Biological Evaluation

for Informal Consultation on New Jersey Aquatic Life Criteria:

Analysis Document–Lead and Total Dissolved Solids

Prepared for:

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Science and Technology

Standards and Health Protection Division

Submitted:

March 31, 2006

EPA CONTRACT #68-C-02-021

WORK ASSIGNMENT 3-10

Prepared by:

Great Lakes Environmental Center

1295 King Ave.

Columbus, Ohio. 43212
PREFACE

This draft analysis document supports the biological evaluation for the water quality criteria for 

lead and total dissolved solids adopted by the State of New Jersey in 2002. It includes the 

presentation and analysis of the toxicity data, risk summary, and the effects determination for 

lead and total dissolved solids. This analysis document is used in conjunction with the Draft 

Methodology for Conducting Biological Evaluations of Aquatic Life Criteria – Methods Manual, 

which contains the scientific rational underlying the components of the biological evaluations 

(i.e., the literature search, toxicity data evaluation, risk analysis, and effects determination) and 

the step-by-step procedures that EPA and its contractor follow in conducting the biological 

evaluations under the national consultations. 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................... 1

2.0 SCOPE OF STATE ACTION .............................................................................................. 1

2.1 Definition of State Action .................................................................................................. 1

2.1.1 New Jersey’s Lead and Total Dissolved Solids Aquatic Life Criteria........................ 1

2.2 Definition of Action Area .................................................................................................. 3

2.3 Species Status and Life History ........................................................................................ 3

2.3.1 Aquatic and Aquatic-dependent Species Selected for Biological Evaluation.......... 47

2.4 Environmental Baseline ................................................................................................... 48

3.0 ASSESSING EFFECTS OF THE NEW JERSEY CRITERIA ON FEDERALLYLISTED SPECIES ...................................................................................................................... 50

3.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................... 50

3.2 Data Collection................................................................................................................. 50

3.3 Toxic Effects on Aquatic Species.................................................................................... 50

3.3.1 Aquatic Animals......................................................................................................... 51

3.3.2 Comparison of New Jersey Lead Criteria with Current EPA Lead Criteria 

(Freshwater Only)................................................................................................................ 71

3.3.3 Multiple Routes of Exposure ..................................................................................... 71

3.3.4 Aquatic Plants............................................................................................................. 72

3.4 Aquatic-Dependent Species............................................................................................. 73

3.4.1 Overview and Background.......................................................................................... 73

3.4.2 Freshwater Exposure Assessment............................................................................. 74

3.4.3 Saltwater Exposure Assessment ................................................................................ 75

3.4.4 Toxicity Assessment - Lead........................................................................................ 76

3.4.5 Risk Analysis.............................................................................................................. 78

3.5 Food Items of Federally-Listed Species ......................................................................... 79

3.6 Effects on Glochidia Host Species .................................................................................. 81

4.0 EFFECTS DETERMINATIONS ....................................................................................... 82

4.1 No Effect–Notes................................................................................................................ 82

4.2 May Effect–Notes............................................................................................................. 82

4.2.1 Not Likely to Adversely Affect ................................................................................... 83

4.2.2 Species Requiring Further Evaluation ...................................................................... 90

5.0 ASSESSING EFFECTS OF THE NEW JERSEY PROPOSED LEAD AND TOTAL 

DISSOLVED SOLIDS CRITERIA ON DESIGNATED CRITICAL HABITAT................ 91

REFERENCES............................................................................................................................ 92
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TABLE OF CONTENTS, CONTINUED

APPENDIX A: Interspecies Correlation Estimates (ICE) for Lead

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1. New Jersey List of Federally Threatened and Endangered Species..................3

Table 2.2. New Jersey Listed Species Included in Biological Evaluation.......................47

Table 2.3. New Jersey Listed Species Not Included in Biological Evaluation..................48

Table 3.1a. Freshwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water 

Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the New Jersey Acute-to-chronic Ratio 

(ACR) and Conversion Factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute 

tests. NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or “Estimated 

NOECs” derived via ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 14 was used. All 

values are dissolved lead in μg/L.........................................................52

Table 3.1b. Freshwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water 

Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the Current USEPA Hardness 

Equation, Acute-to-chronic Ratio (ACR) and Conversion Factor. Unless 

otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. NOECs are either “Measured 

NOECs” from chronic tests or “Estimated NOECs” derived via ACR from acute 

LC50s. An ACR of 24.39 was used. All values are dissolved lead in μg/L......55

Table 3.1c. Saltwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water Quality

Criteria Document for Lead Using the New Jersey Acute-to-chronic ratio (ACR) 

and conversion factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. 

NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or “Estimated NOECs” 

derived via ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 14 was used. All values are 

dissolved lean in 

μg/L...........................................................................................58

Table 3.2a. Lead Freshwater Toxicity Data by Taxonomic Group for New Jersey Criteria. 

The 5th percentile values are the basis for those effects concentrations (ECAs) in 

Table 4.1 that rely on surrogate data. All values are given as dissolved lead in 

μg/L..........................................................................................61
v

Table 3.2b. Lead Freshwater Toxicity Data by Taxonomic Group for Current EPA Criteria. 

The 5th percentile values are the basis for those effects concentrations (ECAs) in 

Table 4.1 that rely on surrogate data. All values are given as dissolved lead in 

μg/L..........................................................................................65

Table 3.3. Freshwater Toxicity Data for Total Dissolved Solids. All values are in mg 

TDS/L........................................................................................68

Table 3.4. Lead Bioconcentration and Bioaccumulation Factorsa(BCF/BAFs) for Freshwater 

Aquatic Food Organisms. BCF/BAFs are Based on Wet Weight. Sources Include 

EPA’s ECOTOX Database, and the Ambient Water Quality Criteria Document 

for Lead (GLEC 1998).....................................................................74

Table 3.5. Lead Bioconcentration Factorsa(BCFs) for Saltwater Aquatic Food Organisms. 

BCFs are Based on Wet Weight. Sources Include EPA’s ECOTOX Database, the 

Ambient Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead (GLEC 1998), and Jarvinen 

and Ankley (1999).........................................................................76

Table 3.6. Chronic Toxicity of Lead to Potential Surrogate Species Based on Wet Weight of 

Oral Dose. Data are from ECOTOX....................................................77

Table 4.1a. Results of Effects Analysis for Freshwater Aquatic Listed Species (all units in 

g/L) (New Jersey Dissolved Freshwater Lead Criteria: CMC = 38 g/L, CCC = 

5.4 g/L)....................................................................................84

Table 4.1b. Results of Effects Analysis for Freshwater Aquatic Listed Species (all units in g/L)

(USEPA Freshwater Dissolved Lead Criteria based on a hardness of 100 mg/L as 

CaCO3 : CMC = 65 g/L, CCC = 2.5 g/L)...........................................85

Table 4.2a. Analysis of Effects to Freshwater Aquatic-Dependent Species (Concentrations 

Based on Wet Weight) (New Jersey Dissolved Freshwater Lead Criteria: CMC = 

38 g/L, CCC = 5.4 g/L)................................................................86

Table 4.2b. Analysis of Effects to Freshwater Aquatic-Dependent Species (Concentrations 

Based on Wet Weight) (USEPA Freshwater Dissolved Lead Criteria based on a 

hardness of 100 mg/L as CaCO3: CMC = 65 g/L, CCC = 2.5 g/L)..............87

Table 4.3. Analysis of Effects to Saltwater Aquatic-Dependent Species (Concentrations 

Based on Wet Weight) (New Jersey Saltwater Dissolved Lead Criteria: CMC = 

210 g/L, CCC = 24 g/L)................................................................88
1

1.0 BACKGROUND

This is a placeholder section for background on consultation history regarding New Jersey

lead and TDS criteria.

2.0 SCOPE OF STATE ACTION

In order to fulfill the goals of the MOA, whose intent is to provide efficient mechanisms 

for improved interagency cooperation under Section 7 of the ESA, EPA will consult with 

the Services (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and United States Fish 

and Wildlife Service) on proposed and/or revised state aquatic life criteria. The agencies 

agree that it is prudent to examine the aquatic life criteria for protection of listed species 

and critical habitat, and realize the importance of conducting the consultations on proposed 

and/or revised state criteria in a timely fashion so that any state-adopted aquatic life criteria 

are protective of that state’s listed species and their critical habitat.

2.1 Definition of State Action

EPA approves state-proposed aquatic life criteria for waters where state water quality

standards specify a use protecting aquatic life. Federally-listed aquatic or aquaticdependent species that have more than limited exposure to these waters are assessed in the 

biological evaluation. Section 2.3 of this document presents a summary of the life history

of the listed species and identifies those that have only limited exposure to waters where 

the State of New Jersey water quality standards specify a use protecting aquatic life, and 

accordingly such species are not addressed in this biological evaluation. EPA is making a 

“no effect” finding on such species.

2.1.1 New Jersey’s Lead and Total Dissolved Solids Aquatic Life Criteria

This biological evaluation addresses the aquatic life criteria for lead and total dissolved 

solids adopted by New Jersey in 2002. 

Lead

The N.J.A.C 7:9B-1.14(c)13lxxxii lead criteria for aquatic life in New Jersey are expressed 

in terms of the dissolved metal in the water column as:

Freshwater Acute Criterion = 38 g/L

Freshwater Chronic Criterion = 5.4 g/L

Saltwater Acute Criterion = 210 g/L

Saltwater Chronic Criterion = 24 g/L
2

Because kinetic considerations, complex formation, and biological interaction influence 

the achievement of lead reaching equilibrium conditions in natural waters, the precise 

levels of its species may not be easily predicted. Currently, no available analytical 

measurement is known to be ideal for expressing aquatic life criteria for lead. Previous 

aquatic life criteria for lead (U.S. EPA 1980) were expressed as total recoverable lead. 

U.S. EPA (1984) has also expressed lead criteria as acid-soluble lead in the past, but now

recommends use of dissolved metal concentrations (operationally defined as the metal in 

solution that passes through a 0.45 m membrane filter) to set and measure compliance 

with water quality standards (Prothro 1993; U.S. EPA 1993, 1994). The State of New 

Jersey has adopted EPA’s recommendation to express lead on a dissolved chemical basis 

into their State water quality standards. Thus, all lead concentrations used to derive the 

acute and chronic effects assessment concentrations (ECAs) reported herein are expressed 

in terms of the dissolved metal in the water column. 

New Jersey’s lead criteria differ from EPA’s current recommended criteria in that the New 

Jersey freshwater lead acute and chronic criteria are not hardness-dependent and the 

conversion factors to the dissolved form are not hardness-dependent. New Jersey also 

used a different acute-to-chronic ratio to determine their chronic criterion. EPA’s current 

lead criteria are also evaluated in this document based on the request by the Fish and 

Wildlife Service (August 5, 2003 letter to Robert Hargrove from Clifford Day) to 

“compare the hardness- vs. nonhardness-dependent lead criteria in the BE.” See Section 

4.3.2 of this document for a description of this comparison.

Total Dissolved Solids

The N.J.A.C 7:9B-1.14(c)8i total dissolved solids (TDS) criteria for aquatic life in New 

Jersey are: 

Freshwaters

 No increase in background which may adversely affect the survival, growth or 

propagation of the aquatic biota. Compliance with water-quality-based whole 

effluent toxicity (WET) limitations or LC50 ≥ 50 percent, whichever is more 

stringent, shall be deemed to meet this requirement.

 No increase in background which would interfere with the designated or existing 

uses, or 500 mg/L, whichever is more stringent.

Saltwater

 None which would render the water unsuitable for the designated uses.

The biological evaluation will be restricted to New Jersey’s freshwater numeric criterion

of not to exceed 500 mg/L of TDS. The requirement to be in compliance with waterquality based WET limitations or LC50 ≥ 50 percent, whichever is more stringent is 

intended to protect aquatic life by regulating the release of TDS from permitted point 

source discharges. Discharges that do not meet the WET limitations or the LC50
3

requirement will be required to conduct water quality studies to determine whether the 

discharge is having an adverse impact and the pollutant(s) causing the adverse impact. 

The WET requirement will not be evaluated because compliance with this clause results in 

no toxicity (after receiving stream dilution) to the species used in the WET tests. It is 

assumed no in-stream toxicity to the WET test species results in a “not likely to adversely 

affect” the listed species ruling.

2.2 Definition of Action Area 

The State of New Jersey has adopted the lead and TDS criteria for all “surface waters” of 

New Jersey where water quality standards specify a use protecting aquatic life. “Surface 

waters of New Jersey are defined as:

"Surface waters" means water at or above the land's surface which is neither groundwater 

nor contained within the unsaturated zone, including, but not limited to, the ocean and its 

tributaries, all springs, streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, wetlands, and artificial waterbodies.

(NJDEP 2004a)

2.3 Species Status and Life History

The US Fish and Wildlife Service lists 27 federally threatened or endangered species in 

New Jersey (Table 2.1). Five of listed taxa do not occur in the state: the American burying 

beetle, Mitchell’s satyr butterfly, Eskimo curlew, gray wolf, and the eastern prairie fringed 

orchid. The list includes 20 animal and 7 plant species. Among the listed animals, there 

are 6 mammals, 4 birds, 5 reptiles, 1 fish, 3 insects and 1 mussel species. This section 

presents a summary of each listed species status and life history. This information is used 

to select aquatic and aquatic-dependent taxa for the biological evaluation of New Jersey’s 

lead and TDS surface aquatic water standards. 

Table 2.1. New Jersey List of Federally Threatened and Endangered Species.

Mammals

Indiana bat Myotis sodalis Endangered

Eastern puma Puma concolor couguar Endangered

Black right whale Eubalaena glacialis Endangered

Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus Endangered

Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Endangered

Gray wolf Canis lupus Endangered

Birds

Bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus Threatened

Piping plover Charadrius melodus Threatened

Roseate tern Sterna dougallii Endangered

Eskimo curlew Numenius borealis Endangered

Reptiles

Bog turtle Clemmys muhlenbergii Threatened
4

Table 2.1. New Jersey List of Federally Threatened and Endangered Species.

Hawksbill sea turtle Eretmochelys imbricata Endangered

Leatherback sea turtle Dermochelys coriacea Endangered

Loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta Threatened

Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii Endangered

Fish

Shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum Endangered

Mussel

Dwarf wedgemussel Alasmidonta heterodon Endangered

Insects

American burying beetle Nicrophorus mericanus Endangered

Northeastern beach tiger beetle Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis Threatened

Mitchell’s satyr Neonympha mitchellii Endangered

Plants

Seabeach amaranth Amaranthus pumilus Threatened

Knieskern's beaked-rush Rhynchospora knieskernii Threatened

American chaffseed Schwalbea americana Endangered

Sensitive joint-vetch Aeschynomene virginica Threatened

Swamp pink Helonias bullata Threatened

Small whorled pogonia Isotria medeoloides Threatened

Eastern prairie fringed orchid Platanthera leucophaea Threatened

Unless noted, all information on these species, provided below, comes from links in a US 

Fish and Wildlife web site, 

(http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/StateListingAndOccurrence.do?state=NJ).

INDIANA BAT

Myotis sodalis

Family: Vespertilionidae

Status: Endangered

Geographic Boundaries and Distribution

The Indiana bat occurs in the Midwest and eastern United States, from the western edge of 

the Ozark region in Oklahoma, to southern Wisconsin, east to Vermont, and as far south as 

northern Florida. In summer, it is apparently absent south of Tennessee; in winter, it is 

apparently absent from Michigan, Ohio, and northern Indiana where suitable caves and 

mines are unknown. About 500,000 individuals of this species still exist.

Critical Habitat

The following caves have been designated as Critical Habitat within the Southeast Region:

Tennessee: White Oak Blowhole Cave, Blount County

Kentucky: Bat Cave, Carter County
5

Coach Cave, Edmonson County

Historical Information 

Endangered throughout its range, Federal Register, March 11, 1967

Life History

The Indiana bat is a medium-sized bat, closely resembling the little brown bay (Myotis 

lucifugus) but differing in coloration. Its fur is a dull grayish chestnut rather than bronze, 

with the basal portion of the hairs of the back dull lead colored. This bat's reproductive 

organs are pinkish to cinnamon, and its hind feet smaller and more delicate than in M. 

lucifugus. The calcar (heel of the foot) is strongly keeled.

Little is known of this bat's diet beyond the fact that it consists of insects. Females and 

juveniles forage in the airspace near the foliage of riparian and floodplain trees. Males 

forage the densely wooded area at tree top height.

This bat has a definite breeding period that usually occurs during the first 10 days of 

October. Mating takes place at night on the ceilings of large rooms near cave entrances. 

Limited mating may also occur in the spring before the hibernating colonies disperse. 

Limited observations indicate that birth and development occur in very small, widely

scattered colonies consisting of 25 or so females and their young. Birth usually takes place 

during June with each female bearing a single offspring. About 25 to 37 days are required 

for development to the flying stage and the beginning of independent feeding.

Migration to the wintering caves usually begins in August. Fat reserves depleted during 

migration are replenished largely during the month of September. Feeding continues at a 

diminishing rate until by late November the population has entered a definite state of 

hibernation. Hibernating colonies disperse in late March and most of the bats migrate to 

more northern habitat for the summer. However, some males remain in the hibernating 

area during this period and form active bands which wander from cave to cave. The 

hibernating bats characteristically form large, tight, compact clusters. Each individual 

hangs by its feet from the ceiling. Every 8 to 10 days hibernating individuals awaken to 

spend an hour or more flying about or to join a small cluster of active bats elsewhere in the 

cave before returning to hibernation.

Habitat

Limestone caves are used for winter hibernation. The preferred caves have a temperature 

averaging 37° to 43° Fahrenheit in midwinter, and a relative humidity averaging 87 

percent. Summer records are rather scarce. A few individuals have been found under 

bridges and in old buildings, and several maternity colonies have been found under loose 

bark and in the hollows of trees. Summer foraging by females and juveniles is limited to 

riparian and floodplain areas. Creeks are apparently not used if riparian trees have been 

removed. Males forage over floodplain ridges and hillside forests and usually roost in 

caves. Foraging areas average 11.2 acres per animal in midsummer.
6

Reasons for Current Status

The decline is attributed to commercialization of roosting caves, wanton destruction by

vandals, disturbances caused by increased numbers of spelunkers and bat banding 

programs, use of bats as laboratory experimental animals, and possibly insecticide 

poisoning. Some winter hibernacula have been rendered unsuitable as a result of blocking 

or impeding air flow into the caves and thereby changing the cave's climate. The Indiana 

bat is nearly extinct over most of its former range in the northeastern states, and since 

1950, the major winter colonies in caves of West Virginia, Indiana, and Illinois have 

disappeared. A high degree of aggregation during winter makes the species vulnerable. 

During this period approximately 87 percent of the entire population hibernates in only

seven caves.

BALD EAGLE

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Family: Accipitridae

Status: State – Endangered, Federal - Threatened (Proposed for de-listing)

Sources 

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/baldeagle.pdf

http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/life_histories/B008.html

http://www.owyhee.us/_kbas/00000004.htm

Geographic Boundaries and Distribution

The current range of the bald eagle includes all of the conterminous United States and 

Alaska. The bald eagle is especially common in areas with large expanses of aquatic 

habitat, including Florida, Chesapeake Bay, Maine, and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, 

the Great Lakes and lake regions of Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, northern 

California, Oregon, Washington, and coastal British Columbia and Alaska.

A wintering population survey of the total North American population was completed in 

1997 and resulted in 98,648 individuals, with the largest number in Alaska (44,000) and 

British Columbia (28,507). The bald eagle was recommended for de-listing in 1999 but it 

was determined that additional data would be needed before taking this action.

Critical Habitat

No critical habitat has been designated for the bald eagle. 

Historical Information

Listed threatened (32 FR 4001, 1967 March 11) in the conterminous United States.

The decline of the bald eagle coincided with the introduction of the pesticide DDT in 

1947. Eagles contaminated with DDT failed to lay eggs or produced thin eggshells that 

broke during incubation. Other causes of decline included shooting, trapping, and 
7

poisoning. Current threats include the loss of nesting habitat due to development along the 

coast and near inland rivers and waterways.

Life History

Adult bald eagles are distinguished by their large size (7- to 8-foot wingspan), full white 

heads and tails and dark brown, almost black body. They reach their adult size by the time 

they can fly. Their adult plumage develops in their fifth year. Juvenile appearance varies 

from year to year. In their first year, the wings are slightly broader and entirely dark 

brown. The next year they begin to molt their flight feathers and the trailing edge of their 

wings appears symmetrically serrated as shorter adult feathers replace the longer juvenile 

ones. Their plumage is usually mottled, brown and white, and is widely variable with a 

considerable amount of white on the breast and belly. Bald eagles are even more mottled 

in their third year and begin to show signs of changes in bill color, from dark brown to 

light yellow. At this stage of development, some lighter plumage may appear on their 

heads and tails. During their fourth year, bald eagles begin to look as adults. This is the 

time when they are transitioning from juvenile to adult and appear for the first time with a 

white head and tail. At this age, they retain some brown in the white plumage, giving 

them a dirty appearance. They may also retain some white flecking in the brown regions 

of their bodies. In their next molt, they attain the clean white head and tail and solid 

brown body plumage of a full adult bald eagle.

Habitat

Bald eagles live in forest areas near a water body. Fish is their primary diet. Thus, the bald 

eagle is here classified as an aquatic-dependent taxon. In New Jersey, they have 

historically been associated with forests near the Delaware River and Bay, as well as many

other rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay. In northern and central 

New Jersey, bald eagles are resident on inland reservoirs and on the Delaware River. 

Throughout the state, these large birds require a nesting location that is safe from the threat 

of human disturbance and usually choose their nest tree accordingly. They typically 

choose an emergent tree for building their large nests. It rises above the trees that 

immediately surround it. By nesting in such a tree, eagles can place their nest within the 

shelter of the crown and still be above the surrounding trees, enabling them to arrive and 

depart from the nest with ease.

In the northern part of the state, where the topography is hilly or mountainous, eagles can 

nest in trees that are on a slope and therefore have one side that is higher than its 

neighboring trees on the slope below it. Occasionally, bald eagles will choose a lone tree 

in an open field. In addition to nesting habitat, eagles also have habitat requirements for 

foraging and wintering, which might overlap their nesting habitat, but not necessarily. 

Foraging habitat for bald eagles consists of large perch trees near a body of water. Both of 

these elements are critical due to the “sit and watch” foraging behavior of eagles. 

Wintering habitat consists of the same, with the added condition of open, ice-free water. 

