and the lowest-observed-effect concentration) ranged from 8.5 to 9.8 ??g Cu/L for survival and from 4.6 to 8.5 ??g Cu/L for growth. Among ammonia tests with rainbow mussel, fatmucket, and wavy-rayed lampmussel (L. fasciola), the ChV ranged from 0.37 to 1.2 mg total ammonia N/L for survival and from 0.37 to 0.67 mg N/L for growth. These ChVs were below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1996 chronic water quality criterion (WQC) for copper (15 ??g/L; hardness 170 mg/L) and 1999 WQC for total ammonia (1.26 mg N/L; pH 8.2 and 20??C). Results indicate that toxicity tests with two-month-old mussels can be conducted for 28 d with >80% control survival; growth was frequently a more sensitive endpoint compared to survival; and the 1996 chronic WQC for copper and the 1999 chronic WQC for total ammonia might not be adequately protective of the mussel species tested. However, a recently revised 2007 chronic WQC for copper based on the biotic ligand model may be more protective in the water tested. ?? 2007 SETAC.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗
USGS2007

Histological alternation and vitellogenin induction in adult rare minnow ( Gobiocypris rarus ) after exposure to ethynylestradiol and nonylphenol

Adult rare minnow ( Gobiocypris rarus ) were exposed to 0, 1, 5, and 25 ng/l (nominal concentrations) of 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE 2 ) and 3, 10, and 30 μg/l (nominal concentrations) of 4-nonylphenol (NP) under flow-through conditions for a period of 28 d. Low mortality was observed at 5 and 25 ng/l EE 2 and the growth of fish reduced significantly at 25 ng/l EE 2 compared to controls. However, the gonadosomatic indices (GSI) of male fish were significantly higher in 1 ng/l EE 2 treatments and in 10 and 30 μg/l NP treatments ( p < 0.05). Renal somatic indices (RSI) of male fish in EE 2 treatments were significantly higher than those in controls ( p < 0.05). In contrast, significantly decreased GSI and RSI of female fish could only be observed in 5 and 25 ng/l EE 2 treatments ( p < 0.05). Hepatosomatic indices (HSI) of male fish were significantly higher in 25 ng/l EE 2 treatments. However, significantly increased of HSI of female fish could only be observed in 1 ng/l EE 2 treatments. Plasma vitellogenin (VTG) induction could be observed in males after exposed to different concentrations of EE 2 and NP, and plasma VTG concentrations in females exposed to 5 and 25 ng/l EE 2 were also significantly higher than in controls ( p < 0.05). At level higher than 5 ng/l EE 2 or 30 μg/l NP, hepatic tissue and renal tissue impairment of males could be observed. The pathological male liver was associated with a hypertrophy of hepatocytes and damages to cellar structure and accumulated eosinophilic material. Renal tissue showed different pathological effects which was reflected by accumulated eosinophilic material, hemorrhages within the kidney tubules and hypertrophy of the tubular epithelia. Also at these levels of exposure, feminization of male fish could be noticed and parts of males manifested the testis-ova phenomenon. Ovaries of female rare minnow in 25 ng/l EE 2 treatment group were degenerated. Therefore when exposed to EE 2 and NP even at environmental observed concentrations, adverse effects could occur in the reproductive system of adult fishes. The observed hepatic tissue and renal tissue impairment should be due to the induction and accumulation of VTG in organs, especially in males.

Chemosphere↗
USGS2005

Influence of sediment on the fate and toxicity of a polyethoxylated tallowamine surfactant system (MON 0818) in aquatic microcosms

The fate and toxicity of a polyethoxylated tallowamine (POEA) surfactant system, MON 0818, was evaluated in water–sediment microcosms during a 4-d laboratory study. A surfactant solution of 8 mg l −1 nominal concentration was added to each of nine 72-l aquaria with or without a 3-cm layer of one of two natural sediments (total organic carbon (TOC) 1.5% or 3.0%). Control well water was added to each of nine additional 72-l aquaria with or without sediment. Water samples were collected from the microcosms after 2, 6, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h of aging to conduct 48-h toxicity tests with Daphnia magna and to determine surfactant concentrations. Elevated mortality of D. magna (43–83%) was observed in overlying water sampled from water-only microcosms throughout the 96-h aging period, whereas elevated mortality (23–97%) was only observed in overlying water sampled from water–sediment microcosms during the first 24 h of aging. Measured concentrations of MON 0818 in water-only microcosms remained relatively constant (4–6 mg l −1 ) during the 96-h period, whereas the concentrations in overlying water from microcosms containing either of the two types of sediment dissipated rapidly, with half-lives of 13 h in the 3.0% TOC sediment and 18 h in the 1.5% TOC sediment. Both toxicity and the concentration of MON 0818 in overlying water decreased more rapidly in microcosms containing sediment with the higher percent TOC and clay and with a higher microbial biomass. Mortality of D. magna was significantly correlated with surfactant concentrations in the overlying water. These results indicate that the toxicity of the POEA surfactant in water rapidly declines in the presence of sediment due to a reduction in the surfactant concentration in the overlying water above the sediment.

