***Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Research Inventory***

***Projects Summary***

***Project Number*** 489

***Title*** Lake Erie ecological investigations

***Objective*** Impacts from environmental contaminants to natural
resources in Lake Erie have been

addressed through research and management efforts by several local,
state and

Federal agencies. Environmental contaminants, particularly polyaromatic
hydrocarbons

(PAHs) are suspected as the causal factor of liver tumors in fish
populations from

certain Lake Erie industrialized areas Contaminated sediments are
present in all of the

Great Lakes Areas of Concern (International. Joint Commission -IJC,
1985) and occur

in all areas where liver tumors have been verified in the brown bullhead
(Ameriurus

nebulosus). Fish and invertebrate communities at contaminated and
relatively clean

sites on Lake Erie indicate that, even though densities were similar in
contaminated

versus relatively clean sites, the diversity of both fish and
invertebrates was much

lower in the areas with contaminated sediments. Within the last ten
years significant

changes have occurred at several harbors, tributaries, and at the Areas
of Concern

(AOC) on Lake Erie including dredging of contaminated sediments,
diversion of

industrial effluents, shoreline cleanup, the invasion of non-indigenous
species, and the

natural process of sedimentation. While several agencies have conducted

investigations to identify biological resource problems and associated
contaminated

sediments, only a few studies have identified changes in the contaminant
levels or

impacts to the fish populations. There is a current need to reevaluate
the health of the

Lake Erie fisheries following the clean-up efforts and the invasion of
the exotic zebra

mussel, which may have altered the contaminant cycling in the lakes
ecosystem. The

Lake Erie Ecological Investigation (LEEI) will complete a regional
assessment of the

Lake Erie ecosystem for a re-evaluation of collections and methods used
for

bioindicators, determination of fish and invertebrate community
structure and sediment

chemistry made from the Lake Erie Ecosystem in the 1980\'s. The field
investigation

will include Lake Erie Areas Of Concern (AOC) which were sampled by BRD,
FWS and

other cooperating organizations since the 1980\'s and an assessment to
determine

optimal monitoring techniques. We will complete a retrospective analysis
of existing

data for Lake Erie relating to contaminant sources, contaminant types,
contaminant

levels, potentially affected biological resources, and historic
histopathology of

biological resources (mainly brown bullhead). Specifically we will
re-evaluate biological

health indicators at areas where historic collections showed
deteriorated ecosystems by

analyzing bed sediments for contaminants, fish populations for relative
abundance,

abnormalities, and tum..ors; invertebrates for relative abundance and
diversity. Thirty to

fifty brown bullheads will be collected by trap nets and electrofishing.
They will be

measured, weighed, bled, and a spine will be removed for aging. Each
fish will receive an

external/internal necropsy for lesions. Liver, spleen, and gonad will be
removed for

organ/somatic indices and histopathology. Bile will be removed for
analysis of PAH

metabolites. Complete histopathology evaluation including macrophage
aggregate

analysis will be made on all tissues collected. Vitellogenin and
oncofetal protein will be

measured from plasma. Frozen liver tissue will be used for EROD
analysis. Pooled

samples of sediment from each site will be analyzed for OC\'s, PAH\'s,
Organic Carbon,

trace elements, particle size, and TOC. Invertebrates will be collected
from sediment

samples and analyzed for abundance and diversity of taxa.

***Agency*** U.S. Geological Survey - BRD

***Investigator*** Smith, Stephen B.

***E-mail Address*** sbsmith@usgs.gov

***Contact Person*** Anthony Frank

***E-mail Address*** sbsmith@usgs.gov

***Total Cost*** \$292,100.00 ***Current Year Cost*** \$100,700.00

***Canadian\$?*** No

***Start Date*** 10/6/97 ***End Date*** 9/30/02

***Ongoing Study?*** No