Parts of the Delaware River, such as the Delaware Water Gap, where the current is swift 

and the river remains open, as well as deep reservoirs with enough current or a dam to 
8

keep part of the water ice-free, serve as good wintering habitat for eagles. The tidal areas 

of southern New Jersey marshes are also ideal locations for winter foraging.

Status and Conservation

Long before the introduction of the pesticide DDT after World War II, habitat destruction, 

shootings and poisonings had greatly reduced the population of bald eagles in the lower 48 

contiguous states. But the widespread use of DDT, which caused eagles to lay thin-shelled 

eggs that were often crushed during incubation, pushed the bird to the brink of extinction. 

New Jersey, where DDT was heavily used, in part for mosquito control, was no exception. 

By 1970, only one eagle nest remained in the State. Consequently, the bald eagle was 

listed as endangered under New Jersey’s new Endangered Species Act in 1974 and listed 

as federally endangered throughout the lower 48 states in 1978. Management of the state’s 

only nest began in 1982, when biologists began climbing the nest tree to retrieve the thinshelled eggs. They were then incubated in the lab underneath chickens before being 

returned to the nest as 10-day-old chicks, which were quickly cared for by the nest's adults. 

Shortly thereafter, the state launched a “hacking” program through which 60 eaglets, 

primarily from Canada, were released into the heart of New Jersey’s bald eagle habitat 

between 1983 and 1989. Those efforts, combined with the 1972 federal ban on DDT, paid 

off rather quickly, with the appearance of the state's second eagle nest in 1988. Since then, 

biologists also have been successful in encouraging eagles to nest in certain areas by 

building “starter nests,” which eagles add to once they adopt them for nesting. Building 

nests for eagles works best when a pair has already claimed a territory, and the birds may

be drawn to a sturdy nest in an emergent tree. The number of eagle nests has increased 

steadily ever since the second nest appeared,. In 2001, a record 27 bald eagle nests were 

active statewide, mostly in southern New Jersey. A record 34 young fledged that year.

PIPING PLOVER

Charadrius melodus

Family: Charadriidae

Status: State - Endangered, Federal - Threatened (Atlantic Coast population)

Sources

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/plover.pdf

http://ecos.fws.gov/species_profile/servlet/gov.doi.species_profile.servlets.SpeciesProfile?

spcode=B079

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12202-32581--,00.html

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

The Atlantic Coast Population of piping plovers nest along beaches in New Brunswick, 

Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Quebec, southern Maine, Rhode Island, 

Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and 

North Carolina. These birds winter primarily on the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to 

Florida, although some migrate to the Bahamas and West Indies. Surveys completed in 
9

1991 found fewer than 2,500 breeding pairs remained in the United States and Canada. 

Surveys completed in 1999 estimated the Atlantic population at less than 1400 pairs. 

The historic breeding range of the Great Lakes population of piping plover encompasses 

the Great Lakes' shorelines in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 

Wisconsin, New York and Ontario. Great Lakes breeding sites are currently restricted to 

several beaches along Lake Superior and Lake Michigan in northern Michigan. These 

birds winter primarily on the Gulf Coast, in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. 

Surveys completed in 2001 reported 32 breeding pairs in the United States. 

The current breeding range of the Northern Great Plains population of piping plover 

extends from alkali wetlands in southeastern Alberta through southern Saskatchewan and 

Manitoba to Lake of the Woods in southwestern Ontario and northwestern Minnesota, 

south along major prairie rivers (Yellowstone, Missouri, Niobrara, Platte, and Loup), the 

Prewitt Reservoir in northeastern Colorado, northwestern Oklahoma, and alkali wetlands 

in northeastern Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. These birds 

winter primarily on the Gulf Coast, in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. Critical 

habitat for the Northern Great Plains piping plover has been designated in areas of Texas, 

Louisiana, Alabama and Florida for their wintering habitat along the gulf coats; and areas 

of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska for breeding habitat. 

Surveys completed in 2001 estimated 5,938 individuals remained in the United States and 

Canada. 

Critical Habitat

Critical breeding habitat for the Piping plover has been designated along the shorelines of 

the Great Lakes in New York, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 

and Wisconsin. Critical habitat for wintering piping plovers has been designated along the 

Gulf Coast in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. The Fish and Wildlife Service 

designated 137 areas along the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, 

Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas as critical habitat for the wintering population 

of the piping plover. This includes approximately 2,891.7 kilometers of mapped shoreline 

and approximately 66,881 hectares of mapped area along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts and 

along margins of interior bays, inlets, and lagoons.

Historical Information

On December 11, 1985, the Piping plover was listed Threatened (50 FR 50726-50734, 

1985, December 11) in its entire range except in the Great Lakes watershed where it was 

listed endangered. The piping plover was listed endangered (50 FR 50726-50734) in the 

States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and 

Wisconsin as well as in Ontario, Canada. The Revised Recovery Plan for the Atlantic 

Coast Population was completed on May 2, 1996. Critical Habitat for the Great Lakes 

Breeding Population was designated on May 7, 2001 (66 FR 22938-22969). Critical 

Habitat for the Northern Great Plains Breeding Population was designated on September 

11, 2002
10

Although common during the 1800s, the piping plover was on the verge of extirpation by

the 1890s and early 1900s due to market hunting and egg collecting. Protection afforded 

by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and changing fashion trends allowed plover 

populations to gradually recover during the 1920s and 1930s. However, since the late 

1940s, coastal development and the elevated recreational use of beaches have caused 

plover population declines. Human habitation along the shore has also resulted in elevated 

populations of many mammalian and avian predators.

In 1984, the piping plover was listed as an endangered species in New Jersey. The New 

Jersey Natural Heritage Program considers the piping plover to be globally “very rare and 

local throughout its range,” and “critically imperiled in New Jersey because of extreme 

rarity”. In 1986, the Atlantic Coast piping plover population was listed as Threatened in 

the United States. A recovery goal of 2,000 pairs was set for the Atlantic Coast 

population, including 575 pairs in New Jersey and New York region. Another goal set by 

the recovery plan is to achieve a five-year average productivity of 1.5 fledged young per 

pair. Active monitoring and management of the birds by the ENSP are integral parts of 

federal recovery efforts.

Since its date of listing, the Atlantic Coast piping plover population has increased, growing 

from 790 pairs in 1986 to 1,386 pairs in 1999. As numbers have increased in New 

England during the 1980s and 1990s, the number of plovers nesting in New Jersey has 

remained essentially stable at around 120 pairs. Due to its precarious existence, the piping 

plover remains one of New Jersey's most endangered species. The threats that it faces, 

including increased beach recreation and predation, continue to act as serious impediments 

to the recovery of this species. Without intense protection and management, it is unlikely

that the piping plover would survive in New Jersey.

Life History

Piping plovers begin returning to their Atlantic Coast nesting beaches in mid-March. 

Males establish and defend territories and court females. Eggs may be present on the 

beach from mid-April through late July. Clutch size is generally four eggs, and the 

incubation period usually lasts for 27-28 days. Piping plovers fledge only a single brood 

per season, but may re-nest several times if previous nests are lost. Chicks develop fast. 

They may move hundreds of yards from the nest site during their first week of life. Chicks 

remain together with one or both parents until they fledge (able to fly) at 25 to 35 days of 

age. Depending on date of hatching, flightless chicks may be present from mid-May until 

late August, although most fledge by the end of July. 

Habitat

Piping plovers inhabit oceanfront beaches and barrier islands, typically nesting on the 

stretch of beach between the dunes and the high-tide line. Nests are often located in flat 

areas with shell fragments and sparse vegetation. The coloration of piping plovers and 

their eggs blend in remarkably with sand and broken pieces of shell. Sparse vegetation, 

such as American beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata) or sea rocket (Cakile endentula), 

is favored, as it provides cover against predators and the elements. However, areas with 
11

dense vegetation, such as dunes, are avoided by nesting plovers, since these sites provide 

cover for predators. During the nonbreeding season, piping plovers inhabit coastal 

beaches, barrier islands, inlets, sandflats, mudflats, and dredged material islands. Piping 

plovers forage on intertidal beaches, wash over areas, exposed mudflats and sandflats, 

wracklines, and shorelines.

In the winter, all three populations inhabit beaches, mudflats, and sandflats along the Gulf 

of Mexico and Atlantic coasts. Birds from the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway also occupy

barrier island beaches and spoil islands.

ROSEATE TERN (northeast U.S. pop.)

Sterna dougallii dougallii

Family: Laridae

Status: State - Endangered, Federal - Endangered (North Atlantic breeding population)

Sources

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/roseatetern.pdf

http://ecos.fws.gov/species_profile/servlet/gov.doi.species_profile.servlets.SpeciesProfile?

spcode=B070

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/endspec/rotefs.html

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

In North America, the roseate tern breeds in two discrete areas: from Nova Scotia to Long 

Island, New York (northeastern population) and around the Caribbean Sea (including the 

Florida Keys). It is believed to winter in northern South America and along the Brazilian 

coast. The total world population was estimated in 1998 at approximately 40,000 pairs. 

Total northeastern population has recently fluctuated around 3,500 pairs, with a low of 

3,125 in 1992, and a high of 3,775 in 1996; including 125 pairs in Canada. Various 

estimates placed Caribbean population at between 5,000 and 8,500 pairs in 1993 and the 

Florida breeding population at about 350 pairs in 1995.

Historical Information

The Roseate tern was first listed on November 02, 1987. It is currently designated as 

endangered in the U.S.A. (Atlantic Coast south to NC), Canada (Newf., N.S, Que.), and 

Bermuda. Within the area covered by this listing, this species is known to occur in: 

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Rhode 

Island, Virginia; and Canada (Newfoundland, N.S, Quebec). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service Northeast Region (Region 5) is the lead region promoting conservation of this 

species. 

Life History

The roseate tern is a medium-sized, light colored tern with a dark cap and long tail. In 

breeding plumage, the adult has a black cap and nape, and a pale gray back and lower wing 

surface. Black tips on the outer primaries contrast with the otherwise pale upper surface of 
12

the wing. The tail is white and deeply forked with long streamers. On perched birds, the 

tail extends beyond the wingtips. The bill is black with a dark red base. The legs and feet 

are dark red and the iris is brownish-black. Sexes are alike in plumage. The non-breeding 

adult has brown legs, a black bill, and a white forehead with a black mask extending from 

the eye to the nape.

Roseate terns arrive on the breeding grounds in late April or early May and begin nesting 

one month later. In New York, roseate terns are always found nesting with common terns. 

The nest may be only a depression in sand, shell or gravel, and may be lined with bits of 

grass and other debris. It is usually placed in dense grass clumps, or even under boulders 

or rip-rap. Both adults incubate the eggs for about 23 days, and the young fledge in 22- 29 

days. One brood per season is typical, although two broods are sometimes produced. 

Migration begins in late summer. One banded individual from Great Gull Island, New 

York was 9 years old when recovered.

Habitat

The roseate tern is a coastal species that nests on barrier islands and salt marshes and 

forages over shallow coastal waters, inlets, and offshore seas. Nesting colonies are located 

above the high-tide line, often within vegetated dunes where dense concentrations of beach 

grasses and seaside goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens) provide cover. In comparison to 

other terns, roseates nest at sites with more vegetative cover. Infrequently, they may nest 

in open areas, especially when they are displaced from optimal sites by gulls.

Reason for current status

Prior to 1890, the roseate tern nested along the New Jersey coast, although it was not 

common. From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, roseate tern populations along the 

Atlantic Coast were greatly reduced as a result of the millinery trade, in which birds were 

killed to acquire plumes for women’s hats. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which 

afforded legal protection to all migratory birds, coupled with a change in fashion styles, 

reduced the pressure on roseate terns, enabling populations to reestablish and increase. 

Nesting roseate terns were observed at Hereford Inlet and Five Mile Beach in the 1930s 

and at Brigantine in the 1940s. However, by the 1950s, populations again began to decline 

and continued to do so for several decades. Breeding roseate terns were documented in 

New Jersey in the 1970s, when nesting pairs occurred at Little Egg Inlet, Brigantine, 

Sandy Hook, Holgate, and Barnegat Bay. The last nesting pair in the State was recorded in 

1980. The decline of this species is attributed to unchecked development and high levels 

of recreational activity along the barrier islands, which have resulted in habitat loss and 

disturbance to beach-nesting birds.

Due to severe population declines in the State, the roseate tern was listed as a threatened 

species in New Jersey in 1979. Because of a drastic worldwide decline in its population, 

the roseate tern was reclassified as an endangered species in New Jersey in 1984. The U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service included the North Atlantic breeding population on its list of 

federally endangered species in 1987 because of declines resulting from human activity, 

gull competition, and predation. The New Jersey Natural Heritage Program considers the 
13

roseate tern to be a non-breeding species in the state and globally “very rare and local 

throughout its range”. The National Audubon Society included the roseate tern on its Blue 

List of Imperiled Species in 1972 and from 1979 to 1986, the final year of the list. 

Depressed roseate tern populations are evident throughout other northeastern states, where 

the species is listed as endangered (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia), or 

threatened (Maine, New Hampshire).

SHORTNOSE STURGEON 

Acipenser brevirostrum

Family: Acipenseridae

Status: State – Endangered, Federal – Endangered

Sources

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/endspec/shnostur.html

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

Within the area covered by this listing, this species is known to occur in: Connecticut, 

Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, North Carolina, New 

Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia. The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is the lead region 

for this entity. 

Historical Information 

The Shortnose sturgeon was first listed on March 11, 1967. It is currently designated as 

endangered in the entire range.

Life History

The shortnose sturgeon has a short and bluntly rounded snout, wide mouth, barbels, 

numerous dorsal, lateral and ventral scutes (bony or horny plates), and a heterocercal tail 

(the upper lobe of the tail fin is larger and contains the upturned end of the spinal column). 

Typically, the body is yellowish brown to nearly black on the head, back and sides level to 

lateral plates, and whitish to yellowish below. Length at initial maturity for this species 

occurs between 45-55 cm fork length, from the snout to the middle of the tail (18-22 in.) 

for males and females. Maximum known fork lengths are nearly 49 in. for a female and 

nearly 39 in. for a male. In New Jersey, 28 tagged males ranged between 21 in. to nearly

35 in. fork length.

The shortnose sturgeon's life history is complex. Much of its spawning behavior and early 

life stages are still not fully understood. The shortnose sturgeon is anadramous, migrating 

from salt water to spawn in freshwater. In the Hudson River, it spawns from April-May. 

Adult sturgeons migrate upriver from their mid-Hudson overwintering areas to freshwater 

spawning sites north of Coxsackie. Unlike most fish species, spawning is not a yearly 

event for most shortnose sturgeon. Males spawn every other year and females every third 

year. Females lay between 40,000-200,000 eggs which hatch in approximately 13 days. 
14

Newly-hatched fry are poor swimmers and drift with the currents along the bottom. As 

they grow and mature, the fish move down-river into the most brackish parts of the lower 

Hudson. Shortnose sturgeon are long-lived. The oldest known female reached 67 years of 

age and the oldest known male was 32. Shortnose sturgeons are bottom feeders, they eat 

sludge worms, aquatic insect larvae, plants, snails, shrimp, and crayfish using their barbels 

to locate food and their extendable mouths to vacuum it up.

Habitat

River mouths, tidal rivers, estuaries, and bays serve as prime habitat for the shortnose 

sturgeon. In addition, individuals occasionally enter the open ocean. A significant portion 

of New Jersey's shortnose sturgeon occurs in the upper tidal Delaware River (Dadswell et 

al 1984).

Reason for current status

The shortnose sturgeon has been federally listed as endangered since the inception of the 

Endangered Species Act in 1973, when it was also considered endangered in New Jersey. 

The Office of Natural Land's Management ranks the species as "rare in NJ” and "either 

very rare and local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range or because of 

other factors making it vulnerable to extinction throughout its range." This species is 

afforded protection under both federal and state Endangered Species acts, Clean Water 

acts, fishing regulations, and environmental review of proposed development projects.

NORTHEASTERN BEACH TIGER BEETLE

Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis

Family: Cicindelidae

Status: State – Endangered, Federal - Threatened

Sources

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/nebchtgrbeetle.pdf

http://ecos.fws.gov/species_profile/servlet/gov.doi.species_profile.servlets.SpeciesProfile?

spcode=I02C

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/endspec/nbtbfs.html

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

This species is known to occur in: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, 

Rhode Island, and Virginia. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region (Region 

5) is the lead region for this entity.

Historical Information 

The Northeastern beach tiger beetle was first listed on August 07, 1990. It is currently 

designated as threatened in the entire range. 
15

Life History

Northeastern beach tiger beetles have a full, two-year life cycle. Adults emerge in late 

June, reach peak abundance by mid-July, and decline through early September. They feed, 

mate and bask at the water's edge on warm, sunny days. Some adults are also active on 

warm, calm evenings. High body heat is necessary for maximum predatory activity. 

Foraging occurs in the damp sand of the intertidal zone; prey species include lice, fleas, 

and flies. Adults also regularly scavenge dead crabs and fish.

Mating and egg-laying occur from late-June through August. Females deposit their eggs 

in the sand after mating, higher up the beach in the dunes. Eggs hatch and larvae appear in 

late July and August. Larvae experience three developmental stages or "instars." Most 

larvae reach the second instar by September and a few reach the third instar well into 

November, when larvae are still active. Most larvae overwinter as second instars. In the 

following year, they overwinter again as third instars. Overwintering occurs high up the 

beach, avoiding storms and wave activity. Both second and third instars emerge from 

winter inactivity in mid-March. Third instar larvae emerge, pupate in the bottom of their 

burrows, and re-emerge as winged adults in June, two full years after the eggs were laid.

Larvae live in vertical burrows located in the upper intertidal to high drift zone, where prey 

is most abundant. Larvae forage from their burrows, preying on passing insects. Their 

primary food sources are beach fleas, lice, flies and ants. Larvae are regularly covered 

during high tide; sand moisture is important. Larvae lack a hard shell and are subject to 

desiccation. They avoid hot, dry conditions. During the summer months they are inactive, 

going through a period of aestivation. With each successive stage of development, larvae 

grow in size and burrow deeper, going from 4 to 6-7 to 9-14 inches into the sand.

Populations of tiger beetles normally experience very high larval mortality and dramatic, 

two to three fold, year-to-year fluctuations in abundance that sometimes result in local 

extinction. Weather factors such as flood tides, hurricanes, erosion and winter storms, 

mortality due to predators and parasites, and recreational beach use all contribute to the 

population declines. Natural enemies of adults include robber flies (Asilidae), birds and 

spiders. Larvae are preyed upon by parasitic, wingless wasps (Methocha), which lay their 

eggs on the tiger beetle larvae. The larval wasps develop by eating the larval tiger beetles.

Habitat

Although there are no definable indicators of northeastern beach tiger beetle habitat, this 

species is found on long, wide, dynamic, relatively undisturbed sandy beaches of the 

Atlantic Coast or Chesapeake Bay.

Reasons For Current Status

Listed as federally threatened in 1990 and state endangered in 1991, the northeastern beach 

tiger beetle receives regulatory protection from both federal and state Endangered Species 

Acts. In addition, habitat protection is afforded through the Coastal Areas Facilities 

Review Act and other coastal regulations. The Natural Heritage Program ranks the species 

as “critically imperiled in New Jersey because of extreme rarity".
16

Since 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has supported studies designed to reestablish populations of the northeastern beach tiger beetle in the Northeast. Experiments 

to establish translocation techniques were conducted at the Gateway National Recreation 

Area, Sandy Hook by researchers from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. During 

these studies, tiger beetle larvae from the Chesapeake Bay area were translocated to 

several beach sites within the recreation area and routinely monitored. Initial results from 

the experiments indicated that the translocation techniques employed could be used to 

establish a population of northeastern beach tiger beetles at Sandy Hook and possibly at 

other sites in the Northeast. A program to reintroduce the species at Gateway National 

Recreation Area has been underway since 1997.

DWARF WEDGE MUSSEL

Alasmidonta heterodon

Family: Unionidae

Status: State – Endangered, Federal – Endangered

Sources

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/i/f/saf12.html

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/mussels.pdf

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/endspec/dwmufs.html

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

Once known from about 70 Atlantic Slope river systems, the dwarf wedge mussel is now 

known from only 12 sites. Two of these populations have recently been discovered - one 

in Nottoway River, Virginia, and one on Neversink Creek (Delaware River drainage), New 

York. Four of the existing populations are located in North Carolina, one in Little River 

(Johnston County); another on the Tar River (Granville County); and two in tributaries of 

the Tar River (Franklin County). The remaining populations occur in Maryland, New 

Hanpshire, and Vermont. These locations are the Ashuelot River, Chesire County, New 

Hampshire; two Connecticut River reaches in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, and 

Windsor County, Vermont; McIntosh Run in St. Mary's County, Maryland; and two 

Tuckahoe Creek tributaries in Talbot, Queen Annes, and Caroline Counties, Maryland. 

Historically, this mussel occurred in 11 States and one Canadian province. It ranged from 

the Petitcodiac River system in New Brunswick, Canada south to the Neuse River System 

in North Carolina. Now, the dwarf wedge mussel is extirpated from both river systems. 

Other former Southeastern river system sites include the Choptank River; the 

Rappahannock River; and the James River. In the Middle Atlantic States, the dwarf wedge 

inhabited the Hackensack River; the Delaware River; and the Susquehanna River systems. 

New England habitat sites included the Taunton River, the Agawam River, the Merrimac 

River, the Connecticut River, and the Quinnipiac River systems. One other population 

from the Fort River in Hampshire County, Massachussetts, also appears extinct. 
17

Historical Information 

The dwarf wedge mussel was first listed on March 14, 1990. It is currently designated as 

endangered in the entire range. Within the area covered by this listing, this species is 

known to occur in: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont; Canada (N.B.).

Life History

The dwarf wedge mussel is a rare freshwater mussel with a trapezoid-to-ovate or 

"humpbacked" shell rarely exceeding 1.5 in. in length. It is characterized by having two 

lateral teeth on the right valve of the shell, but only one on the left (thus the species name 

heterodon). The ventral margin is mostly straight. The beaks are low and rounded, 

projecting only slightly above the hinge line. The periostracum, or outer shell, is dark 

brown or yellowish brown and often exhibits greenish rays in young mussels. The nacre, 

or inner shell, is bluish or silvery white. The dwarf wedge mussel once existed in 70 

localities within 15 major Atlantic slope drainage basins from New Brunswick, Canada to 

North Carolina. Today however, this species is thought to be extirpated from all but 

approximately 30 small sites in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland, North Carolina, 

New York, Connecticut, Virginia, and New Jersey. In New Jersey, the dwarf 

wedgemussel historically inhabited areas of the Delaware, Hackensack, and Passaic rivers. 