Chemosphere↗
USGS2001

Toxicity assessment of sediments from the Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Canal in northwestern Indiana, USA

The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of sediments from the Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Canal located in northwestern Indiana, USA. Toxicity tests used in this assessment included 10-day sediment exposures with the amphipod Hyalella azteca , 31-day sediment exposures with the oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus , and the Microtox® Solid-Phase Sediment Toxicity Test. A total of 30 sampling stations were selected in locations that had limited historic matching toxicity and chemistry data. Toxic effects on amphipod survival were observed in 60% of the samples from the assessment area. Results of a toxicity test with oligochaetes indicated that sediments from the assessment area were too toxic to be used in proposed bioaccumulation testing. Measurement of amphipod length after the 10-day exposures did not provide useful information beyond that provided by the survival endpoint. Seven of the 15 samples that were identified as toxic in the amphipod tests were not identified as toxic in the Microtox test, indicating that the 10-day H. azteca test was more sensitive than the Microtox test. Samples that were toxic tended to have the highest concentrations of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The toxic samples often had an excess of simultaneously extracted metals (SEM) relative to acid volatile sulfide (AVS) and had multiple exceedances of probable effect concentrations (PECs). Metals may have contributed to the toxicity of samples that had both an excess molar concentration of SEM relative to AVS and elevated concentrations of metals in pore water. However, of the samples that had an excess of SEM relative to AVS, only 38% of these samples had elevated concentration of metals in pore water. The lack of correspondence between SEM-AVS and pore water metals indicates that there are variables in addition to AVS controlling the concentrations of metals in pore water. A mean PEC quotient of 3.4 (based on concentrations of metals, PAHs, and PCBs) was exceeded in 33% of the sediment samples and a mean quotient of 0.63 was exceeded in 70% of the thirty sediment samples from the assessment area. A 50% incidence of toxicity has been previously reported in a database for sediment tests with H. azteca at a mean quotient of 3.4 in 10-day exposures and at a mean quotient of 0.63 in 28-day exposures. Among the Indiana Harbor samples, most of the samples with a mean PEC quotient above 0.63 ( i.e. , 15 of 21; 71%) and above 3.4 ( i.e. , 10 of 10; 100%) were toxic to amphipods. Results of this study and previous studies demonstrate that sediments from this assessment area are among the most contaminated and toxic that have ever been reported.

Indiana↗
USGS2001

Predictions of sediment toxicity using consensus-based freshwater sediment quality guidelines

The objectives of this study were to compare approaches for evaluating the combined effects of chemical mixtures on the toxicity in field-collected sediments and to evaluate the ability of consensus-based probable effect concentrations (PECs) to predict toxicity in a freshwater database on both a national and regional geographic basis. A database was developed from 92 published reports, which included a total of 1,657 samples with high-quality matching sediment toxicity and chemistry data from across North America. The database was comprised primarily of 10- to 14-day or 28- to 42-day toxicity tests with the amphipod Hyalella azteca (designated as the HA10 or HA28 tests) and 10- to 14-day toxicity tests with the midges Chironomus tentans or C. riparius (designated as the CS10 test). Mean PEC quotients were calculated to provide an overall measure of chemical contamination and to support an evaluation of the combined effects of multiple contaminants in sediments. There was an overall increase in the incidence of toxicity with an increase in the mean quotients in all three tests. A consistent increase in the toxicity in all three tests occurred at a mean quotient > 0.5, however, the overall incidence of toxicity was greater in the HA28 test compared to the short-term tests. The longer-term tests, in which survival and growth are measured, tend to be more sensitive than the shorter-term tests, with acute to chronic ratios on the order of six indicated for H. azteca . Different patterns were observed among the various procedures used to calculate mean quotients. For example, in the HA28 test, a relatively abrupt increase in toxicity was associated with elevated polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) alone or with elevated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) alone, compared to the pattern of a gradual increase in toxicity observed with quotients calculated using a combination of metals, PAHs, and PCBs. These analyses indicate that the different patterns in toxicity may be the result of unique chemical signals associated with individual contaminants in samples. Though mean quotients can be used to classify samples as toxic or nontoxic, individual quotients might be useful in helping identify substances that may be causing or substantially contributing to the observed toxicity. An increase in the incidence of toxicity was observed with increasing mean quotients within most of the regions, basins, and areas in North America for all three toxicity tests. The results of these analyses indicate that the consensus-based PECs can be used to reliably predict toxicity of sediments on both a regional and national basis.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗
USGS1999

Evaluating adequacy of the representative stream reach used in invertebrate monitoring programs

Selection of a representative stream reach is implicitly or explicitly recommended in many biomonitoring protocols using benthic invertebrates. We evaluated the adequacy of sampling a single stream reach selected on the basis of its appearance. We 1st demonstrated the precision of our within-reach sampling. Then we sampled 3 or 4 reaches (each ∼20× mean width) within an 8-16 km segment on each of 8 streams in 3 ecoregions and calculated 4 common metrics: 1) total taxa; 2) Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera taxa; 3) biotic index; and 4) Shannon's diversity index. In only 6% of possible cases was the coefficient of variation for any of the metrics reduced >10% by sampling additional reaches. Sampling a 2nd reach on a stream improved the ability to detect impairment by an average of only 9.3%. Sampling a 3rd reach on a stream additionally improved ability to detect impairment by only 4.5%. We concluded that a single well-chosen reach, if adequately sampled, can be representative of an entire stream segment, and sampling additional reaches within a segment may not be cost effective.

Journal of the North American Benthological Societ↗