These populations, however, are thought to be extirpated because of water quality

degradation and other factors. There are only three known active state occurrences of this 

elusive species; the Paulins Kill, Pequest River, and a portion of the upper Delaware River.

The dwarf wedge mussel is sexually dimorphic, with separate sexes, unlike some mussels 

that are hermaphroditic, with individuals having both male and female reproductive 

organs. Even so, the dimorphism is very subtle; routine determination of sex in dwarf 

wedge mussels is at best difficult. Male dwarf wedge mussels release sperm into the water 

column during the mid-summer or fall. Females collect the sperm while siphoning water 

for food; the eggs are then fertilized and kept within the female until they are released the 

following spring. By then, each egg has developed into a parasitic larva called a 

glochidium. After release from the female, the glochidium attaches itself to a fish with the 

aid of a small hook-like appendage. Mussel glochidia are generally species-specific and 

will only live if they find the correct host. With dwarf wedge mussels, the right hosts are 

small bottom-dwelling fish, the tessellated darter (Etheostoma olmstedi) and the mottled 

sculpin (Cottus bairdi). It appears that the glochidium receives little nutrition from the 

fish, but uses it only as a means of dispersal. After several weeks, the glochidium detaches 

itself from the unharmed fish and drops to the river bottom. It is then a juvenile mussel.

Many mussels have lifespans that range upwards of 20, 30 or even 100 years. The dwarf 

wedge mussel is considerably different in this regard, though, as it appears to only live 

about 10 years. Adults must therefore be constantly replaced to maintain a viable 

population.
18

Habitat

The dwarf wedge mussel inhabits creek and river areas with a slow to moderate current 

and a sand, gravel, or muddy bottom. Preferred habitat of the dwarf wedge mussel ranges 

from muddy sand to sand and gravel/pebble bottoms in rivers and creeks with slow to 

moderate current. Favoring clean and relatively shallow water with little silt deposition, 

this species is known to co-occur with other freshwater mussels such as the eastern elliptio 

(Elliptio complanata), triangle floater (Alasmidonta undulata), creeper (Strophitus 

undulatus), eastern floater (Pyganodon cataracta) and eastern lamp mussel (Lampsilis 

radiata). 

Reasons For Current Status

Water pollution and the construction of impoundments are the primary threats to this 

mussel's survival. Increased acidity, caused by the mobilization of toxic metals by acid 

rain, is thought to be one of the chief causes of the species' extirpation from the Fort River 

in Massachussetts. One of the largest remaining populations has declined dramatically in 

the Ashuelot River, downstream of a golf course. This population probably has been 

affected by fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers that have been applied to the 

golf course. Agricultural runoff from adjacent corn fields and pastures also is contributing 

to this population's decline. Freshwater mussels, including the dwarf wedge, are sensitive 

to potassium, zinc, copper, cadmium, and other elements associated with industrial 

pollution. Industrial, agricultural, and domestic pollution is responsible for the dwarf 

wedge's disappearance from much of its historic range. To survive, the dwarf wedge needs 

an almost silt free environment with a slow to moderate current. The construction of dams 

alters these conditions. For example, most of the Connecticut River's main stem is now a 

series of impoundments. Upstream from each dam, heavy silt disposition, combined with 

low oxygen levels, has made the area unsuitable for mussels. Downstream of the dams, 

water level and temperature fluctuations, caused by hypolimnetic discharges and 

intermittent power generation, have been stressful to the mussels. In some areas below the 

dams, the river banks have stabilized and the dwarf wedge's required substrate (sandy, 

gravel, or muddy) no longer exists. 

Another reason the species is declining is because its anadromous fish host has been 

blocked from some habitat areas. For example, the Petitcodiac River system in Canada 

still hosts several rare mussels, but the dwarf wedge has disappeared. Apparently a 

downstream water causeway, constructed since the species was last seen, has denied access 

to the fish host. Populations in the species' remaining range are suffering a decline in 

reproductive capacity because of its low numbers and isolated population distribution. 

EASTERN PUMA (=COUGAR)

Felis concolor cougar

Family: Felidae

Status: Endangered 
19

Source

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/endspec/eacofs.html

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

Historic records indicate that the eastern cougar once occurred from eastern Canada 

southward into Tennessee and South Carolina, where its range merged with that of the 

Florida panther (F. c. coryi). Present United States distribution is limited to only a few 

scattered areas at best. Recently there have been some sightings reported in Minnesota and 

Michigan. These individuals are believed to have originated from around New Brunswick 

or Manatoba, Canada. In the Southeast Region, there have been a number of sightings, but 

the best evidence for a small permanent population has come from the Great Smoky

Mountain National Park Region. Based on a National Park Service study that included 

both sighting reports and field observations, there were an estimated three to six cougars 

living in the park in 1975. Sightings have also be reported in three other North Carolina 

areas including the Nantahala National Forest, the northern portion of the Uwharrie 

National Forest, and the State's southeastern counties. The remaining population of this 

species is extremely small; exact numbers are unknown. 

Historical Information

The Eastern puma (=cougar) was first listed on June 4, 1973. It is currently designated as 

endangered in the entire range. Within the area covered by this listing, this species is 

known to occur in: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, 

Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, 

New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, 

Virginia, Vermont, and West Virginia. It is presumed to be extinct in wild

Life History

Females mate every two to three years and produce a litter of two to three cubs. There is 

no set breeding season, however most births are in the spring. At six months of age, the 

cubs weigh 30-40 pounds. They leave the den at this time, accompanying the female to 

her kills and occasionally hunting with her individually. A young male may leave at one 

year of age, but most cubs remain until they are nearly two. The average life span for 

pumas is about eight years. Adult pumas have no natural enemies, only man with his 

hunting dogs.

Prey species include deer, elk, occasionally domestic livestock, and any smaller mammals 

which opportunity makes available. The preferred meat is deer. Pumas kill about a deer a 

week. Like wolves, cougars often kill old, weak or sick individuals, leaving the prey

population in a healthier overall condition. Pumas are solitary, territorial hunters.

Habitat 

No preference for specific habitat types has been noted. The primary need is apparently 

for a large wilderness area with an adequate food supply. Male cougars of other 

subspecies have been observed to occupy a range of 25 or more square miles, and females 

from 5 to 20 square miles. 
20

Reasons For Current Status

The eastern cougar has been hunted and trapped relentlessly as a pest. Much of its habitat 

has been eliminated through extensive deforestation, and its primary prey, the white-tailed 

deer, has suffered significant population and range reductions. 

FIN WHALE

Balaenoptera physalus

Family: Balaenopteridae

Status: Federal – Endangered

Sources

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Balaenoptera_physalus.

html

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/whales.pdf

http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Balaenoptera_physalus/more_info.html

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

The finb whale is global in distribution but is not common in tropical seas and polar seas 

with ice.

Historical Information

The Fin whale was first listed on June 02, 1970. It is currently designated as endangered in 

the entire range. Within the area covered by this listing, this species is known to occur in: 

Alaska, Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, 

Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New 

Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and the 

Virgin Islands.

Life History

Fin whales tend to occur in pairs or in groups known as pods that usually contain around 6 

or 7 individuals; although large groups of about 300 individuals have been observed. This 

species spends spring and early summer in cold feeding grounds at high latitudes, 

migrating to more southerly areas for winter and the breeding season. Northern and 

southern populations never meet because the seasonal patterns are reversed in the two 

hemispheres, and so they migrate to the equator at different times of year. Mating takes 

place in winter, and as gestation takes about 12 months, births occur in the winter breeding 

grounds where conception took place. A single calf is produced, which is suckled for 6 to 

7 months; when weaned, calves travel with their mother to the feeding grounds. Females 

produce calves every couple of years after reaching sexual maturity at 3 to 12 years of age. 

Full maturity is usually attained at 25 to 30 years of age.

Fin whales feed by filtering planktonic crustaceans, fish and squid through their baleen 

plates. Individuals can dive to depths of 230 m and can stay submerged for about 15 

minutes. The blow of a fin whale reaches 6 m in height and is a slim cone shape.
21

Habitat

The fin whale is global in distribution but is not common in tropical seas and polar seas 

with ice.

RIGHT WHALE

Eubalaena glacialis

Family: Balaenopteridae

Status: Federal – Endangered

Sources

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Eubalaena_glacialis.htm

l

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/whales.pdf

http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/frdocs/1994/94-13500.html

http://www.whalecenter.org/species.htm#right

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

Northern right whales were once found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. These 

whales inhabit the temperate and subpolar waters of the North Atlantic and north Pacific 

oceans. In the North Pacific they are found from about 25 to 60 degrees north and in the 

North Atlantic from about 30 to 75 degrees north. Northwest Atlantic populations occur 

from Iceland to the Gulf of Mexico, with largest concentrations occurring between Nova 

Scotia, Canada, and Florida. Winter calving grounds occur off the coasts of Florida and 

Georgia.

Right whales move from subpolar regions with the onset of winter to lower latitudes, 

staying near landmasses. Some good areas to see them are from Cape Cod north to the 

Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia and Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick.

Northern Pacific populations are isolated from Northern Atlantic populations and are 

genetically distinct. These populations are sometimes referred to as Eubalaena japonica, 

Northern Pacific right whales, and occur from the southeastern Bering Sea to the Okhotsk 

Sea off western Russia. Northern Pacific populations may be more closely related to 

southern right whales, Eubalaena australis, than to Northern Atlantic populations of 

northern right whales (Northern Atlantic right whales).

Critical Habitat

The designated habitat includes portions of Cape Cod Bay and Stellwagen Bank, the Great 

South Channel (off the coast of Massachusetts), and waters adjacent to the coasts of 

Georgia and the east coast of Florida.
22

Historical Information

The right whale was first listed on June 2, 1970. It is currently designated as endangered 

in the entire range. Within the area covered by this listing, this species is known to occur 

in: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, North 

Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia; and Oceanic.

Life History

As long as 16.2 m (53 ft.), the right whale is large and rotund, with mottled brown to 

nearly black coloring. Both chin and belly show some white, while the dark brownish to 

dark gray or black baleen plates are long (up to 8 feet) and black - although they might 

look pale yellowish gray far offshore. The highly arched jaw curves upward. The head 

and sometimes the lips are characterized by a series of bumps called callosities; these are 

naturally gray but appear yellow or white because of massive infestation by whale-lice 

(cyamids). The pattern of callosities can be used to identify individuals; the bonnet, the 

biggest of these bumps, is located just in front of two large blowholes. The right whale has 

no dorsal ridge or fin. Broad flukes, which are dark underneath, have pointed tips that are 

very concave toward a deep notch. Its blow is V-shaped when seen from ahead or behind 

(Audubon 1983).

Like humpback whales, there appears to be a seasonal migration for at least a portion of 

the population from cold water summer feeding grounds to warmer water winter breeding 

grounds. However, there may also be a substantial portion of the population that does not 

migrate as extensively, and may spend the full year in colder waters. In the North Atlantic, 

whales summer in the Bay of Fundy and Nova Scotian shelf; pregnant females and 

juveniles then move to coastal Georgia and Florida for calving. Some right whales spend 

the late winter and early spring feeding in Cape Cod Bay and the Great South Channel on 

George's Bank. Distribution in the North Pacific is largely unknown, and sightings are 

uncommon. In the southern hemisphere, whales probably feed below the Antarctic 

convergence, and move to coastal breeding grounds off Australia, South Africa, and South 

America.

Habitat

Depending on the time of year and which hemisphere they're found, right whales will 

spend much of their time near bays and peninsulas and in shallow, coastal waters. This 

can provide shelter, food abundance, and security for females rearing young or avoiding 

the mating efforts of males. Four critical habitats for northern right whales are the 

Browns-Baccaro Bank, Bay of Fundy, Great South Channel, and the Cape Cod Bay. High 

densities of copepod populations occur in all of these habitats. The first three have deep 

basins (150 m) flanked by relatively shallow water. Copepods are concentrated here 

because of convergences and upwellings driven by tidal currents. This also occurs in the 

Cape Cod Bay even though a deep basin is not present.

Reasons For Current Status

Northern right whales tend to move through the ocean at a fairly slow pace for an animal 

of their size, they feed near the surface, and they float when killed; thus they were 
23

considered the "right" catch for whalers. Hunting of right whales began as early as the 

10th century. These whales were hunted extensively during the 19th century, with as 

many as 100,000 whales slaughtered during this time. Right whales were driven close to 

extinction early in the 20th century and were one of the first whales to be given 

international protection in 1935. At the first international Convention for the Regulation 

of Whaling in 1935, a total ban on hunting right whales was established. The protection of 

this species was broadened in 1972 with the passing of the Marine Mammal Protection 

Act. A major issue revolving around the conservation of the right whale is habitat 

modification. Especially since they use shallow coastal lagoons and bays for breeding. 

Their numbers are stable and may even be increasing slightly in the Northwest Atlantic 

and off South Africa. The most current population estimate of 295 whales may represent 

the approximate carrying capacity. The carrying capacity could be increased though if 

collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear were decreased. It may be decades 

before the health of the right whale population is recovered. A recovery plan has been 

established with the difficult duty of managing a species that is hard to track. Luckily, 

activity modifications are taking place by people like the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, 

ship traffic controllers in major shipping lanes, and others. Funding is always a major 

obstacle but support is being sought by individual institutions, states, and relevant sectors 

of the federal government.

HUMPBACK WHALE

Megaptera novaeangliae

Family: Balaenopteridae

Status: Federal – Endangered

Sources

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Megaptera_novaeanglia

e.html

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/whales.pdf

http://ecos.fws.gov/species_profile/servlet/gov.doi.species_profile.servlets.SpeciesProfile?

spcode=A02Q

http://www.whalecenter.org/species.htm

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

Humpback whales live in polar and tropical waters, particularly those of the Atlantic, 

Arctic, and Pacific Oceans. Their range also includes the waters of the Bering Sea and the 

waters surrounding Antarctica.

Historical Information 

The Humpback whale was first listed on June 2, 1970. It is currently designated as 

endangered in the entire range. Within the area covered by this listing, this species is 

known to occur in Alaska, Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, 

Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, 

New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
24

Life History

These whales, which reach lengths of 16.2 m (53 ft.), have broad, rapidly tapering bodies 

that are primarily black. Their bellies are sometimes white, and in the North Atlantic the 

flippers are usually white both ventrally and dorsally (or top and bottom). Their baleen 

plates are black, with black or olive-black bristles. Both the top of their heads and lower 

jaws are dotted with randomly placed fleshy knobs. The lower jaw also has a rounded 

projection on its tip. The long flippers are the most distinctive feature of this whale, since 

at one-third the body length they exceed those of any other species; they have scalloped 

leading edges. The dorsal fin is highly variable in shape and size, from almost absent to 

high and falcate; it is located on a small hump a little more than two thirds of the way

back. Finally, their concave, deeply notched flukes have scalloped rear edges. The pattern 

on the underside of the tail varies from all white to all black; each pattern is individually

distinctive, allowing researchers to identify and track individual whales. The humpback's 

blow is often wide and balloon-shaped, although it can be tall and columnar in larger 

animals.

Humpback whales are born during the winter, at approximately 10-12 feet in length and 

2,000 pounds in weight, after an 11-month gestation. They are typically weaned in the 

northern hemisphere during the following December or January. During its first year of 

life the mother seems to lead her calf through a series of locations where it learns to find 

food. While the calf also learns how to feed on fish during its first year (both through 

observing the mother, other animals, and practicing), it nurses on rich milk, gaining up to 

60 pounds per day. The father plays no role in parental care. After leaving its mother, the 

now-juvenile whale generally stays in habitats of medium quality (with limited food 

supplies) for the next several years. Growth seems to occur in two major periods, one 

during the first year and one at 3-4 years of age. Females may have their first calf as early 

as five, and as late as ten years of age; six to eight is most common. Females typically 

have one calf every two to four years. Males appear to be physically mature at close to the 

same age, they probably do not get to breed until much later in life. Expected life span is 

40-50 years.

Habitat

The habitat of humpback whales consists of polar to tropical waters, including the waters 

of the Artic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, as well as the waters surrounding Antarctica and 

the Bering Strait. During migration, they are found in coastal and deep oceanic waters. 

Generally, they do not come into coastal waters until they reach the latitudes of Long 

Island, New York, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Humpbacks are divided into several populations. These are for the most part isolated, but 

with a little interchange in some cases. There are two stocks in the North Atlantic Ocean 

and two in the North Pacific. There are also seven isolated stocks in the southern 

hemisphere.
25

Reasons For Current Status

Widespread in Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Southern oceans; populations were greatly 

reduced by historical commercial whaling; approximately 102,000-122,000 remain from 

pre-exploitation levels of over 450,000. They are also threatened by general deterioration 

of the marine ecosystem.

HAWKSBILL SEA TURTLE

Eretmochelys imbricata

Family: Cheloniidae

Status: State – Endangered, Federal - Endangered

Sources

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Eretmochelys_imbricata

.html

http://ecos.fws.gov/species_profile/servlet/gov.doi.species_profile.servlets.SpeciesProfile?

spcode=C00E

http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/SeaTurtles/Turtle%20Factsheets/hawksbill-sea-turtle.htm

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

The hawksbill is found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and 

Indian Oceans. The species is widely distributed in the Caribbean Sea and western 

Atlantic Ocean. In contrast to all other sea turtle species, hawksbills nest in low densities 

on scattered small beaches. The Gulf and Caribbean coasts of the Yucatán Peninsula, 

Mexico, where hawksbills nest on long expanses of beach in densities of 20 to 30 

nests/km, are exceptions. The hawksbill sea turtle has experienced global population 

declines of 80 percent or more during the past century and continued declines are 

projected. Most populations are declining, depleted, or remnants of larger aggregations. 

Only five regional populations remain with more than 1,000 females nesting annually

(Seychelles, Mexico, Indonesia, and two in Australia). About 15,000 females are 

estimated to nest each year throughout the world with the Caribbean accounting for 20 to 

30 percent of the world’s hawksbill population. Panama, which used to support the single 

most important nesting population in the Caribbean, is only a remnant population. Mexico 

is now the most important region for hawksbills in the Caribbean with 3,000 to 4,500 

nests/year. Other significant but smaller populations in the Caribbean still occur in 

Martinique, Jamaica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Grenada, Dominican Republic, Turks and 

Caicos Islands, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. In the U.S. Caribbean, about 

100 to 350 nests/year are laid on Mona Island, Puerto Rico, and 60 to 120 nests/year on 

Buck Island Reef National Monument, U.S. Virgin Islands. In the U.S. Pacific, hawksbills 

nest only on main island beaches in Hawaii, primarily along the east coast of the island of 

Hawaii. Hawksbill nesting has also been documented in American Samoa and Guam.

Critical Habitat

50 CFR 17.95 Puerto Rico: Critical habitat includes (1) Isla Mona, all areas of beachfront 

on the west, south, and east sides of the island from mean high tide inland to a point 150 
26

meters from shore; (2) Culebra Island, the following areas of beachfront on the north shore 

of the island from mean high tide to a point 150 meters from shore: Playa Resaca, Playa 

Brava, and Playa Larga; (3) Cayo Norte, south beach, from mean high tide inland to a 

point 150 meters from shore; (4) Island Culebrita, all beachfront areas on the southwest 

facing shore, east facing shore, and northwest facing shore of the island from mean high 

tide inland to a point 150 meters from shore. 50 CFR 226.209 Mona and Monito Islands, 

Puerto Rico – critical habitat includes waters surrounding the islands of Mona and Monito, 

from the mean high water line seaward to 3 nautical miles (5.6 km).

Historical Information 

The hawksbill sea turtle was first listed on June 2, 1970. It is currently designated as 

endangered in the entire range. Within the area covered by this listing, this species is 

known to occur in: Alabama, American Samoa, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, 

Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Northern Mariana Islands, 

Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South 

Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Virgin Islands; and Palau,tropical seas.

Life History

The hawksbill is a small to medium-sized marine turtle having an elongated oval shell with 

overlapping scutes on the carapace, a relatively small head with a distinctive hawk-like 

beak, and flippers with two claws. General coloration is brown with numerous splashes of 

yellow, orange, or reddish-brown on carapace. The plastron is yellowish with black spots 

on the intergular and postanal scutes. Juveniles are black or very dark brown with light

brown or yellow coloration on the edge of the shell, limbs, and raised ridges of the 

carapace. As an adult, the hawksbill may reach up to 3 feet in length and weigh up to 300 

pounds, although adults more commonly average about 21⁄2 feet in length and weigh

between 95 to 165 pounds. It is the only sea turtle with a combination of two pairs of 

prefrontal scales on the head and four pairs of costal scutes on the carapace. The hawksbill 

feeds primarily on sponges and is most often associated with the coral reef community.

The nesting season varies with locality, but in most locations nesting occurs sometime 

between April and November. Hawksbills nest at night and, on average, about 4.5 times 

per season at intervals of approximately 14 days. In Florida and the U.S. Caribbean, clutch 

size is approximately 140 eggs, although several records exist of over 200 eggs per nest. 

Remigration intervals of 2 to 3 years predominate. The incubation period averages 60 

days. Hawksbills are recruited into the reef environment at about 35 cm in length and are 

believed to begin breeding about 30 years later. However, the time required to reach 35 

cm in length is unknown and growth rates vary geographically. As a result, actual age at 

sexual maturity is not known.

Habitat

Hawksbills frequent rocky areas, coral reefs, shallow coastal areas, lagoons or oceanic 

islands, and narrow creeks and passes. They are seldom seen in water deeper than 65 feet. 

Hatchlings are often found floating in masses of sea plants, and nesting may occur on 
27

almost any undisturbed deep-sand beach in the tropics. Adult females are able to climb 

over reefs and rocks to nest in beach vegetation.

Reasons For Current Status

The decline of this species is primarily due to human exploitation for tortoiseshell. While 

the legal hawksbill shell trade ended when Japan agreed to stop importing shell in 1993, a 

significant illegal trade continues. In addition, there are serious attempts by Cuba, with 

support from other countries, to downlist hawksbills in Cuba to Appendix 2 of the 

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in 

order to make it possible to reopen trade with Japan and possibly other countries. Other 

threats include loss or degradation of nesting habitat from coastal development and beach 

armoring; disorientation of hatchlings by beachfront lighting; excessive nest predation by 

native and non-native predators; degradation of foraging habitat; marine pollution and 

debris; watercraft strikes; and incidental take from commercial fishing operations.

KEMP’S RIDLEY SEA TURTLE

Lepidochelys kempi

Family: Cheloniidae

Status: State – Endangered, Federal - Endangered

Sources

http://ecos.fws.gov/species_profile/servlet/gov.doi.species_profile.servlets.SpeciesProfile?

spcode=C00O

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/marinetrtls.pdf

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/species/turtles/kemps.html

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

The major nesting beach for Kemp's ridleys is on the northeastern coast of Mexico. This 

location is near Rancho Nuevo in southern Tamaulipas. The species occurs mainly in 

coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico and the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Critical Habitat

None designated

Historical Information

The Kemp's ridley sea turtle was first listed on December 2, 1970. It is currently

designated as endangered in the entire range. Within the area covered by this listing, this 

species is known to occur in: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, 

Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, 

Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia; Mexico-Atlantic Coast, and tropical and 

temperate waters in Atlantic Basin.
28

Life History

The Kemp's ridley and olive ridley sea turtles are the smallest of all extant sea turtles, with 

the weight of an adult generally being less than 45 kg and the straight carapace length 

around 65 cm. Adult Kemp's ridleys' shells are almost as wide as long. Coloration changes 

significantly during development from the grey-black carapace and plastron of hatchlings 

to the lighter grey-olive carapace and cream-white or yellowish plastron of adults. There 

are two pairs of prefrontal scales on the head, five vertebral scutes, five pairs of coastal 

scutes and generally twelve pairs of marginals on the carapace. In each bridge adjoining 

the plastron to the carapace, there are four scutes, each of which is perforated by a pore. 

This is the external opening of Rathke's gland which secretes a substance of unknown 

(possibly a pheromone) function. Males resemble the females in size and coloration. 

Secondary sexual characteristics of male sea turtles include a longer tail, more distal vent, 

recurved claws and, during breeding, a softened mid-plastron. Eggs are 34-45 mm in 

diameter and 24-40 g in weight. Hatchlings range from 42-48 mm in straight line carapace 

length, 32-44 mm in width and 15-20 g in weight. 

Neonatal Kemp's ridleys feed on the available sargassum and associated infauna or other 

epipelagic species found in the Gulf of Mexico. In post-pelagic stages, the ridley is largely 

a crab-eater, with a preference for portunid crabs. Age at sexual maturity is not known, 

but is believed to be approximately 7-15 years, although other estimates of age at maturity 

range as high as 35 years. 

Habitat

Unlike land turtles from which they evolved more than 150 million years ago, sea turtles 

spend almost their entire lives in the sea. When active, they often come to the surface to 

breathe, but can remain underwater for several hours at a time while resting. Preferred 

estuarine habitat of sea turtles--deeper or shallower water--directly relates to their 

preferred diet. Adult green turtles are herbivores, or plant eaters. All the other sea turtles 

are either carnivores (meat-eaters) or omnivores that eat both plant matter and meat.

Reasons For Current Status

It is estimated that before the implementation of TEDs, the commercial shrimp fleet killed 

500-5000 Kemp's ridleys each year. Besides shrimp trawls, Kemp's ridleys have been 

taken in pound nets, trawls, gill nets, hook and line, crab traps, and longlines. Beginning 

in 1976, the U.S. and Mexican governments agreed to phase out U.S. shrimping in 

Mexican waters by 1979. U.S. shrimp vessels continued to illegally operate off Mexico 

through the mid 1980s. The Mexican shrimp fleet has declined and consists of only

approximately 600 vessels, many of which do not operate. Also since 1978, Mexico has 

closed the nearshore waters off Rancho Nuevo to fishing during the nesting season. 

However, this closure has not been strictly enforced. 

The Gulf of Mexico is an area of high density offshore oil extraction with chronic lowlevel spills and occasional massive spills. The two primary feeding grounds for adult 

Kemp's ridley turtles in the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico are both near major 

areas of near shore and offshore oil exploration and production. The nesting beach at 
29

Rancho Nuevo is also vulnerable and has been affected by oil spills. The vast amount of 

floating debris in the Gulf of Mexico constitutes an increasingly serious threat to Kemp's 

ridley turtles of all ages. Plastics, monofilament, discarded netting and many other waste 

items are either eaten by Kemp's ridleys or become death traps when the turtles become 

entangled. Injestion of plastic, rubber, fishing line and hooks, tar, cellophane, rope amd 

string, wax, styrofoam, charcoal, aluminum cans and cigarette filters has occurred in sea 

turtles. NMFS is currently analyzing stranding data and available necropsy information to 

determine the magnitude of debris ingestion and entanglement. 

Dredging operations affect Kemp's ridley turtles through incidental take and by degrading 

the habitat. Incidental take of ridleys has been documented with hopper dredges. In 

addition to direct take, channelization of the inshore and nearshore areas can degrade 

foraging and migratory habitat through spoil dumping, degraded water quality/clarity and 

altered current flow. 

LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE

Dermochelys coriacea

Family: Cheloniidae

Status: State – Endangered, Federal – Endangered

Sources

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/marinetrtls.pdf

http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/SeaTurtles/Turtle%20Factsheets/leatherback-seaturtle.htm

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/species/turtles/leatherback.html

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

The leatherback turtle is distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate waters of the 

Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. It is also found in small numbers as far north as 

British Columbia, Newfoundland, and the British Isles, and as far south as Australia, Cape 

of Good Hope, and Argentina. Recent estimates of global nesting populations indicate 

26,000 to 43,000 nesting females annually, which is a dramatic decline from the 115,000 

estimated in 1980. This is due to exponential declines in leatherback nesting that have 

occurred over the last two decades along the Pacific coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica. The 

Mexico leatherback nesting population, once considered to be the world’s largest 

leatherback nesting population (65 percent of worldwide population), is now less than one 

percent of its estimated size in 1980. The largest nesting populations now occur in the 

western Atlantic in French Guiana (4,500 to 7,500 females nesting/year) and Colombia 

(estimated several thousand nests annually), and in the western Pacific in West Papua 

(formerly Irian Jaya) and Indonesia (about 600 to 650 females nesting/year). In the United 

States, small nesting populations occur on the Florida east coast (35 females/year), Sandy 

Point, U.S. Virgin Islands (50 to 100 females/year), and Puerto Rico (30 to 90 

females/year).
30

Critical Habitat

50 CFR 17.95 U.S. Virgin Islands - critical habitat includes a strip of land 0.2 miles wide 

(from mean high tide inland) at Sandy Point Beach on the western end of the island of St. 

Croix beginning at the southwest cape to the south and running 1.2 miles northwest and 

then northeast along the western and northern shoreline, and from the southwest cape 0.7 

miles east along the southern shoreline. 50 CFR 226.207 - critical habitat includes the 

waters adjacent to Sandy Point, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin islands, up to and inclusive of the 

waters from the hundred fathom curve shoreward to the level of mean high tide with 

boundaries at 17°42’12" North and 64°50’00" West.

Historical Information

Endangered throughout its range (Federal Register, June 2, 1970).

Life History

The leatherback is the largest, deepest diving, and most migratory and wide ranging of all 

sea turtles. The adult leatherback can reach 4 to 8 feet in length and 500 to 2000 pounds in 

weight. Its shell is composed of a mosaic of small bones covered by firm, rubbery skin 

with seven longitudinal ridges or keels. The skin is predominantly black with varying 

degrees of pale spotting; including a notable pink spot on the dorsal surface of the head in 

adults. A toothlike cusp is located on each side of the gray upper jaw; the lower jaw is 

hooked anteriorly. The paddle-like clawless limbs are black with white margins and pale 

spotting. Hatchlings are predominantly black with white flipper margins and keels on the 

carapace. Jellyfish are the main staple of its diet, but it is also known to feed on sea 

urchins, squid, crustaceans, tunicates, fish, blue-green algae, and floating seaweed.

In the United States, nesting occurs from about March to July. Female leatherbacks nest 

an average of 5 to 7 times within a nesting season, with an observed maximum of 11 nests. 

The average internesting interval is about 9 to 10 days. The nests are constructed at night 

in clutches of about 70 to 80 yolked eggs. The white spherical eggs are approximately 2 

inches in diameter. Typically incubation takes from 55 to 75 days, and emergence of the 

hatchlings occurs at night. Most leatherbacks remigrate to their nesting beaches at 2 to 3-

year intervals. Leatherbacks are believed to reach sexual maturity in 6 to 10 years.

Habitat

The leatherback is the most pelagic of the sea turtles. Adult females require sandy nesting 

beaches backed with vegetation and sloped sufficiently so the crawl to dry sand is not too 

far. The preferred beaches have proximity to deep water and generally rough seas.

Leatherbacks can dive to more than 3,000 feet below sea level (US FWS sea turtles).

Preferred estuarine habitat of sea turtles--deeper or shallower water--directly relates to

their preferred diet. Adult green turtles are herbivores, or plant eaters. All the other sea

turtles are either carnivores or omnivores that eat both plant matter and

meat.
31

Reasons For Current Status

The crash of the Pacific leatherback population, once the world’s largest population, is 

believed primarily to be the result of exploitation by humans for the eggs and meat, as well 

as incidental take in numerous commercial fisheries of the Pacific. Other factors 

threatening leatherbacks globally include loss or degradation of nesting habitat from 

coastal development; disorientation of hatchlings by beachfront lighting; excessive nest 

predation by native and non-native predators; degradation of foraging habitat; marine 

pollution and debris; and watercraft strikes.

LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE

Caretta caretta

Family: Cheloniidae

Status: State – Endangered, Federal – Threatened

Sources

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/marinetrtls.pdf

http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/SeaTurtles/Turtle%20Factsheets/loggerhead-seaturtle.htm

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

The loggerhead sea turtle occurs throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the 

Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. However, the majority of loggerhead nesting is at the 

western rims of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The most recent reviews show that only

two loggerhead nesting beaches have greater than 10,000 females nesting per year: South 

Florida (U.S.) and Masirah (Oman). Those beaches with 1,000 to 9,999 females nesting 

each year are North Florida through North Carolina (U.S.), Cape Verde Islands (Spain, 

eastern Atlantic off Africa), and Western Australia (Australia). Smaller nesting 

aggregations with 100 to 999 nesting females annually occur in Northwest Florida (U.S.), 

Cay Sal Bank (Bahamas), Quintana Roo and Yucatán (Mexico), Sergipe and Northern 

Bahia (Brazil), Southern Bahia to Rio de Janerio (Brazil), Tongaland (South Africa), 

Mozambique, Arabian Sea Coast (Oman), Halaniyat Islands (Oman), Cyprus, 

Peloponnesus (Greece), Island of Zakynthos (Greece), Turkey, and Queensland 

(Australia). Although the major nesting concentrations in the United States are found in 

South Florida, loggerheads nest from Texas to Virginia. Total estimated nesting in the 

U.S. is approximately 68,000 to 90,000 nests/year. About 80 percent of loggerhead 

nesting in the southeastern U.S. occurs in six Florida counties (Brevard, Indian River, St. 

Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, and Broward Counties). Adult loggerheads are known to 

make considerable migrations between foraging areas and nesting beaches. During nonnesting years, adult females from U.S. beaches are distributed in waters off the eastern 

U.S. and throughout the Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and Yucatán.

Genetic research involving analysis of mitochondrial DNA has identified five different 

loggerhead nesting subpopulations in the western North Atlantic: (1) the Northern 

Subpopulation occurring from North Carolina through Northeast Florida; (2) South Florida 
32

Subpopulation occurring from just north of Cape Canaveral on Florida’s east coast and 

extending up to around Sarasota on Florida’s west coast; (3) Dry Tortugas, Florida, 

Subpopulation, (4) Northwest Florida Subpopulation occurring on Florida’s Panhandle 

beaches; and (5) Yucatán Subpopulation occurring on the eastern Yucatán Peninsula, 

Mexico. These data indicate that gene flow between these five regions is very low. If 

nesting females are extirpated from one of these regions, regional dispersal will not be 

sufficient to replenish the depleted nesting subpopulation. The South Florida 

Subpopulation has shown significant increases over the last 25 years, indicating that the 

population has progressed toward recovery. However, an analysis of nesting data for the 

years 1989-2002, a period encompassing index surveys that are more consistent than 

surveys in previous years, has shown no detectable trend. Past increases in South Florida 

loggerhead nesting are likely to have slowed. No long-term trends are available for the 

Northern Subpopulation, although researchers have documented substantial declines in 

nesting on some beaches since the early 1970s. From 1989-1998, no nesting trends were 

detectable for North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia. However, nests in Northeast 

Florida may be increasing, although data were too variable to detect a significant trend. 

Nesting surveys in the Dry Tortugas, Northwest Florida, and Yucatán subpopulations have 

been too irregular to date to allow for a meaningful trend analysis.

Critical Habitat

None designated.

Historical Information

Threatened throughout its range (Federal Register, July 28, 1978).

Life History

The loggerhead is characterized by a large head with blunt jaws. The carapace and flippers 

are a reddish-brown color; the plastron is yellow. The carapace has five pairs of costal 

scutes with the first touching the nuchal scute. There are three large inframarginal scutes 

on each of the bridges between the plastron and carapace. Adults grow to an average 

weight of about 200 pounds. The species feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and other 

marine animals.

The United States nesting season extends from about May through August with nesting 

occurring primarily at night. Loggerheads are known to nest from one to seven times 

within a nesting season (mean is about 4.1 nests per season) at intervals of approximately

14 days. Mean clutch size varies from about 100 to 126 along the southeastern United 

States coast. Incubation ranges from about 45 to 95 days, depending on incubation 

temperatures, but averages 55 to 60 days for most clutches in Florida. Hatchlings 

generally emerge at night. Remigration intervals of 2 to 3 years are most common in 

nesting loggerheads, but remigration can vary from 1 to 7 years. Age at sexual maturity is 

believed to be about 20 to 30 years.
33

Habitat

The loggerhead is widely distributed within its range. It may be found hundreds of miles 

out to sea, as well as in inshore areas such as bays, lagoons, salt marshes, creeks, ship 

channels, and the mouths of large rivers. Coral reefs, rocky places, and ship wrecks are 

often used as feeding areas. Loggerheads nest on ocean beaches and occasionally on 

estuarine shorelines with suitable sand. Nests are typically made between the high tide 

line and the dune front. Most loggerhead hatchlings originating from U.S. beaches are 

believed to lead a pelagic existence in the North Atlantic gyre for an extended period of 

time, perhaps as long as 10 to 12 years, and are best known from the eastern Atlantic near 

the Azores and Madeira. Post-hatchlings have been found floating at sea in association 

with Sargassum rafts. Once they reach a certain size, these juvenile loggerheads begin 

recruiting to coastal areas in the western Atlantic where they become benthic feeders in 

lagoons, estuaries, bays, river mouths, and shallow coastal waters. These juveniles occupy

coastal feeding grounds for a decade or more before maturing and making their first 

reproductive migration, the females returning to their natal beach to nest.

Reasons For Current Status

Threats include loss or degradation of nesting habitat from coastal development and beach 

armoring; disorientation of hatchlings by beachfront lighting; excessive nest predation by

native and non-native predators; degradation of foraging habitat; marine pollution and 

debris; watercraft strikes; disease; and incidental take from channel dredging and 

commercial trawling, longline, and gill net fisheries. There is particular concern about the 

extensive incidental take of juvenile loggerheads in the eastern Atlantic by longline fishing 

vessels from several countries.

BOG TURTLE

Clemmys muhlenbergii

Family: Emydidae

Status: State – Endangered, Federal – Threatened

Sources

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/bogtrtl.pdf

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Clemmys_muhlenbergii.

html

http://ecos.fws.gov/species_profile/servlet/gov.doi.species_profile.servlets.SpeciesProfile?

spcode=C048

http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Clemmys+muhlen

bergii

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/endspec/botufs.html

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

Bog turtles occupy a highly discontinuous and fragmented range in the eastern United 

States of America; within this range they tend occur in small, often widely separated 

colonies. For management purposes two general "populations" are often recognized - a 
34

northern population from eastern New York and western Massachusetts south through 

southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey to northern Maryland and Delaware (with 

outliers in north-central New York and western Pennsylvania), and a southern population 

(generally at higher elevations, up to 4000 feet) from southern Virginia, western North 

Carolina, and eastern Tennessee to extreme northeastern Georgia. There are no reliable 

morphological differences between bog turtles in these designated populations. The bog 

turtle is one of the most endangered turtle species in North America..

Historical Information

Due to population declines, restricted habitat preference, habitat loss, and collecting, the 

bog turtle was listed as an endangered species in New Jersey in 1974. Declining 

throughout its range, this turtle is also listed as threatened in Maryland, North Carolina, 

South Carolina, and Georgia and endangered in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, 

Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia. In 1997, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

included the bog turtle on its list of federally threatened species. The New Jersey Natural 

Heritage Program considers the bog turtle to be, “globally, either very rare and local 

throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range or because of other factors 

making it vulnerable to extinction throughout its range,” and, “imperiled in New Jersey

because of rarity”.

Life History

The bog turtle is a tiny, dark turtle with a distinct orange patch behind the tympanum 

(earmembrane) on either side of the head. The scutes (scale-like horny layers) of the 

carapace (upper shell) are brown or black and may have yellow or reddish centers. 

Likewise, the plastron (underneath shell) is brownishblack with a light yellow or 

mahogany center. The limbs are brown and may be mottled with variable amounts of dark 

yellow, orange, or red blotching. Bog turtles, one of the smallest and most secretive of 

North America’s turtles, measure only 7.6 to 10 cm (3.0 to 3.9 in.) long as adults. The 

male bog turtle has a concave plastron while that of the female is flat or slightly convex. 

In addition, the male has a long, thick tail and long foreclaws.

In New York, the bog turtle emerges from hibernation, often spent in an abandoned 

muskrat lodge or other burrow, by mid-April. Bog turtles often hibernate communally

with other bog turtles and with spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata). Generally both the air 

and water temperature must exceed 50 degrees F for the turtle to become active. Mating 

occurs primarily in the spring but may also occur in the fall and may be focused in or near 

the hibernaculum (winter shelter). In early to mid-June, a clutch of two to four eggs is laid 

in a nest which is generally located inside the upper part of an unshaded tussock. The eggs 

hatch around mid-September. Some young turtles spend the winter in the nest, emerging 

the following spring. The adults enter hibernation in late October. Sexual maturity may

be reached at eight years or as late as eleven. A bog turtle may live for more than 30 years.

Although generally very secretive, the bog turtle can be seen basking in the open, 

especially in the early spring just after emerging from hibernation. It is an opportunistic 
35

feeder, eating what it can get, although it prefers invertebrates such as slugs, worms, and 

insects. Seeds, plant leaves, and carrion are also included in its diet.

Habitat

Bog turtles inhabit calcareous (limestone) fens, sphagnum bogs, and wet, grassy pastures 

that are characterized by soft, muddy substrates (bottoms) and perennial groundwater 

seepage. Bog turtle habitats are well-drained and water depth rarely exceeds 10 cm (four 

in.) above the surface. Flora associated with bog turtle habitats include sedges (Carex 

spp.), rushes (Juncus spp.), mosses, and grasses. These habitats may also contain red 

maple (Acer rubrum), alder (Alnus spp.), skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), cattail 

(Typha spp.), willow (Salix spp.), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum.), 

jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), swamp rose (Hibiscus palustris), dogwoods (Cornus 

spp.), shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), 

rice-cut grass (Leersia oryzoides), wool-grass (Scirpuscyperinus ), arrowhead (Sagittaria 

spp.), watercress (Nasturtium officinale), St. Johnswort (Hypericum spp.), blue vervain 

(Verbena hastata), sundew (Drosera spp.), pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), cinnamon 

fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), and sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis). Because open areas 

are favored for basking and nesting, vegetative succession may cause the dispersal or loss 

of bog turtle colonies.

Many of the emergent wetlands inhabited by bog turtles have served as pastures during 

historic or current times. Grazing by livestock maintains the successional stage and 

softens the ground, creating favorable conditions for these turtles. Although controlled 

grazing is beneficial, overgrazing can result in excessive fecal runoff that may degrade 

water quality or encourage the growth of undesirable plant species. Linear drainage 

ditches provide an alternative habitat for bog turtles in some areas of the state. These 

ditches, which have healed over time, may support remarkably high bog turtle densities.

Reasons For Current Status

Spotty distribution and specialized habitat requirements make this species vulnerable to 

local extirpation. Decline is due primarily to loss, degradation, and fragmentation of 

habitat (the factor ranked here) and excessive (and illegal) collecting for the pet trade. 

These continue to be major threats. Laws against collecting have been largely ineffective

in reducing that threat. 

Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation have resulted from urban/suburban 

development; filling, draining, and dredging of wetlands; and water impoundment, water 

diversion into habitat, and other hydrological alterations. In some areas, successional 

changes (e.g., reforestation) and exotic plant species have reduced habitat quality. Heavy

grazing is detrimental, especially when nesting females are disturbed or eggs are trampled 

(light grazing may be beneficial in some cases if it maintains an open canopy and avoid the 

problems just mentioned). Habitat fragmentation has made it difficult for turtles to cope 

with successional changes and ecosystem changes caused by humans or beavers (simply 

moving to another area is now often not an option). Though flooding caused by beavers 

may be a threat in particular sites at a particular time, over the long term and on a broad 
36

geographic scale, beaver activities (i.e., cutting of woody plants and periodic flooding) can 

be an important factors in the creation or maintenance of suitable habitat for bog turtles. 

Mosquito control via pesticide application is a potential threat is some areas; this may

impact turtles directly or affect food supply. Abnormally high raccoon populations, 

associated with human impacts, may result in excessive predation on turtles and eggs. 

Eggs are susceptible to trampling by humans walking through the habitat. Frequent human 

visits to single sites conceivably could interfere with the turtles' basking behavior and may

disturb females attempting to nest. The species is vulnerable to the usual problems 

associated with small population size.

SEABEACH AMARANTH 

Amaranthus pumilus

Family: Amaranthaceae

Status: State – Threatened, Federal – Threatened

Sources

http://nc-es.fws.gov/plant/seabamaranth.html

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/nyfo/es/amaranthweb/fact_sheets/NJ.pdf

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

Historically, the seabeach amaranth occurred in 31 counties in nine States from 

Massachusetts to South Carolina. The species has now been completely eliminated from 

six of the States in its original range. As of 1990 (a complete range wide census was 

recently done), there were 55 remaining populations. Of these, 34 were in North Carolina, 

8 were in South Carolina, and 13 were in New York. 

Historical Information

Although originally described as abundant, the number of populations of A. pumilus

declined precipitously throughout the Twentieth Century and, following a collection from 

Ocean County in 1913, vanished from the flora of New Jersey. Habitat destruction and 

alteration, incompatible beach grooming practices and recreational activities have all 

contributed to the decline of this species. By 1989, the species was restricted to a few 

populations in North and South Carolina. In 1991 New Jersey included A. pumilus in its 

first official Endangered Plant Species List, and in 1993 the U.S. Department of the 

Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, determined A. pumilus to be a federally threatened 

species under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. In 2000 the plant returned to 

newly created beaches in Monmouth County and adjacent habitat in Sandy Hook. 

Intensive surveys performed in 2001 revealed populations or individuals in all four coastal 

New Jersey counties. Despite its reappearance, the plant remains highly vulnerable to the 

uses and practices that caused its extirpation throughout most of the previous century. 

Life History

Seabeach amaranth, as the name implies, is an annual plant found on beaches along the 

western coast of the Atlantic Ocean (North America). The stems are fleshy and pink-red or 
37

reddish, with small rounded leaves that are 1.3 to 2.5 centimeters in diameter. The leaves 

are clustered toward the tip of the stem; they are usually spinach-green, and have small 

notches at the rounded tips. Flowers and fruits are relatively inconspicuous, borne in 

clusters along the stems. Germination occurs over a relatively long period of time, 

generally from April to July. Upon germinating, this plant initially forms a small sprig 

with no branches, but soon begins to branch profusely into a clump. This clump often 

reaches a foot in diameter and consists of 5 to 2O branches. Occasionally, a clump may get 

as large as a yard or more across, with 1OO or more branches. 

Flowering begins as soon as plants have reached sufficient size, sometimes as early as 

June, but more typically commencing in July and continuing until the death of the plant in 

late fall. Seed production begins in July or August; it reaches a peak in September during 

most years, but continues until the death of the plant. Weather events, including rainfall, 

hurricanes, and temperature extremes, and predation by webworms have strong effects on 

the length of seabeach amaranth's reproductive season. As a result of one or more of these 

influences, the flowering and fruiting period can be terminated as early as June or July. 

Under favorable circumstances, however, the reproductive season may extend until 

January or sometimes later

Habitat

Seabeach amaranth occurs on barrier island beaches, where its primary habitat consists of 

overwash flats at accreting ends of islands and lower foredunes and upper strands of 

noneroding beaches. It occasionally establishes small temporary populations in other 

habitats, including sound-side beaches, blowouts in foredunes, and sand and shell material 

placed as beach replenishment or dredged spoil. Seabeach amaranth appears to be 

intolerant of competition and does not occur on well-vegetated sites. The species appears 

to need extensive areas of barrier island beaches and inlets, functioning in a relatively 

natural and dynamic manner. These characteristics allow it to move around in the 

landscape as a fugitive species, occupying suitable habitat as it becomes available.

Reasons for Current Status

Seabeach amaranth has been eliminated from two-thirds of its historic range. The most 

serious threats to its continued existence are construction of beach stabilization structures, 

beach erosion and tidal inundation, beach grooming, herbivory by insects and feral 

animals, and, in certian circumstances, by off-road vehicles.

KNIESKERN'S BEAKED-RUSH 

Rhynchospora knieskernii

Family: Cyperaceae

Status: State – Threatened, Federal – Threatened

Sources

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/njfieldoffice/Endangered/Knieskern's_beaked-rush.htm#2
38

http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/ASP/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=3751#D

istribution

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

Knieskern's beaked-rush has always been considered rare. Currently, the species is only 

known to occur in New Jersey (Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Monmouth, and Ocean 

Counties). Historically, two documented occurrences were found in Sussex County, 

Delaware. The Delaware Natural Heritage Program has been conducting yearly surveys 

for Knieskern's beaked-rush over the past 10 years without finding a single new 

occurrence. The total number of documented occurrences in New Jersey is 52, which 

includes 14 historical and 38 extant populations. Six of the extant populations occur on 

sites that are considered to be naturally maintained in an early successional vegetative 

stage and therefore, should not require active management. The remaining 32 known 

extant populations occur on early successional sites created as a result of sand, clay, and 

gravel mining; borrow pit excavation; cranberry bog construction; and road, powerline, 

and ditch construction through wetland areas. Of the 32 extant populations occurring on 

human-disturbed sites, three are on federal property, four are on State property, and 25 are 

on private property or rights-of-way.

Historical Information

The Knieskern's Beaked-rush was first listed on July 18, 1991. It is currently designated as 

Threatened in the entire range. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region 

(Region 5) is the lead region for this entity.

Life History

Knieskern's beaked-rush is a plant of the sedge family endemic to the Pinelands region of 

New Jersey. The genus name Rhynchospora is from the Greek rhynchos, meaning beak 

and spora, meaning seed, which refers to the beaked seed or fruit that is characteristic of 

the genus. This grass-like plant was generally considered to be an annual species (i.e., 

living for only one season); however, it is currently suspected to be a short-lived perennial 

in locations where habitat conditions are stable enough to allow uninterrupted growth year 

after year. Knieskern's beaked-rush grows from 1.5 to 60 centimeters high (0.6 to 24 

inches), has slender culms (stis) branching from the base, and short, narrowly linear leaves. 

Small spiklets (flower clusters) are numerous and occur at distant intervals along the entire 

length of the culm. The achene (fruit) is obovate, narrow at the base, 1.1 to 1.3 millimeters 

long (0.04 to 0.05 inches), and equal in length to the six downwardly-barbed, or rarely, 

upwardly-barbed attached bristles. A tubercle (beak), which is the persistent base of the 

two-cleft style (slender stalk containing the pollen tube) on top of the achene, is about onehalf the length of the achene. Although not all plants produce culms each year, flowering 

and seed production have been observed in very young plants. Fruiting typically occurs 

from July to September. Seed dispersal mechanisms are not documented; however, 

bristles located on the achenes could assist in animal dispersal.
39

Habitat

Rhynchospora kneiskernii occurs in groundwater-influenced, constantly fluctuating, 

successional environments. The plant was once thought to be closely associated with 

natural bog iron deposits in the Pinelands, but has now been found in a wider variety of 

environments. Bog iron forms when slow-moving, acidic stream water leaches iron from 

the Cretaceous outwash soils characteristic of the Pinelands. Upon contact with oxygen 

and oxidizing bacteria, the iron mobilizes and is re-deposited in hard layers of "iron stone" 

in streambeds and adjacent floodplain wetlands. Continual stream erosion and challenging 

soil chemistry tend to inhibit growth of trees and shrubs that would normally shade out 

Rhynchospora kneiskernii. Six of the 38 known extant populations of the plant occur on 

this unusual substrate.

Knieskern's beaked-rush is an obligate hydrophyte (wetland plant). It typically occurs 

within wet openings of pitch-pine forest, a community established and maintained by fire. 

Because fires are now often suppressed, the future of Knieskern's beaked-rush and pitchpine forests is uncertain. Rhynchospora kneiskernii is intolerant of competition, especially

from woody species. It is found on naturally occurring early successional habitats and 

disturbed habitats such as burns, gravel and clay pits, road cuts, mowed roadsides, utility

and railroad rights-of-way, cleared home sites, eroded areas, cleared edges of Atlantic 

white-cedar swamps, wheel ruts, and muddy swales. Periodic disturbance, either natural 

or human-induced, which maintains a damp-to-wet site in an early ecological successional 

stage may be necessary for the successful colonization, establishment, recruitment, and 

maintenance of this species. Human-disturbed sites exhibit some of the same 

characteristics as bog-iron sites, including a high water table, temporary inundation, and 

open, early-successional habitat with relatively bare substrate. In general, most of these 

sites require periodic human-induced disturbance to maintain their early-successional 

character. Plant species associated with Knieskern's beaked-rush include warty panicgrass (Panicum verrucosum), poverty-grass (Aristida longispica), and spatulate-leaved 

sundew.

Reasons for Current Status

Originally, the primary threat to the species was the loss of wetlands to urban and 

agricultural development. However, current State and federal wetland protection laws have 

reduced the loss of wetlands over time. Presently, vegetative succession is a major factor 

threatening Knieskern's beaked-rush; 19 of the 38 extant populations are currently 

undergoing vegetative succession that could eliminate these populations. Without periodic 

intervention to reverse successional trends, these 19 sites will most likely become 

unsuitable for the species in the future. Human-induced threats to the species include 

alteration to wetland hydrology, off-road vehicles, trash dumping, and possibly roadside 

grading. Fire can be both beneficial and detrimental to the species depending on the 

timing, duration, and intensity of the burn.
40

AMERICAN CHAFFSEED

Schwalbea americana

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Status: State – Endangered, Federal – Endangered

Sources

http://www.bragg.army.mil/esb/american_chaffseed.htm

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

Historically, Chaffseed occurred in fifteen States, including Alabama, Connecticut, 

Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, 

New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia at a total of 

approximately 78 sites. One historic record from Louisiana is now considered to have been 

erroneous. Currently, 51 populations are known, including one in New Jersey, one in 

North Carolina, 43 in South Carolina, four in Georgia, and two in Florida. Chaffseed was 

never considered to be common, but populations have declined and the range has seriously 

contracted in recent decades. The species can no longer be found in 10 of the States in 

which it occurred historically. Many historic populations have been confirmed extirpated 

due to habitat destruction, primarily due to development. Others have been lost in the 

absence of habitat destruction, probably as a result of fire exclusion.

Historical Information

The American chaffseed was first listed on September 29, 1992. It is currently designated 

as endangered in the entire range. Historically, Chaffseed occurred in fifteen States, 

including Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, 

Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, 

Tennessee, and Virginia at a total of approximately 78 sites. One historic record from 

Louisiana is now considered to have been erroneous. Currently, 51 populations are known, 

including one in New Jersey, one in North Carolina, 43 in South Carolina, four in Georgia, 

and two in Florida. Chaffseed was never considered to be common, but populations have 

declined and the range has seriously contracted in recent decades. The species can no 

longer be found in 10 of the States in which it occurred historically. Many historic 

populations have been confirmed extirpated due to habitat destruction, primarily due to 

development. Others have been lost in the absence of habitat destruction, probably as a 

result of fire exclusion.

In New Jersey Schwalbea americana declined from 19 historical sites to four by the early

1970s to two in 1980. One of these two sites (The Cape May site) was destroyed by road 

construction in 1986, leaving a single remaining site in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest 

(formerly known as "Lebanon State Forest") at a sandy, mowed roadside edge of a pitch 

pine-dominated, lowland Pine Barrens forest. The population declined during the 1980s 

due to recreational trampling, collection and inappropriate mowing. In 1993 a management 

agreement was established between the State Forest, the cranberry grower leasing the site, 

the county and the New Jersey Office of Natural Lands Management. In accordance with 

the agreement, vehicle barriers have been erected, the mowing season was changed, and 
41

the site is kept open through thinning and mowing of shrubs. These actions appeared to 

have stabilized the population as of 1995.

Life History

American chaffseed is an erect, hemiparasitic, perennial herb that grows 1.0-2.6 ft (0.3-0.8 

m) in height. Although it is a root-hemiparasite (partially dependent on its host), the 

species is not host-specific and may parasitize a variety of trees, shrubs, and herbs. April 

through June flowers are pollinated by bees, with fruits maturing in July-September. Fruit 

dispersal is poorly understood, but fruits are likely wind dispersed in close proximity to the 

parent. Requirements for seed germination and seedling establishment are unknown, but 

the species is considered shade-intolerant. Although another species (S. australis) was 

once recognized, the genus Schwalbea is now considered to be monotypic.

Habitat

American chaffseed occurs in sandy (sandy peat, sandy loam), acidic, and seasonally moist 

to dry soils. It is generally found in habitats described as open, moist pine flatwoods, firemaintained savannas, ecotonal areas between peaty wetlands and xeric sandy soils, and 

other open grass-sedge systems. Chaffseed is dependent on factors such as fire, mowing, 

or fluctuating water tables to maintain the crucial open to partly open conditions that it 

requires. Historically, the species existed on savannas and pinelands throughout the coastal 

plain and on sandstone knobs and plains inland where frequent, naturally occurring fires 

maintained these sub-climax communities. Under these conditions, herbaceous plants such 

as Schwalbea were favored over trees and shrubs. 

Most of the surviving populations, and all of the most vigorous populations, are in areas 

that are still subject to frequent fire. These fire-maintained habitats include plantations 

where prescribed fire is part of a management regime for quail and other game species, 

army base impact zones that burn regularly because of artillery shelling, forest 

management areas that are burned to maintain habitat for wildlife including the endangered 

red-cockaded woodpecker, and various other private lands that are burned to maintain 

open fields. Fire may be important to the species in ways that are not yet understood, such 

as for germination of seed, or in the formation of the connection to the host plant. 

Reasons for Current Status

American chaffseed has been eliminated from two-thirds of the States where it was 

historically reported to occur. The most serious threats to its continued existence are firesuppression, conversion of the habitat for commercial and residential purposes, and 

incompatible agriculture and forestry practices. The loss of periodic fire from the 

landscape seems to be the most serious factor in its decline. Residential and commercial 

development adjacent to populations can also pose a threat since urbanization generally 

results in fire suppression.
42

SENSITIVE JOINT-VETCH

Aeschynomene virginica

Family: Fabaceae

Status: State – Threatened, Federal – Threatened

Source

http://www.ncnhp.org/Images/107.pdf

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

Sensitive joint-vetch is known from a total of 24 extant sites, including one in Maryland, 

one in New Jersey, two in North Carolina, and 20 in Virginia. The species shows 

considerable annual fluctuation in population numbers, varying in at least one case from 

approximately 50 to 2,000 individuals over a 3-year period. Although populations do 

fluctuate, there is an apparent trend for large populations to remain large and small 

populations to remain small. A total of 24 extant sites are currently known to exist.

Historical Information

The Sensitive joint-vetch was first listed on May 20, 1992. It is currently designated as 

Threatened in the entire range. The historic range for the species extended into Delaware 

and Pennsylvania, but the species has not been seen in those States for more than a 

century.

Life History

Sensitive joint-vetch is an annual plant in the bean family native to the eastern United 

States. Plants typically attain heights of 1 to 2 meters in a single growing season, although 

they can grow as tall as 2.4 meters. The stems are single, sometimes branching near the 

top, and with stiff or bristly hairs. The leaves are even-pinnate, 2 to 12 centimeters (cm) 

long, with entire, glad-dotted leaflets. Each leaf consists of 30 to 56 leaflets. Leaflets are 

0.8 to 2.5 cm long and 0.2 to 0.4 cm wide. The leaves fold slightly when touched. The 

yellow, irregular flowers are 1.0 to 1.5 cm across, streaked with red, and grow in racemes 

(elongated inflorescence with stalked flowers). The fruit is a loment with 4 to 10 oneseeded segments, turning dark brown when ripe. Fruits are 3.0 to 7.0 cm long and 

shallowly scalloped along one side. 

Plants flower from July through September and occasionally into October. In Autumn, 

senescence may be triggered by the drop in water temperature or by salinity intrusion due 

to a decrease in freshwater flow. Bumblebees have been observed pollinating the flowers. 

Fruits form shortly after the first signs of flowering in July. Although flowering continues 

until late Fall, production of vigorous fruits appears to decline significantly by midOctober. Seed maturation begins in August and continues through October. Germination 

takes place from late May to early June. Seedlings grow quickly, approximately doubling 

in size every 2 weeks during the first 6 weeks. 
43

Habitat

Sensitive joint-vetch grows in the intertidal zone where plants are flooded twice daily. The 

species seems to prefer the marsh edge at an elevation near the upper limit of tidal 

fluctuation. It is usually found in areas where plant diversity is high (50 species per acre) 

and annual species predominate. Bare to sparsely vegetated substrates appear to be a 

habitat feature of critical importance to this plant. As an annual, it requires such 

microhabitats for establishment and growth. Such areas may include accreting point bars 

that have not yet been colonized by perennial species, low swales within extensive 

marshes, or areas where muskrats have eaten most of the vegetation. In North Carolina, 

sensitive joint-vetch appears to be a species that remains at a particular site for a relatively 

short period of time, and maintains itself by colonizing new, recently disturbed habitats 

where it may compete successfully among other early-successional species. It is frequently 

found in the estuarine meander zone of tidal rivers where sediments transported from 

upriver settle out and extensive marshes are formed. The substrate may be sandy, muddy, 

gravelly, or peaty.

Reasons for Current Status

The extirpation of sensitive joint-vetch from Delaware and Pennsylvania and its 

elimination from many sites in other States can be directly attributed to habitat destruction. 

Many of the marshes where it occurred historically have been dredged and/or filled and the 

riverbanks stabilized with bulkheads or riprap. Other threats include sedimentation, 

competition from exotic plant species, recreational activities, agricultural activities, 

mining, commercial and residential development with associated pollution and 

sedimentation, impoundments, water withdrawal projects and introduced insect pests.

Sedimentation inhibits seed germination, smothers seedlings, and promotes invasion of 

competing weedy species. Herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers from golf courses, lawns, 

and gardens degrade water quality. 

SWAMP PINK 

Helonias bullata

Family: Liliaceae

Status: State – Threatened, Federal – Threatened

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

New Jersey supports the largest and most numerous populations of the species with 68 

existing sites spread over 12 southern counties in the Coastal Plain area. Most of the 

populations are located along the Pinelands fringe in the Delaware River Drainage. Plant 

colonies are found in the following counties: Atlantic; Burlington; Camden; Cape May; 

Cumberland; Mercer; Gloucester; Middlesex; Monmouth; Morris; Ocean; and Salem. New 

Jersey once supported 1OO populations; 32 of the State's populations have been extirpated. 

Besides New Jersey, six other States support populations including Delaware; Maryland; 

Virginia; North Carolina; South Carolina, and Georgia. One historic population was 

reported in Staten Island, New York, near Kreislerville, but this population is believed 
44

extirpated. Delaware's 1O existing sites are located in the Coastal Plain area of all three 

counties (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). One historic colony, in the Piedmont, has been 

extirpated. In Maryland's Coastal Plain, six plant populations are located on privatelyowned lands in Anne Arundel, Cecil, and Dorchester Counties. One other population has 

been extirpated. Fifteen of the sixteen Virginia populations occur across a 1O-mile area on 

the western slopes of the central Blue Ridge Mountains. The other existing population is 

found in the Coastal Plain. Ten of Virginia's plant populations are located in the George 

Washington National Forest, and one is on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is owned by

the National Park Service. In North Carolina, the largest population is found in the Pisgah 

National Forest in the "Pink Beds" area. Seven other populations occur in Jackson, 

Henderson, and Transylvania Counties. South Carolina and Georgia have one known 

population each. The South Carolina population is located in Greenville County on South 

Carolina Heritage Trust land. The privately owned, Georgia population is in Rabun 

County, close to the North Carolina border. 

Historical Information

The Swamp pink was first listed on September 09, 1988. It is currently designated as 

Threatened in the entire range. This species is known to occur in: Delaware, Georgia, 

Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Life History

A perennial, the Swamp Pink usually is one of the first wildflowers to bloom in the spring. 

The plant usually blooms from March to May. Its fragrant flowers are pink and occur in a 

cluster of 3O to 5O. Its dark evergreen, lance-shaped, and parallel-veined leaves form a 

basal rosette which arises from a stout, hollow stem. This stem can grow from a height of 2 

to 9 decimeters during flowering, and to 1.5 meters during seed maturation (U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service 199O). The plant's stout rootstock has many fibrous rootlets. During the 

winter, the leaves often turn reddish brown and will lie flat on, or slightly raised, from the 

ground. These winter leaves are often hidden by leaf litter, but a visible large button, in the 

center of the leaves, represents next season's flower head. The plant produces three-lobed 

fruit of an inverted heart shape. Each fruit has many ovules; each ovule opens into six 

lobes that release linear shaped seeds with appendages on both ends.

Although the species can reproduce sexually, most of it's reproduction is asexual by clonal 

root growth. This means plants tend to grow in clumps, close to the parent plants, and that 

plant populations can be extremely dense. Densities of up to 56 plants per square meter 

have been found in southern Appalachia. Dense clusters of plants can also occur when 

plants reproduce sexually because of limited seed dispersal. Sometimes the seeds will fall 

out of the capsule and land beneath the mother plant. Swamp pink seeds have appendages, 

and animals may sometimes help disperse the seeds.

Habitat

Swamp Pink occurs in a variety of wetland habitats. These include Atlantic white-cedar 

swamps; Blue Ridge swamps; swampy forested wetlands that border small streams; 

meadows, and spring seepage areas. The plant requires habitat that is saturated, but not 
45

flooded, with water. Swamp Pink is commonly associated with evergreen trees such as 

Atlantic white-cedar; pitch pine; American larch; and black spruce. The species appears to 

be somewhat shade tolerant. In areas with less canopy cover, deer are more likely to eat the 

plant's flowers, leaves, or shoots.

Reasons for Current Status

The loss of wetlands to urban and agricultural development and timbering operations 

originally was the primary threat to the species. Now, State wetland and Federal 

endangered species protection laws have slowed the loss of wetlands, and the major threat 

to the Swamp Pink is habitat degradation caused by off-site disturbances. Some of these 

impacts include off-site water withdrawal for irrigation or crop production; discharge from 

sewage treatment plants; increased siltation from the inadequate control of soil erosion; 

and the introduction of excess nutrients or chemicals into the water. Sometimes, excess 

nutrients will cause an increase in natural succession, which allows the growth of 

competing species such as common reed, red maple, red alder, and mountain laurel. To 

alleviate the impacts of off-site disturbances, buffer zones may be established around 

protected habitat. However, to be effective in areas with difficult site topography or in 

overdeveloped areas, buffer zones need to encircle over 500 feet of the area. In these areas, 

smaller buffer zones tend to isolate the wetland. An isolated wetland serves as a sink 

receiving all of the stormwater runoff and pollution from the adjacent areas. The 

attractiveness of the Swamp Pink makes it vulnerable to collecting by gardeners and 

commercial collectors. To reduce collecting, which is illegal, people can obtain plants 

cultivated from seed from some private nurseries. Even when the plants are not collected, 

visitor trampling is a problem at some sites. In the George Washington National Forest, a 

boardwalk has been constructed to help save a population there. 

Man-induced threats are not the only factors threatening the Swamp Pink. It is also 

threatened by limited genetic variability due to its mostly asexual reproduction, limited 

seed disperal and survival rates, a slow rate of growth, and limited flowering potential. 

Only 0 to 6 percent of the plants flower in any given North Carolina population. The 

flowering rate is not much higher in the three Maryland populations with only 12 to 15 

percent of the plants blooming in a given year. 

SMALL WHORLED POGONIA

Isotria medeoloides

Family: Orchidaceae

Status: State – Threatened, Federal – Threatened

Sources

http://www.ncnhp.org/Images/111.pdf

Geographic Boundaries and Spatial Distribution

This plant formerly occurred in 48 counties in 16 eastern states and Canada, but when 

listed as endangered in 1982 it was known to exist in only 16 counties in 1O states, and 

one county in Ontario, Canada. By 1991, a total of 86 sites in 15 states were known, and 
46

by 1993, there was a known total of 104 sites in 15 states. Most populations are centered in 

the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in New England and northern coastal 

Massachusetts The 23 populations in the Southeast Region occur in North Carolina (5 

populations); South Carolina (4 populations); Georgia (13 populations); and Tennessee (1 

population). Most Southeastern populations number less than 25 plants. South Carolina has 

one population of over 25 plants, and Georgia has two populations numbering about 100 

plants. Small whorled pogonia is also known from Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey, 

Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Ontario, Canada.

Historical Information

The Small whorled pogonia was first listed on September 09, 1982. It is currently 

designated as Threatened in the entire range. This species is known to occur in: 

Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, 

Maine, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, West 

Virginia, and Canada (Ont.).

This plant was reclassified from endangered to threatened because the number of known 

populations increased from 34 in 1985 to 104 in 1993. Also, the species' 1992 revised 

recovery plan stipulates that at least 25 percent of the plant's self-sustaining populations 

were protected through public ownership or private landowner management agreement. 

According to the October 6, 1994 Federal Register notice which officially downlisted the 

species, a total of 46 small whorled pogonia sites are currently protected rangewide, 24 of 

which have self-sustaining populations. In the Southeast, North Carolina has two protected 

sites, both of which are viable; South Carolina has four protected sites, two of which are 

viable; and Georgia has seven protected sites, four of which are viable.

Life History

Flowering occurs May-June. This plant may remain dormant underground for several 

years. It is usually found in colonies. Indian cucumber root (Medeola virginiana) often 

grows nearby. In the vegetative stage, the two plants look very similar, thus the name 

medeoloides, means “medeola like.” It may appear in any of four different states: 

vegetative (nonreproductive), with an abortive flower, flowering, or dormant. The 

flowering plant is tallest and has a wider whorl than the other three with a vegetative plant 

being the smallest in size. Plants that are large usually reproduce (flower) the next year 

unless some event prevents them from storing adequate energy supplies. An individual 

plant may retain a flower for 4-14 days. Dormancy may last from 1 to 10-20 years. 

Requires a symbiotic root/fungus association; seeds that germinate become established 

only on substrate containing the suitable mycorrhizal fungus.

Habitat

This species typically grows in open, dry deciduous woods and areas along streams with 

acid soil. Also grows in rich, mesic woods in association with white pine (Pinus strobus) 

and rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.). Prefers leaf litter and decaying material but may

be found on dry, rocky, wooded slopes, moist slopes or slope bases near vernal streams.
47

Reasons for Current Status

The current status of small whorled pogonia is attributed to loss of habitat and excessive 

utilization for scientific and private collections. However, some populations observed for a 

number of years have also declined for unknown reasons.

2.3.1 Aquatic and Aquatic-dependent Species Selected for Biological Evaluation

The aquatic and aquatic-dependent species that are evaluated in this document and the 

rationale for their selection is given in Table 2.2; the listed species not selected and the 

rationale for their exclusion is given in Table 2.3.

Table 2.2. New Jersey Listed Species Included in Biological Evaluation

Species Category Rationale

Shortnose sturgeon Freshwater aquatic Wholly aquatic species

Dwarf wedge 

mussel 

Freshwater aquatic Wholly aquatic species

Bog turtle Freshwater aquaticdependentInhabit fens, sphagnum bogs, and wet, 

grassy pastures 

Indiana bat Freshwater aquaticdependentFemales and juveniles forage on insects in 

the airspace near the foliage of riparian and 

floodplain trees.

Bald eagle Freshwater aquaticdependentFish are their primary diet.

Northeastern beach 

tiger beetle

Saltwater aquaticdependentForages in the damp sand of the intertidal 

zone; prey species include lice, fleas, and 

flies. Adults also regularly scavenge dead 

crabs and fish.

Piping plover Saltwater aquaticdependentThe piping plover forages on intertidal 

beaches, wash over areas, exposed 

mudflats and sandflats, wracklines, and 

shorelines

Roseate tern Saltwater aquaticdependentThis bird forages over shallow coastal 

waters, inlets, and offshore seas.

Hawksbill sea 

turtle

Saltwater aquaticdependentFrequents rocky areas, coral reefs, shallow 

coastal areas, lagoons or oceanic islands, 

and narrow creeks and passes 

Kemp's ridley sea 

turtle

Saltwater aquaticdependentCan inhabit deep or shallow estuaries 

depending on their preferred diet

Leatherback turtle Saltwater aquaticdependentCan inhabit deep or shallow estuaries 

depending on their preferred diet

Loggerhead turtle Saltwater aquaticdependentmay be found hundreds of miles out to sea, 

as well as in inshore areas such as bays, 

lagoons, salt marshes, creeks, ship 

channels, and the mouths of large rivers 
48

Table 2.2. New Jersey Listed Species Included in Biological Evaluation

Species Category Rationale

Knieskern's 

beaked-rush

Aquatic plant An obligate hydrophyte, it occurs in 

groundwater-influenced, constantly

fluctuating, successional environments

Sensitive jointvetchAquatic plant Grows in the intertidal zone where plants 

are flooded twice daily

Swamp pink Aquatic plant occurs in a variety of wetland habitats

Table 2.3. New Jersey Listed Species Not Included in Biological Evaluation

Species Rationale

Fin whale, Humpback 

whale, Right whale

These species are largely pelagic and are expected to have limited 

time within New Jersey’s offshore jurisdictional range of three 

miles for water quality criteria. Critical habitat for the right whale 

includes portions of Cape Cod Bay and Stellwagen Bank, the 

Great South Channel (each off the coast of Massachusetts), and 

waters adjacent to the coasts of Georgia and the east coast of 

Florida where they feed on dense populations of copepods. The 

near shore waters of New Jersey are apparently not a feeding area 

for the right whale.

Eastern puma Prey species include deer, elk, occasionally domestic livestock, 

and any smaller mammals which opportunity makes available. 

The preferred meat is deer. 

Seabeach amaranth Seabeach amaranth occurs on barrier island beaches, where its 

primary habitat consists of overwash flats at accreting ends of 

islands and lower foredunes and upper strands of noneroding 

beaches. 

American chaffseed It is generally found in habitats described as open, moist pine 

flatwoods, fire-maintained savannas, ecotonal areas between peaty 

wetlands and xeric sandy soils, and other open grass-sedge 

systems.

Small whorled 

pogonia

This species typically grows in open, dry deciduous woods and 

areas along streams with acid soil.

2.4 Environmental Baseline

The quality of much of New Jersey’s surface waters, where several threatened and 

endangered species live and forage for food, has been lowered by multiple human 

activities, such as the release of toxic contaminants, the loss and degradation of aquatic 

habitats and their surrounding vegetation. From a total 2,151 segments of water bodies 

sampled, 973 (45%) had at least one chemical or physical parameter exceeding a water 

quality standard criterion. Note: information on impaired sites presented in this section 

was taken from the New Jersey 2004 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment 

Report (NJDEP 2004b). In 1365 segments, the water quality standard was not attained 
49

because the waterway was impaired or threatened for one or more designated uses by a 

pollutant(s). In most cases, impairment of a water body segment resulted from multiple 

contaminants. Lead and dissolved solids were among the causes of impairment in only 43 

and 5 segments, respectively.

Some water bodies were more polluted than others. Out of a total 2870 nontidal river 

miles assessed (using 457 monitoring stations) for multiple chemical and physical 

parameters, 2187 (76%) did not meet the surface water quality standard for at least one 

factor. Concentrations of metals (arsenic, lead, mercury, copper, zinc, cadmium, 

chromium, thallium, selenium, nickel) were monitored in 12% of nontidal river miles. 

Violation of one or more surface water quality standards occurred in 72% of the monitored 

river miles. Again, lead and dissolved solids represented small percentages of all criteria 

violations. In tidal rivers, fewer chemical and physical parameters were measured. Yet, 

98% of all sampled river miles (1434.5 mi) were classified as impaired.

In many water bodies, the evidence for pollution was indirect. The Division of Fish and 

Wildlife and the New Jersey Pinelands Commission evaluated 108 lakes (14,547 acres) for 

aquatic life designated use support. Two designated uses of New Jersey lakes, reservoirs, 

and ponds were considered in this assessment: recreation and aquatic life support. A total 

of 61 lakes fully supported their designated uses. One lake was fully supporting, but 

threatened its use, and 21 lakes did not support the designated use. Twenty six Pineland 

lakes could not be assessed because clear thresholds for biological evaluation had not yet 

been developed. The quality of waters from estuaries and coasts were assessed only for 

dissolved oxygen. Over the 616 square miles of open estuarine waters evaluated, ranging 

from Newark Bay to Cape May, 48% had dissolved oxygen concentrations sufficiently

high to support a healthy biota and 52% had periodic drops to unacceptable levels of 

dissolved oxygen. In open ocean waters, from Sandy Hook to Cape May, samples 

collected at the depth of 1 meter had adequate dissolved oxygen concentrations to support 

a healthy community in all evaluated areas. In contrast, concentrations of dissolved 

oxygen at the ocean floor were inadequately low in all of the 454 square miles where 

meter deep samples were taken. The impact on aquatic organisms of temporary exposure 

to dissolved oxygen concentrations below 5 mg/L is unclear. Many benthic invertebrates 

can tolerate hypoxia, and many fishes can avoid areas with low concentrations of dissolved 

oxygen.

Our concern here is with potential adverse effects of lead and total dissolved solids on 

listed species. As a first assessment of such risks, maps of the distributions of endangered 

species were overlain with maps identifying the river miles or sites impaired by these 

contaminants. The occurrence of impaired waters within the distribution range of a 

species suggests that it may be exposed to excessively high concentrations of lead or total 

dissolved solids. Conversely, no overlap in locations of impaired sites or river miles and 

the geographic range of an endangered species indicates that lead and dissolved solids are 

not likely to adversely affect it. The available data on locations in New Jersey of sites 

impaired by these contaminants (pg. 44 for total dissolved solids and pg. 80 for lead) 

suggest no overlap with distributions of the shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum, 
50

pg. 3), dwarf wedge mussel (Alasmidonta heterodon, pg. 8), Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle 

(Lepidochelys kempii, pg. 3-4), Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Loggerhead 

turtle (Caretta caretta), Piping plover (Charadrius melodus, pg. 16), and Roseate tern 

(Sterna dougallii, pg.7). The bog turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergii), the Indiana bat (Myotis 

sodalis, pg. 3), the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, pg. 5), and the pink swamp 

(Helonias bullata) on the other hand, may be exposed to excessively high concentrations 

of lead and total dissolved solids. The beaked-rush Knieskern’s (Rhynchospora 

knieskernii) and the sensitive joint-vetch (Aeschynomene virginica) may be exposed to 

excessive concentrations of lead, yet their current distributions do not overlap with areas 

where concentrations of total dissolved solids exceed the surface water quality standard. 

3.0 ASSESSING EFFECTS OF THE NEW JERSEY CRITERIA ON FEDERALLYLISTED SPECIES

3.1 Overview

See Section 3.1 of the Methods Manual.

3.2 Data Collection

Lead

The acute and chronic lead toxicity data used in this biological evaluation were collected 

from a literature search of EPA’s ECOTOX database, EPA’s Ambient Aquatic Life Water 

Quality Criteria for Lead (U.S. EPA 1984), EPA’s draft Ambient Aquatic Life Water 

Quality Criteria for Lead (GLEC 1998), and Jarvinen and Ankley (1999). To ensure 

completeness and broad applicability of this biological evaluation, data for non-North 

American species were included.

Total Dissolved Solids

TDS is not a searchable parameter on EPA’s ECOTOX database. Therefore, general online searches were conducted to identify and obtain information on the toxicity of TDS to 

freshwater organisms. Several reviews on TDS toxicity of were obtained and used to 

identify additional references. EPA has not prepared an ambient water quality criteria 

document for TDS, but there is an AWQC document for chloride (U.S. EPA 1988), which 

was reviewed for acute and chronic toxicity of chloride.

3.3 Toxic Effects on Aquatic Species

This section presents the results of the toxic effects assessment, including the supporting 

data and analyses on Federally-listed aquatic species, their surrogates, and their food items. 

The overall process for assessing aquatic toxicity of lead is described in detail in the 

Methods Manual, Section 3.3. 
51

Although the general approach is the same, the specific procedures presented in the 

Methods Manual do not apply to TDS. TDS is a measurement of inorganic dissolved 

solids in the water of which the more common ions are chloride, bicarbonate, nitrate, 

sulfate, phosphate, sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. In surface waters, 

the combination of ions in TDS varies depending on the hydrogeology of the watershed as 

well as some anthropogenic sources. Since TDS is a complex matrix of constituents, it 

follows that its toxicity would vary depending on its makeup. The toxicity of an individual 

cation or anion in TDS may be masked or inseparably affected by its associated anion or 

cation (Goodfellow et al., 2000). Mount et al. (1997) evaluated the toxicity of more than 

2,900 ion solutions using the daphnids, Ceriodaphnia dubia and Daphnia magna and the 

fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas). Based on a statistical analysis, Mount et al. 

(1997) ranked the toxicity of the ions from most to least, K+> HCO3

-

≈ Mg2+ > Cl-> SO4

-

; 

Na+and Ca2+ were not significant variables in the regression equation.

Similar to the approach given in the Methods Manual, the general approach used to 

evaluate the New Jersey TDS criteria was to evaluate the available acute and chronic 

toxicity data and make a conservative estimate as to potential effects to the listed 

freshwater aquatic species.

3.3.1 Aquatic Animals 

This section consists of the assessment results for water-column only toxicity to aquatic 

animals. The process for assessing the effects of lead from water only exposure is 

described in Section 3.3.1 of the Methods Manual. Aquatic data for the assessment of lead 

are presented in Table 3.1 as values for a given species. These data are then used to derive 

the mean and 5th percentile values for specific taxa in Table 3.2. Several aspects of the 

assessment are worth noting here: (1) the no-observed effect concentrations (NOECs) in 

Table 4.1 are from either (a) chronic tests where lead in the exposure medium was 

measured, or (b) are derived from acute tests through acute-to-chronic ratios for lead, and 

(2) taxa in Table 3.2 are given a 5th percentile value only where there are four or more data 

points for the taxon, where an Interspecies Correlation Estimate (ICE) is available (see 

Appendix) for the taxon, and/or where a 5th percentile value was derived via an alternative 

approach for the taxon. 

Aquatic toxicity data used toward the assessment of TDS are given in Table 3.3. Where

more than one value was available for a species tested with a specific component of TDS 

(i.e., a particular ion or a synthetic effluent), a geometric mean was calculated. 
52

Table 3.1a. Freshwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the New Jersey Acute-to-chronic Ratio

(ACR) and Conversion Factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or “Estimated NOECs” 

derived via ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 14 was used. All values are dissolved lead in μg/L. 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Common Name LC50

Meas 

NOEC

Est 

NOEC

Annelida Clitellata Lumbriculida Lumbriculidae Lumbriculus variegatus Oligochaete, worm 3190 228

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Cladocera Moinidae Moina macrocopa Water flea 546 39

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Ceriodaphnia dubia Water flea 55 44

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Ceriodaphnia reticulata Water flea 1358 97

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Daphnia magna Water flea 1148 41

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Daphnia pulex Water flea 2311 165

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Simocephalus vetulus Water flea 3254 232

Arthropoda Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Chironomus tentans Midge 1280 91

Arthropoda Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Tanytarsus dissimilis Midge 161952 11568

Arthropoda Insecta Hemiptera Belostomatidae Lethocerus sp. Midge 983 70

Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Crangonyctidae Crangonyx pseudogracilis Amphipod 19955 1425

Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Gammaridae Gammarus pseudolimnaeus Scud 95 7

Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Hyalellidae Hyalella azteca Scud 18 1

Arthropoda Malacostraca Decapoda Cambaridae Orconectes limosus Crayfish 2386 170

Arthropoda Malacostraca Decapoda Cambaridae Procambarus clarkii Red swamp crayfish 396418 28316

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Catostomidae Xyrauchen texanus Razorback sucker 122910 8779

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Carassius auratus Goldfish 22775 1627

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Cyprinus carpio Common caro 912 65

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Danio rerio Zebra danio 342782 24484

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Gila elegans Bonytail 122910 8779

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Pimephales promelas Fathead minnow 1709 238

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Ptychocheilus lucius Colorado squawfish 122910 8779

Chordata Actinopterygii Cyprinodontiformes Poeciliidae Gambusia affinis

Western 

mosquitofish 173520 12394

Chordata Actinopterygii Cyprinodontiformes Poeciliidae Poecilia reticulata Guppy 14894 1064
53

Table 3.1a. Freshwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the New Jersey Acute-to-chronic Ratio

(ACR) and Conversion Factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or “Estimated NOECs” 

derived via ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 14 was used. All values are dissolved lead in μg/L. 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Common Name LC50

Meas 

NOEC

Est 

NOEC

Chordata Actinopterygii Perciformes Centrarchidae Lepomis macrochirus Bluegill 74155 5297

Chordata Actinopterygii Perciformes Centrarchidae Micropterus dolomieui Smallmouth bass 8654 293

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Oncorhynchus kisutch

Coho salmon,silver 

salmon 8352 597

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Oncorhynchus mykiss

Rainbow 

trout,donaldson trout 16098 21

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Salvelinus fontinalis Brook trout 2964 60

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Thymallus arcticus Arctic grayling 2155 154

Chordata Actinopterygii Siluriformes Heteropneustida Heteropneustes fossilis Indian catfish 75915 5423

Chordata Amphibia Anura Ranidae Rana catesbeiana Bullfrog 565

Ciliophora Ciliatea Heterotrichida Spirostomidae Spirostomum ambiguum Protozoa 1930 138

Ciliophora Ciliatea Heterotrichida Spirostomidae Spirostomum teres Ciliated protozoa 7794 557

Mollusca Bivalvia Veneroida Corbiculidae Corbicula manilensis Asiatic clam 739795 52843

Mollusca Bivalvia Veneroida Dreissenidae Dreissena polymorpha Zebra mussel 313

Mollusca Gastropoda Architaenioglos Viviparidae Filopaludina sp. Snail 137980 9856

Mollusca Gastropoda Architaenioglos Viviparidae Viviparus bengalensis Snail 1836 131

Mollusca Gastropoda Basommatophora Lymnaeidae Lymnaea emarginata Pond snail 10122 723

Mollusca Gastropoda Basommatophora Lymnaeidae Lymnaea palustris Marsh snail 15

Mollusca Gastropoda Basommatophora Physidae Aplexa hypnorum Snail 969 69

Mollusca Gastropoda Neotaenioglossa Hydrobiidae Amnicola limosa Snail 9133 652

Mollusca Gastropoda Neotaenioglossa Pleuroceridae Elimia livescens

liver elimia, river 

snail 51333 3667

Nemata Secernentea Rhabditida Rhabditidae Caenorhabditis elegans Nematode 78554 5611

Ochrophyta Coscinodiscophyceae Thalassiosirale Stephanodiscace Cyclotella meneghiniana Diatom 1617

Cyanophycota Cyanophyceae Chroococcales Chroococcaceae Anacystis nidulans Blue-green algae 144600

Cyanophycota Cyanophyceae Nostocales Nostocaceae Nostoc muscorum Cyanobacterium 14460

Bacillariophyta Bacillariophyceae Bacillariales Bacillariaceae Nitzschia obtusa Diatom 1786
54

Table 3.1a. Freshwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the New Jersey Acute-to-chronic Ratio

(ACR) and Conversion Factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or “Estimated NOECs” 

derived via ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 14 was used. All values are dissolved lead in μg/L. 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Common Name LC50

Meas 

NOEC

Est 

NOEC

Bacillariophyta Bacillariophyceae Bacillariales Bacillariaceae Nitzschia palea Diatom 2350

Bacillariophyta Bacillariophyceae Naviculales Naviculaceae Navicula confervacea Diatom 1077

Bacillariophyta Bacillariophyceae Naviculales Naviculaceae Navicula incerta Diatom 7924

Charophyta Charophyceae Charales Characeae Chara vulgaris Stonewort 5784

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Chlorococcaceae Chlorococcum sp. Alga 1808

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Oocystaceae Ankistrodesmus falcatus Green algae 1808

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Oocystaceae Ankistrodesmus sp. Alga 723

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Scenedesmaceae Scenedesmus obliquus Algae 12523

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Scenedesmaceae Scenedesmus sp. Green algae 362

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Scenedesmaceae Selenastrum capricornutum Green algae 289

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Scenedesmaceae Selenastrum sp. Alga 362

Chlorophyta Trebouxiophycea Chlorellales Chlorellaceae Chlorella saccharophila Green algae 46127

Chlorophyta Trebouxiophycea Chlorellales Chlorellaceae Chlorella sp. Green algae 362

Magnoliophyta Liliopsida Arales Lemnaceae Lemna gibba Inflated duckweed 144600

Magnoliophyta Liliopsida Arales Lemnaceae Lemna minor Duckweed 5438

Magnoliophyta Magnoliopsida Haloragales Haloragaceae Myriophyllum spicatum Eurasian watermilfoil 262449
55

Table 3.1b. Freshwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the Current USEPA Hardness Equation, 

Acute-to-chronic Ratio (ACR) and Conversion Factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or 

“Estimated NOECs” derived via ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 24.39 was used. All values are dissolved lead in μg/L.* 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Common Name LC50

Meas 

NOEC

Est 

NOEC

Annelida Clitellata Lumbriculida Lumbriculidae Lumbriculus variegatus Oligochaete, worm 1442 59

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Ceriodaphnia dubia Water flea 234 152

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Ceriodaphnia reticulata Water flea 409 17

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Daphnia magna Water flea 997 50

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Daphnia pulex Water flea 2361 97

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Simocephalus vetulus Water flea 11284 463

Arthropoda Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Chironomus tentans Midge 98449 4036

Arthropoda Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Tanytarsus dissimilis Midge 512012 20993

Arthropoda Insecta Hemiptera Belostomatidae Lethocerus sp. Midge 75644 3101

Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Crangonyctidae Crangonyx pseudogracilis Amphipod 59496 2439

Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Gammaridae Gammarus pseudolimnaeus Scud 309 13

Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Hyalellidae Hyalella azteca Scud 19 1

Arthropoda Malacostraca Decapoda Cambaridae Procambarus clarkii Red swamp crayfish 3363308 137897

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Catostomidae Xyrauchen texanus Razorback sucker 48901 2005

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Carassius auratus Goldfish 250635 10276

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Danio rerio Zebra danio 160880 6596

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Gila elegans Bonytail 48901 2005

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Pimephales promelas Fathead minnow 2443 855

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Ptychocheilus lucius Colorado squawfish 48901 2005

Chordata Actinopterygii Cyprinodontiformes Poeciliidae Poecilia reticulata Guppy 163907 6720

Chordata Actinopterygii Perciformes Centrarchidae Lepomis macrochirus Bluegill 99523 4080

Chordata Actinopterygii Perciformes Centrarchidae Micropterus dolomieui Smallmouth bass 5178 172

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Oncorhynchus kisutch

Coho salmon,silver 

salmon 33098 1357

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Oncorhynchus mykiss

Rainbow 

trout,donaldson trout 24565 131
56

Table 3.1b. Freshwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the Current USEPA Hardness Equation, 

Acute-to-chronic Ratio (ACR) and Conversion Factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or 

“Estimated NOECs” derived via ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 24.39 was used. All values are dissolved lead in μg/L.* 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Common Name LC50

Meas 

NOEC

Est 

NOEC

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Salvelinus fontinalis Brook trout 10617 213

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Thymallus arcticus Arctic grayling 8538 350

Chordata Amphibia Anura Ranidae Rana catesbeiana Bullfrog 164

Ciliophora Ciliatea Heterotrichida Spirostomidae Spirostomum ambiguum Protozoa 332058 13615

Mollusca Bivalvia Veneroida Corbiculidae Corbicula manilensis Asiatic clam 347214 14236

Mollusca Bivalvia Veneroida Dreissenidae Dreissena polymorpha Zebra mussel 189

Mollusca Gastropoda Architaenioglossa Viviparidae Viviparus bengalensis Snail 964 40

Mollusca Gastropoda Basommatophora Lymnaeidae Lymnaea emarginata Pond snail 5883

Mollusca Gastropoda Basommatophora Lymnaeidae Lymnaea palustris Marsh snail 10

Mollusca Gastropoda Basommatophora Physidae Aplexa hypnorum Snail 2175 89

Mollusca Gastropoda Neotaenioglossa Hydrobiidae Amnicola limosa Snail 146734 6016

Mollusca Gastropoda Neotaenioglossa Pleuroceridae Elimia livescens

liver elimia, river 

snail 29835 1223

Ochrophyta Coscinodiscophyceae Thalassiosirale Stephanodiscace Cyclotella meneghiniana Diatom 1617.49

Cyanophycota Cyanophyceae Chroococcales Chroococcaceae Anacystis nidulans Blue-green algae 144600

Cyanophycota Cyanophyceae Nostocales Nostocaceae Nostoc muscorum Cyanobacterium 14460

Bacillariophyta Bacillariophyceae Bacillariales Bacillariaceae Nitzschia obtusa Diatom 1785.8

Bacillariophyta Bacillariophyceae Bacillariales Bacillariaceae Nitzschia palea Diatom 2349.8

Bacillariophyta Bacillariophyceae Naviculales Naviculaceae Navicula confervacea Diatom 1077.3

Bacillariophyta Bacillariophyceae Naviculales Naviculaceae Navicula incerta Diatom 7924.1

Charophyta Charophyceae Charales Characeae Chara vulgaris Stonewort 5784

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Chlorococcaceae Chlorococcum sp. Alga 1807.5

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Oocystaceae Ankistrodesmus falcatus Green algae 1807.5

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Oocystaceae Ankistrodesmus sp. Alga 723

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Scenedesmaceae Scenedesmus obliquus Algae 12522.73

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Scenedesmaceae Scenedesmus sp. Green algae 361.5
57

Table 3.1b. Freshwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the Current USEPA Hardness Equation, 

Acute-to-chronic Ratio (ACR) and Conversion Factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or 

“Estimated NOECs” derived via ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 24.39 was used. All values are dissolved lead in μg/L.* 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Common Name LC50

Meas 

NOEC

Est 

NOEC

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Scenedesmaceae Selenastrum capricornutum Green algae 288.64

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Scenedesmaceae Selenastrum sp. Alga 361.5

Chlorophyta Trebouxiophycea Chlorellales Chlorellaceae Chlorella saccharophila Green algae 46127.4

Chlorophyta Trebouxiophycea Chlorellales Chlorellaceae Chlorella sp. Green algae 361.5

Magnoliophyta Liliopsida Arales Lemnaceae Lemna gibba Inflated duckweed 144600

Magnoliophyta Liliopsida Arales Lemnaceae Lemna minor Duckweed 5437.83

Magnoliophyta Magnoliopsida Haloragales Haloragaceae Myriophyllum spicatum Eurasian watermilfoil 262449

* The NJ Conversion Factor (0.723) was used to estimate the dissolved value for plants (algae) because hardness was not measured, and the CF for the current EPA criteria is hardnessdependent.
58

Table 3.1c. Saltwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the New Jersey Acute-to-chronic ratio (ACR)

and conversion factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or “Estimated NOECs” derived via 

ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 14 was used. All values are dissolved lean in μg/L. 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

Common 

Name LC50

Meas 

NOEC

Est 

NOEC

Annelida Polychaeta Aciculata Dorvilleidae Ophryotrocha diadema Polychaete 3,329 237.8

Annelida Polychaeta Aciculata Dorvilleidae Ophryotrocha labronica Polychaete 4,755 339.6

Annelida Polychaeta Aciculata Nereididae Neanthes arenaceodentata

Polychaete 

worm 8,440 602.9

Annelida Polychaeta Aciculata Nereididae Neanthes grubei Polychaete 4,755 339.6

Annelida Polychaeta Canalipalpata Ctenodrilidae Ctenodrilus serratus

Polychaete 

worm 5,231 373.7

Annelida Polychaeta Canalipalpata Pectinariidae Pectinaria californiensis Cone worm 4,755 339.6

Annelida Polychaeta Scolecida Capitellidae Capitella capitata

Polychaete 

worm 1,141 81.5

Arthropoda Crustacea Thoracica Balanidae Balanus eburneus Barnacle 49,547 3,539

Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Ampeliscidae Ampelisca abdita Amphipod 520 37.2

Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Corophiidae Corophium insidiosum Amphipod 4,755 339.6

Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Gammaridae Elasmopus bampo Amphipod 9,510 679.3

Arthropoda Malacostraca Amphipoda Lysianassidae Onisimus litoralis Amphipod 3,329 237.8

Arthropoda Malacostraca Decapoda Cancridae Cancer anthonyi

Yellow rock 

crab 951 67.9

Arthropoda Malacostraca Decapoda Cancridae Cancer magister

Dungeness or 

edible crab 559 39.9

Arthropoda Malacostraca Decapoda Crangonidae Crangon sp.

Caridean 

shrimp 1,997 142.7

Arthropoda Malacostraca Decapoda Palaemonidae Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Giant river 

prawn 951 67.9

Arthropoda Malacostraca Decapoda Palaemonidae Palaemon elegans

Rockpool 

prawn 99,917 7,137

Arthropoda Malacostraca Decapoda Pandalidae Pandalus montagui Aesop shrimp 356,625 25,473

Arthropoda Malacostraca Decapoda Penaeidae Penaeus chinensis Fleshy prawn 1,522 108.7

Arthropoda Malacostraca Mysida Mysidae Americamysis bahia Opossum 2,977 16.2
59

Table 3.1c. Saltwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the New Jersey Acute-to-chronic ratio (ACR)

and conversion factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or “Estimated NOECs” derived via 

ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 14 was used. All values are dissolved lean in μg/L. 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

Common 

Name LC50

Meas 

NOEC

Est 

NOEC

shrimp

Arthropoda Maxillopoda Calanoida Acartiidae Acartia clausi Copepod 635 45.4

Chordata Actinopterygii Acipenseriformes Polyodontidae Polyodon spathula Paddlefish 9,925 709

Chordata Actinopterygii Atheriniformes Atherinidae Menidia beryllina

Inland 

silverside 2,986 213

Chordata Actinopterygii Atheriniformes Atherinidae Menidia menidia

Atlantic 

silverside 9,510 679.3

Chordata Actinopterygii Cyprinodontiformes Cyprinodontidae Cyprinodon variegatus

Sheepshead 

minnow 2,986 213.3

Chordata Actinopterygii Cyprinodontiformes Cyprinodontidae Fundulus heteroclitus Mummichog 23,106 1,650

Chordata Actinopterygii Perciformes Mugilidae Liza vaigiensis

Square tail 

mullet 129,769 9,269

Chordata Actinopterygii Perciformes Serranidae Epinephelus sp.

Rockcod, 

Grouper 16,167 1,155

Chordata Actinopterygii Perciformes Terapontidae Terapon jarbua

Tigerfish, 

crescent perch 1,170 83.6

Chordata Actinopterygii Pleuronectiformes Bothidae Paralichthys olivaceus

Hirame, 

flounder 28,530 2,038

Chordata Actinopterygii Pleuronectiformes Soleidae Cynoglossus joyneri

Red Tongue 

Sole 713 50.9

Chordata Actinopterygii Scorpaeniformes Cottidae Scorpaenichthys marmoratus Cabezon 1,441 102.9

Echinodermata Echinoidea Echinoida Echinidae Paracentrotus lividus

Sea urchin, 

Echinoderm 458 32.7

Echinodermata Echinoidea Echinoida Strongylocentrotidae Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

Green sea 

urchin 9,225 658.9

Echinodermata Echinoidea Echinoida Strongylocentrotidae Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

Purple sea 

urchin 9,225 658.9

Mollusca Bivalvia Myoida Myidae Mya arenaria

soft-shell 

clam 25,677 1,834

Mollusca Bivalvia Mytiloida Mytilidae Mytilus edulis

Common bay 

mussel 453 32.3
60

Table 3.1c. Saltwater Toxicity Data Obtained Through ECOTOX and the 1998 Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead Using the New Jersey Acute-to-chronic ratio (ACR)

and conversion factor. Unless otherwise indicated LC50s are from acute tests. NOECs are either “Measured NOECs” from chronic tests or “Estimated NOECs” derived via 

ACR from acute LC50s. An ACR of 14 was used. All values are dissolved lean in μg/L. 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

Common 

Name LC50

Meas 

NOEC

Est 

NOEC

Mollusca Bivalvia Mytiloida Mytilidae Mytilus galloprovincialis

Mediterranea

n mussel 61,815 4,415

Mollusca Bivalvia Mytiloida Mytilidae Perna viridis Green mussel 8,388 599

Mollusca Bivalvia Ostreoida Ostreidae Crassostrea gigas Pacific oyster 587 42

Mollusca Bivalvia Ostreoida Ostreidae Crassostrea virginica

American or 

virginia 

oyster 2,330 166.4

Mollusca Bivalvia Ostreoida Pectinidae Argopecten irradians Bay scallop 8,179 584.2

Mollusca Bivalvia Veneroida Cardiidae Cerastoderma edule Cockle 475,500 33,964

Mollusca Bivalvia Veneroida Donacidae Egeria radiata

Freshwater 

Clam 208,269

Mollusca Bivalvia Veneroida Mactridae Spisula solidissima Surf clam 5,135 366.8

Mollusca Bivalvia Veneroida Veneridae Mercenaria mercenaria

Northern 

quahog 742 53.0

Mollusca Cephalopoda Teuthida Loliginidae Loligo opalescens

California 

market squid 1,988 142.0

Bacillariophyta Coscinodiscophyceae Lithodesmiales Lithodesmiaceae Ditylum brightwellii Diatom 38.0

Bacillariophyta Fragilariophyceae Fragilariales Fragilariaceae Asterionella japonica Diatom 256.8

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Volvocales Dunaliellaceae Dunaliella salina Green algae 855.9

Rhodophycota Rhodophyceae Gigartinales Gracilariaceae Gracilaria tenuistipitata Red algae 3,804

Rhodophycota Rhodophyceae Rhodymeniales Champiaceae Champia parvula Red algae 19.3
61

Table 3.2a. Lead Freshwater Toxicity Data by Taxonomic Group for New Jersey Criteria. The 5th percentile values are the basis for those effects concentrations (ECAs) in 

Table 4.1 that rely on surrogate data. All values are given as dissolved lead in μg/L.

Phylum Class Order Family Genus N Mean LC50

Mean 

NOEC 5th LC50

5th 

NOEC

Annelida 1 3,190 227.8

Clitellata 1 3,190 227.8

Lumbriculida 1 3,190 227.8

Lumbriculidae 1 3,190 227.8

Lumbriculus 1 3,190 227.8

Arthropoda 14 1,736 140.3 14.04 1.29

Branchiopoda 6 841 80.1 31.08 26.61

Cladocera 1 546 39.0

Moinidae 1 546 39.0

Moina 1 546 39.0

Diplostraca 5 916 92.5 27.94 24.21

Daphniidae 5 916 92.5 27.94 24.21

Ceriodaphnia 2 274 65.3

Daphnia 2 1,629 82.6

Simocephalus 1 3,254 232.4

Insecta 3 5,885 420.4

Diptera 2 14,396 1,028.3

Chironomidae 2 14,396 1,028.3

Chironomus 1 1,280 91.4

Tanytarsus 1 161,952 11,568.0

Hemiptera 1 983 70.2

Belostomatidae 1 983 70.2

Lethocerus 1 983 70.2

Malacostraca 5 1,993 142.4 1.69 0.12

Amphipoda 3 322 23.0

Crangonyctidae 1 19,955 1,425.3

Crangonyx 1 19,955 1,425.3
62

Table 3.2a. Lead Freshwater Toxicity Data by Taxonomic Group for New Jersey Criteria. The 5th percentile values are the basis for those effects concentrations (ECAs) in 

Table 4.1 that rely on surrogate data. All values are given as dissolved lead in μg/L.

Phylum Class Order Family Genus N Mean LC50

Mean 

NOEC 5th LC50

5th 

NOEC

Gammaridae 1 95 6.8

Gammarus 1 95 6.8

Hyalellidae 1 18 1.3

Hyalella 1 18 1.3

Decapoda 2 30,754 2,196.7

Cambaridae 2 30,754 2,196.7

Orconectes 1 2,386 170.4

Procambarus 1 396,418 28,315.6

Chordata 16 21,715 1,110.3 959.61 22.02

Actinopterygii 16 21,715 1,110.3 959.61 22.02

Cypriniformes 7 30,142 2,368.3 201.89 16.44

Catostomidae 1 122,910 8,779.3

Xyrauchen 1 122,910 8,779.3

Cyprinidae 6 23,847 1,903.7 172.49 14.19

Carassius 1 22,775 1,626.8

Cyprinus 1 912 65.2

Danio 1 342,781 24,484.4

Gila 1 122,910 8,779.3

Pimephales 1 1,709 237.9

Ptychocheilus 1 122,910 8,779.3

Cyprinodontiformes 2 50,837 3,631.2

Poeciliidae 2 50,837 3,631.2

Gambusia 1 173,520 12,394.3

Poecilia 1 14,894 1,063.8

Perciformes 2 25,333 1,245.4

Centrarchidae 2 25,333 1,245.4

Lepomis 1 74,155 5,296.8

Micropterus 1 8,654 292.8
63

Table 3.2a. Lead Freshwater Toxicity Data by Taxonomic Group for New Jersey Criteria. The 5th percentile values are the basis for those effects concentrations (ECAs) in 

Table 4.1 that rely on surrogate data. All values are given as dissolved lead in μg/L.

Phylum Class Order Family Genus N Mean LC50

Mean 

NOEC 5th LC50

5th 

NOEC

Salmoniformes 4 5,413 103.6 1,060.86 7.17

Salmonidae 4 5,413 103.6 1,060.86 7.17

Oncorhynchus 2 11,595 111.6

Salvelinus 1 2,964 60.1

Thymallus 1 2,155 153.9

Siluriformes 1 75,915 5,422.5

Heteropneustida 1 75,915 5,422.5

Heteropneustes 1 75,915 5,422.5

Ciliophora 2 3,879 277.1

Ciliatea 2 3,879 277.1

Heterotrichida 2 3,879 277.1

Spirostomidae 2 3,879 277.1

Spirostomum 2 3,879 277.1

Mollusca 7 18,901 1,350.1 550.23 39.30

Bivalvia 1 739,795 52,842.5

Veneroida 1 739,795 52,842.5

Corbiculidae 1 739,795 52,842.5

Corbicula 1 739,795 52,842.5

Gastropoda 6 10,258 732.7 512.35 36.60

Architaenioglos 2 15,918 1,137.0

Viviparidae 2 15,918 1,137.0

Filopaludina 1 137,980 9,855.7

Viviparus 1 1,836 131.2

Basommatophora 2 3,131 223.7

Lymnaeidae 1 10,122 723.0

Lymnaea 1 10,122 723.0

Physidae 1 969 69.2

Aplexa 1 969 69.2
64

Table 3.2a. Lead Freshwater Toxicity Data by Taxonomic Group for New Jersey Criteria. The 5th percentile values are the basis for those effects concentrations (ECAs) in 

Table 4.1 that rely on surrogate data. All values are given as dissolved lead in μg/L.

Phylum Class Order Family Genus N Mean LC50

Mean 

NOEC 5th LC50

5th 

NOEC

Neotaenioglossa 2 21,652 1,546.6

Hydrobiidae 1 9,133 652.4

Amnicola 1 9,133 652.4

Pleuroceridae 1 51,333 3,666.6

Elimia 1 51,333 3,666.6

Nemata 1 78,554 5,611.0

Secernentea 1 78,554 5,611.0

Rhabditida 1 78,554 5,611.0

Rhabditidae 1 78,554 5,611.0

Caenorhabditis 1 78,554 5,611.0
65

Table 3.2b. Lead Freshwater Toxicity Data by Taxonomic Group for Current EPA Criteria. The 5th percentile values are the basis for those effects concentrations 

(ECAs) in Table 4.1 that rely on surrogate data. All values are given as dissolved lead in μg/L.

Phylum Class Order Family Genus N Mean LC50

Mean 

NOEC 5th LC50

5th 

NOEC

Annelida 1 1,442 59.1

Clitellata 1 1,442 59.1

Lumbriculida 1 1,442 59.1

Lumbriculidae 1 1,442 59.1

Lumbriculus 1 1,442 59.1

Arthropoda 12 6,895 362.1 19.2 0.66

Branchiopoda 5 1,205 89.5 106.4 9.40

Diplostraca 5 1,205 89.5 106.4 9.40

Daphniidae 5 1,205 89.5 106.4 9.40

Ceriodaphnia 2 309 50.6

Daphnia 2 1,534 69.7

Simocephalus 1 11,284 462.6

Insecta 3 156,227 6,405

Diptera 2 224,515 9,205

Chironomidae 2 224,515 9,205

Chironomus 1 98,449 4,036

Tanytarsus 1 512,012 20,993

Hemiptera 1 75,644 3,101

Belostomatidae 1 75,644 3,101

Lethocerus 1 75,644 3,101

Malacostraca 4 5,877 240.9 0.34 0.01

Amphipoda 3 708 29.0

Crangonyctidae 1 59,496 2,439

Crangonyx 1 59,496 2,439

Gammaridae 1 309 12.7

Gammarus 1 309 12.7

Hyalellidae 1 19.3 0.79
66

Table 3.2b. Lead Freshwater Toxicity Data by Taxonomic Group for Current EPA Criteria. The 5th percentile values are the basis for those effects concentrations 

(ECAs) in Table 4.1 that rely on surrogate data. All values are given as dissolved lead in μg/L.

Phylum Class Order Family Genus N Mean LC50

Mean 

NOEC 5th LC50

5th 

NOEC

Hyalella 1 19.3 0.79

Decapoda 1 3,363,309 137,897

Cambaridae 1 3,363,309 137,897

Procambarus 1 3,363,309 137,897

Chordata 13 33,678 1,296 2,344.5 118.64

Actinopterygii 13 33,678 1,296 2,344.5 118.64

Cypriniformes 6 47,522 2,785 1,745.1 776.76

Catostomidae 1 48,901 2,005

Xyrauchen 1 48,901 2,005

Cyprinidae 5 47,251 2,975 970.9 441.97

Carassius 1 250,635 10,276

Danio 1 160,880 6,596

Gila 1 48,901 2,005

Pimephales 1 2,443 854.8

Ptychocheilus 1 48,901 2,005

Cyprinodontiformes 1 163,907 6,720

Poeciliidae 1 163,907 6,720

Poecilia 1 163,907 6,720

Perciformes 2 22,700 837.3

Centrarchidae 2 22,700 837.3

Lepomis 1 99,523 4,080

Micropterus 1 5,178 171.8

Salmoniformes 4 16,477 339.5 5,357.1 56.77

Salmonidae 4 16,477 339.5 5,357.1 56.77

Oncorhynchus 2 28,514 421.9

Salvelinus 1 10,617 213.1

Thymallus 1 8,538 350.1

Ciliophora 1 332,058 13,615
67

Table 3.2b. Lead Freshwater Toxicity Data by Taxonomic Group for Current EPA Criteria. The 5th percentile values are the basis for those effects concentrations 

(ECAs) in Table 4.1 that rely on surrogate data. All values are given as dissolved lead in μg/L.

Phylum Class Order Family Genus N Mean LC50

Mean 

NOEC 5th LC50

5th 

NOEC

Ciliatea 1 332,058 13,615

Heterotrichida 1 332,058 13,615

Spirostomidae 1 332,058 13,615

Spirostomum 1 332,058 13,615

Mollusca 6 7,486 306.9 511.0 20.95

Bivalvia 1 347,214 14,236

Veneroida 1 347,214 14,236

Corbiculidae 1 347,214 14,236

Corbicula 1 347,214 14,236

Gastropoda 5 3,475 142.5 493.7 20.24

Architaenioglossa 1 964 39.5

Viviparidae 1 964 39.5

Viviparus 1 964 39.5

Basommatophora 2 3,577 146.7

Lymnaeidae 1 5,883 241.2

Lymnaea 1 5,883 241.2

Physidae 1 2,175 89.2

Aplexa 1 2,175 89.2

Neotaenioglossa 2 6,410 262.8

Hydrobiidae 1 1,377 56.5

Amnicola 1 1,377 56.5

Pleuroceridae 1 29,835 1,223

Elimia 1 29,835 1,223
68

Table 3.3. Freshwater Toxicity Data for Total Dissolved Solids. All values are in mg TDS/L. 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Common Name

TDS 

comp’t

Mean

LC50

Mean

NOEC

Platyhelminthes Turbellaria Tricladida Planariidae Dugesia gonocephala Flatworm Cl1,230

Annelida Clitellata Haplotaxida Tubificidae Tubifex tubifex Oligochaete, worm K

+

2,000

Annelida Clitellata Haplotaxida Tubificidae Tubifex tubifex Oligochaete, worm Ca2+ 814

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Ceriodaphnia dubia Water flea Cl783

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Ceriodaphnia dubia Water flea HCO3

-

1,077

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Daphnia magna Water flea Cl1,467 372

Arthropoda Branchiopoda Diplostraca Daphniidae Daphnia magna Water flea HCO3

-

1,522

Arthropoda Maxillopoda Cyclopoida Cyclopidae Cyclops

abyssorum 

prealpinus Copepod Ca2+ 7,000

Arthropoda Maxillopoda Cyclopoida Cyclopidae Cyclops

abyssorum 

prealpinus Copepod Mg2+ 280

Arthropoda Malacostraca Isopoda Asellidae Lirceus fontinalis Isopod Cl2,950

Arthropoda Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Chironomus tentans Midge

Synthetic 

effluent 1,543

Arthropoda Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Chironomus attenuatus Midge Cl4,900

Arthropoda Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Cricotopus trifascia Midge K

+

1,567

Arthropoda Insecta Diptera Chironomidae Cricotopus trifascia Midge Cl1,406

Arthropoda Insecta Diptera Culicidae Culex sp. Mosquito Cl6,222

Arthropoda Insecta Trichoptera Hydroptilidae Hydroptila angusta Caddisfly K

+

2,316

Arthropoda Insecta Trichoptera Hydroptilidae Hydroptila angusta Caddisfly Cl2,077

Mollusca Gastropoda Basommatophora Physidae Physa gyrina Snail Cl2,540

Mollusca Bivalvia Unionoida Unionidae Obliquaria reflexa Threehorn wartback K

+

>2,000

Chordata Actinopterygii Anguilliformes Anguillidae Anguilla rostrata American eel Cl11,943

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Oncorhynchus mykiss Rainbow trout Cl4,243 923

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Oncorhynchus mykiss Rainbow trout

Synthetic 

effluent 1,348
69

Table 3.3. Freshwater Toxicity Data for Total Dissolved Solids. All values are in mg TDS/L. 

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Common Name

TDS 

comp’t

Mean

LC50

Mean

NOEC

Chordata Actinopterygii Salmoniformes Salmonidae Oncorhynchus keta Chum salmon

Synthetic 

effluent 300

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Pimephales promelas Fathead minnow Cl6,570 433

Chordata Actinopterygii Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Carassius auratus Goldfish Cl8,906

Chordata Actinopterygii Perciformes Centrarchidae Lepomis macrochirus Bluegill Cl5,685

Chlorophyta Chlorophyceae Chlorococcales Scenedesmaceae Selenastrum capricornutum Green algae

Synthetic 

effluent 2,020
70

Besides toxicity data in which LC50 and NOEC values were reported or estimated, other 

TDS data relevant to this evaluation was reviewed. Potassium chloride, as well as other 

molluscicides has been found to be effective in controlling zebra mussels. Several 

researchers have been testing the effects of these chemicals on unionid mussels for the 

purpose of evaluating their safety on non-target organisms and their effectiveness in 

controlling zebra mussels. Waller et al. (1993) tested the acute toxicity of 18 chemicals 

including KCl on two fish species and the threehorn wartyback unionid mussel, Obliquaria 

reflexa. An LC50 value could not be determined for the KCl test with the threehorn 

wartyback mussel because of insufficient mortality at the highest concentration tested 

(2000 mg/L) indicating an LC50 > 2000 mg/L.

In a separate study, Waller and Fisher (1998) tested a series of chemicals including 

calcium chloride, potassium chloride and sodium chloride on eight unionid mussels to 

which zebra mussels were attached. Tests were conducted at a concentration and duration 

found to be lethal to the zebra mussel. The toxicity of the chloride salts to the unionid 

mussels was varied between the eight species. The lowest mean mortality (6 percent) in a 

chloride salt treatment exposed to the unionids was 20,000 mg/L NaCl for 6 hours. The 

results for these tests suggest that acute effect levels for unionid mussels are higher than 

the 500 mg/L criterion adopted by New Jersey.

A field approach to determine the effect of TDS on aquatic life was undertaken by the 

Florida Department of Environmental Protection in their study, Statistical Analysis of 

Surface Water Quality Specific Conductance Data (FDEP 2005). Quantile regression was 

used to predict the effect of specific conductance on sensitive taxa found in Florida’s 

streams. Specific conductance is technically conductivity normalized to a temperature of 

25oC and recorded in μmhos/cm. Since specific conductance is a measure of water’s 

ability to conduct electricity, and therefore, a measure of the water’s ionic activity and 

content, it is directly related to TDS. Conversion factors relating specific conductance to 

TDS range from 0.5 to 0.9 depending on the ionic make-up. The study evaluated the 

correlative relationship between sensitive taxa and conductivity at sites determined to be 

“least disturbed.” Least disturbed sites were chosen to separate the effects of

anthropogenic impacts from those related to specific conductance. A total of 585 sampling 

events at 86 “least disturbed” sites were evaluated with each sampling event containing 

both benthic community and conductivity measurements. The results show a statistically

significant (p<0.001) relationship at the 90th quantile with the proportion of sensitive taxa 

and the proportion of sensitive individuals declining as conductivity increases. Specific 

conductance in Florida’s “least impaired” sites ranged from approximately 20 to 600 

μmhos/cm with the concentration of ions being very dependent on the hydrogeology of the 

watershed (i.e., groundwater-influenced surface waters were much higher in conductivity

than streams influenced primarily from runoff). The model predicts that as conductivity

increases from 20 to 200 μmhos/cm, about 50 percent of sensitive taxa are lost and 75 

percent are lost by 600 μmhos/cm. This relationship strongly suggests that the 

composition of taxa in Florida as well as streams outside of Florida naturally varies 

according to conductivity. Assuming a conversion factor of 0.7, a conductivity
71

measurement of 600 μmhos/cm is 420 mg/L TDS a concentration at which many of 

sensitive taxa found at low TDS waters would be gone. 

The Florida model suggests that there are sensitive taxa that do not inhabit surface waters 

near the New Jersey criterion of 500 mg/L. It is important to reiterate that all the 

observations in the Florida study were made at “least impaired” sites, sites which have 

minimal influence from man. Since surface waters may naturally contain TDS levels in 

this range, it is important to understand the natural water quality and specifically the TDS 

levels of the surface waters in which the two aquatic species of interest (dwarf wedge 

mussel and shortnose sturgeon) live. The prime habitat of the shortnose sturgeon includes 

river mouths, tidal rivers, estuaries, and bays suggesting this species has a tolerance for 

higher levels of TDS. The current and historical record of the dwarf wedge mussel 

indicates this species inhabits a range of stream types and water quality conditions from 

small tributaries to large rivers (e.g., Potomac River at Washington DC) (Moser 1993). 

Although limited information was found relating current populations and TDS levels, the 

dwarf wedge mussel can apparently tolerate a range of water quality conditions.

3.3.2 Comparison of New Jersey Lead Criteria with Current EPA Lead Criteria 

(Freshwater Only)

New Jersey derived their 2002 freshwater acute and chronic criteria without a hardness 

adjustment, which is a departure from the current EPA recommended freshwater lead 

criteria. An effects analysis was also performed on the EPA hardness-based lead criteria to 

assess any potential differences in the protection of listed species. The estimates for acute 

and chronic effect concentrations of lead for the listed species were based on LC50 and 

NOEC values derived using the respective parameters New Jersey and EPA used to 

calculate their criterion. Since saltwater criteria for both New Jersey and EPA do not 

adjust for hardness, this comparison was restricted to the freshwater criteria. The 

respective parameters for New Jersey and EPA were:

Parameter

New Jersey Current EPA

Acute Chronic Acute Chronic

Hardness 

adjustment

None None exp{1.273 [ln(hardness)]-

1.460} (CF)

exp{1.273 [ln (hardness)]-

4.705} (CF)

Acute-tochronic ratioNA 14 NA 24.39

Conversion 

factor

0.723 0.723 1.46203-[(ln 

hardness)(0.145712)]

1.46203-[(ln 

hardness)(0.145712)]

3.3.3 Multiple Routes of Exposure

Lead’s exposure through the diet is a potential additional threat to listed species. 

Therefore, the added risk factor from other exposure routes, FR, is applied in the chronic 
72

assessment for lead, as per the Methods Manual. The derivation of the FR for lead is based 

on the data provided in the text box below. 

Basis for Derivation of Risk Factors for Lead - New Jersey Criteria

Species Aquatic 

NOEC, 

μg/ml

Diet NOEC, 

μg/g ww

Potency

Factora

Food 

Concentration 

Factor

Risk Factorb

Oncorhynchus 

mykiss

0.021c7040d2.98 E-6 1089

e

1.0032

Basis for Derivation of Risk Factors for Lead - EPA Criteria

Species Aquatic 

NOEC, 

μg/ml

Diet NOEC, 

μg/g ww

Potency

Factora

Food 

Concentration 

Factor

Risk Factorb

Oncorhynchus 

mykiss

0.131c7040d1.86 E-5 1089

e

1.0206

a

Potency Factor = aquatic NOEC ÷ diet NOEC

b Risk factor = 1 + (PF x Food CF); the chronic ECA values in Table 4.1 were 

divided by the risk factors to obtain the ECA values.

c Aquatic NOEC is a measured value for O. mykiss.

d Diet NOEC is a measured value for O. mykiss.

e

Food CF is the 84th percentile of BCF/BAFs determined for macroinvertebrate and 

fish. The 84th percentile approximates one standard deviation above the geometric 

mean.

Risk factors were not determined for TDS because the common constituents in TDS ( K

+

, 

HCO3

-

, Mg2+, Cl-, SO4

-

, Na+, Ca2+) are not known to bioaccumulate in food. The 

biological evaluation for TDS assumed the cause of toxic effects to aquatic organisms was 

through aqueous exposure.

3.3.4 Aquatic Plants

This section consists of the assessment results for water-column only chronic toxicity to 

aquatic plants. As indicated in the Methods Manual, there are few existing data on acute 

toxicity to plants at criteria levels for most of the 304(a) criteria pollutants, and these few 

data indicate that plants do not demonstrate acute effects at criteria levels. Accordingly, 

the assessment methodology for the listed plant species is founded on appropriate 

measures of chronic toxicity, where: (1) the chronic values for plants (reported in Table 

3.1 as the NOEC) are from tests where the chemical in the exposure medium was 

measured, and (2) the endpoint measured was biologically significant (e.g., vegetative 

growth or reproduction). Because plants are rarely as sensitive as fish and 

macroinvertebrates, the recovery rate for phytoplankton is extremely rapid, and because 
73

there are few data available on the toxicity to plants, the effects determination for plants is 

based on a comparison of the chronic criterion to the most sensitive acceptable plant value. 

Toxicity data for 20 plant species, 16 algal taxa and 4 vascular plant taxa, are available for 

lead. The most sensitive are three algal taxa, Scenedesmus sp., Selenastrum sp., and 

Chlorella sp., each with a measured NOEC value of 362 μg/L. Least sensitive taxa with 

measured NOEC values exceeding 100,000 μg/L are the blue-green alga, Anacystis 

nidulans, and two vascular plants, Lemna gibba and Myriophyllum spicatum. Because the 

potential chronic effect concentration exceeds the freshwater and saltwater CCC by at least 

an order of magnitude, EPA is making a “not likely to adversely affect” finding for the 

swamp pink, Helonias bullata, Kneiskern’s beaked rush, Rhynchospora knieskernii and 

sensitive joint vetch, Aeschynomene virginica.

Note: The EPA does not adjust lead toxicity values to plants based on hardness; therefore 

the NOEC values for plants are same for both the New Jersey and EPA data sets.

Only one test with the alga, Selenastrum capricornutum was available for TDS. EVS 

(1997) reported an NOEC for S. capricornutum of >2020 mg TDS/L for a synthetic 

effluent prepared to match the overall chemical characteristics of an effluent discharged 

from the a mine. Because the potential chronic effect concentration exceeds the freshwater 

CCC by almost three orders of magnitude, EPA is making a “not likely to adversely 

affect” finding for the swamp pink, Helonias bullata, Kneiskern’s beaked rush, 

Rhynchospora knieskernii and sensitive joint vetch, Aeschynomene virginica.

3.4 Aquatic-Dependent Species

3.4.1 Overview and Background

This section comprises the assessment of the 3 freshwater and 7 saltwater aquaticdependent animal species that have more than limited exposure to “surface waters of New 

Jersey,” and which may be affected by the lead freshwater and saltwater aquatic life 

criteria and the TDS freshwater criterion. The assessment methodology for aquaticdependent species is in Section 3.4 of the Methods Manual. Effects to aquatic-dependent 

animals from contaminants can be manifested directly through exposure of the 

contaminant from food and/or water intake and indirectly through the elimination of their 

prey. This section develops the variables needed to perform an effects assessment to 

aquatic-dependent animals, namely: 

 bioconcentration/bioaccumulation factor (BCF/BAF) used to estimate the 

concentration of the contaminant in the prey tissue living in water at 

chronic criterion concentrations, 

 a dietary NOEC estimate for each listed aquatic-dependent animal, and 

 the range of effect levels for aquatic prey species of the listed aquaticdependent species.
74

The common constituents that make up TDS (K

+

, HCO3

-

, Mg2+, Cl-, SO4

-

, Na+, Ca2+) do 

not bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms and therefore exposure from TDS in food to 

aquatic-dependent animals is not included in this biological evaluation. Conversely, lead 

does bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms over a long term exposure, albeit to levels not 

very high (GLEC 1998). Similar to other inorganic metals, the low bioaccumulation 

potential of lead may be due in part to differences in the mechanisms for chemical uptake 

by aquatic organisms (e.g., passive diffusion, facilitated transport, active transport), 

differences in sorption affinities to biotic and abiotic ligands, and differences in chemical 

speciation in water (EPA 2000). It is also possible that simple lead salts are poorly

absorbed in animal intestine. An apparent characteristic of lead, as well as for certain 

other metals, is that BCF/BAFs for lead diminish up the food chain such that fish exhibit 

the lowest bioconcentration potential (Varanasi and Markey, 1978). Also, the period of 

time required to reach maximum values may be in the order of several weeks as opposed 

to several months (Allen, 1994, 1995).

3.4.2 Freshwater Exposure Assessment

Bioconcentration/bioaccumulation factors (BCF/BAFs) are used to estimate the 

concentration of lead in prey tissue (aquatic organisms). BCF/BAFs were available for 6 

freshwater invertebrate species and 3 fish studies (Table 3.4). The geometric mean of 

BCF/BAFs for 9 aquatic animals is 138 L/kg with a range of 3 (Procambarus clarkia) to 

3670 L/kg (Chironomus riparius).

Given the information available for assigning appropriate food partition coefficients, 

relative to natural (field) water and sediment concentrations, the freshwater partition 

coefficient is set at 1089 L/kg for invertebrates and vertebrates, which is the 84th percentile 

BCF (from Table 3.4) and is roughly the equivalent of the geometric mean BCF/BAF plus 

one standard deviation (the value recommended for calculating the assessment exposure 

concentration in the Methods Manual).

Table 3.4. Lead Bioconcentration and Bioaccumulation Factorsa(BCF/BAFs) for 

Freshwater Aquatic Food Organisms. BCF/BAFs are Based on Wet Weight. Sources 

Include EPA’s ECOTOX Database, and the Ambient Water Quality Criteria

Document for Lead (GLEC 1998). 

Species

Exposure 

duration

(days)

BCF/

BAF Reference

Invertebrate

Lymnaea palustris 133 1700 Borgmann, Kramar, and 

Loveridge, 1978

Physa integra 28 738 Spehar et al., 1978

Pteronarcys dorsata 28 1120 Spehar et al., 1978
75

Species

Exposure 

duration

(days)

BCF/

BAF Reference

Brachycentrus sp. 28 499 Spehar et al., 1978

Chironomus riparius 28 3670 Timmermans et al., 1992

Procambarus clarkii 84 2.8 Naqvi and Howell, 1993

Fish

Salvelinus fontinalis 140 42 Holcombe et al., 1976

Lepomis macrochirus BAF/NA 45 Atchinson et al., 1977

Oreochromis aureus 45 47 Allen 1994

Oreochromis aureus 45 38 Allen 1994

Oreochromis aureus 45 37 Allen 1994

Oreochromis aureus 140 147 Allen 1995

Oreochromis aureus 140 172 Allen 1995

Oreochromis aureus 140 41 Allen 1995

a Bioconcentration and bioaccumulation factor: concentration measured in whole animal tissue (soft tissue 

mollusks) in units of g/kg fresh weight, divided by concentration measured in water (g/L). 

3.4.3 Saltwater Exposure Assessment

Fewer studies are available to determine the bioconcentration factors (BCFs) for lead for

saltwater food items of aquatic species (Table 3.5). The data exist for only two classes of 

organisms: bivalve molluscs and bony fish. The BCF values reported in Table 3.5 range 

from a low of 1.8 L/kg for the salmonid Oncorhynchus kisutch to a high of 5,271 L/kg for 

Crassostrea gigas. The range of BCF values within this latter group of saltwater 

organisms (bivalve molluscs) is quite large and spans two orders of magnitude. For 

assessments of fish-eating wildlife, the BCF values in Table 3.5 are conservative as lead 

levels in the tissue of fishes are lower than in invertebrates. 

Given the information available for assigning appropriate food partition coefficients, 

relative to natural (field) water and sediment concentrations, the saltwater partition 

coefficient is set at 679.5 L/kg for invertebrates and vertebrates, which is the 84th

percentile BCF (from Table 3.5). 
76

Table 3.5. Lead Bioconcentration Factorsa(BCFs) for Saltwater Aquatic Food 

Organisms. BCFs are Based on Wet Weight. Sources Include EPA’s ECOTOX 

Database, the Ambient Water Quality Criteria Document for Lead (GLEC 1998), 

and Jarvinen and Ankley (1999). 

Species

Exposure 

duration

(days) BCF Reference

Bivalve

Mytilus edulis 40 650bSchulz-Baldes, 1974

Crassostrea gigas 21 5271 Amiard et al., 1995

Crassostrea virginica 140 536 Zaroogian et al., 1979

Crassostrea virginica 49 68bPringle et al., 1968

Crassostrea virginica 140 691

b

Pringle et al., 1968

Mercenaria mercenaria 56 18

b

Pringle et al., 1968

FishC

Oncorhynchus kisutch (200g) 14 1.8 Varanasi and Markey, 

1978

Oncorhynchus kisutch (200g) 14 2.3 Varanasi and Markey, 

1978

Oncorhynchus kisutch (200g) 14 25 Varanasi and Markey, 

1978

a Bioconcentration factor: concentration measured in whole animal tissue (soft tissue mollusks) in units of 

g/kg fresh weight, divided by concentration measured in water (g/L). 

b

Factor was converted from dry weight to wet weight basis by dividing tissue concentration by 5 

(assuming 80% moisture in tissue).

c

Factor based on renewal tests.

3.4.4 Toxicity Assessment - Lead

Information on the chronic dietary effects of lead to potential surrogate species is compiled 

in Table 3.6. Data are primarily from U.S. EPA’s ECOTOX database.

The long-term chronic dietary effects of lead have been assessed on the endpoints: 

mortality, growth, reproduction and eggshell thickness using surrogates of aquaticdependent species (Table 3.6). For vertebrates, the NOECs for mortality and growth for 

several bird species and two rodent species range from a low of 54 mg Pb/kg diet to 2,000 

mg Pb/kg diet. A diet concentration of 100 mg Pb/kg did not affect egg thickness of 

mallard ducks in an 85 d study (Table 3.6). A lowest-observed effect concentration 

(LOEC) based on growth was determined for juvenile shrew fed a 371 - 423 mg Pb/kg diet 

in a 31 d study. For the vertebrate data, the chronic dietary effects concentration is set at 
77

100 mg Pb/kg diet, the 16th percentile of the vertebrate values in Table 3.6. This value is 

roughly the equivalent to the geometric mean chronic dietary toxicity value minus one 

standard deviation (the value recommended for calculating the assessment exposure 

concentration in the Methods Manual). 

New Jersey has a listed insect, the Northeastern beach tiger beetle that feeds on dead and 

live marine organisms. Two chronic studies using invertebrates have assessed the effect of 

dietary lead on growth and reproduction. Denneman and Straalen (1991) reported an 

NOEC of 431 mg/kg for growth and reproduction in an oribatid mite after a 3 month 

exposure to lead in its diet. Growth and cocoon production in the compost worm was not 

affected by 886 mg/kg, but this concentration did affect hatching success of exposed 

worms. The chronic dietary effects concentration is set at 431 mg Pb/kg diet for 

invertebrates based on the oribatid mite study, because of the uncertainty of the NOEC for 

compost worm hatching success.

Table 3.6. Chronic Toxicity of Lead to Potential Surrogate Species Based on Wet 

Weight of Oral Dose. Data are from ECOTOX.

Species (age) Chemical

Dose Description, 

Duration, and 

Endpoint

Acute Toxicity 

LD50 

(mg/kg)

Chronic Toxicity

(mg/kg diet) Reference

Oribatid mite

Platynothrus 

peltifer

Lead 

nitrate

Diet, 3 months, 

NOEC – Growth 

and reproduction

-

431

Denneman and 

Straalen, 1991

Compost worm

Eisenia fetida

Lead 

nitrate

Diet, 8 weeks, 

NOEC – Growth, 

cocoon production

-

886

Reinecke and 

Reinecke, 

1996

Compost worm

Eisenia fetida

Lead 

nitrate

Diet, 8 weeks, 

LOEC – Hatching 

success

- 886 Reinecke and 

Reinecke, 

1996

Mallard duck, 

Anas 

platyrhinchos

Lead Diet, 85 d, NOEC 

- Egg thickness

- 100 Haegele et al., 

1974

Mallard duck, 

Anas 

platyrhinchos

(22 wk)

Lead Diet, 10 wk, 

NOEC- Growth 

(weight)

-

207

Heinz et al., 

1999

Swan goose

Anser cygnoides

(26 wk)

Acetic acid 

Lead 

(2+)salt

Diet, 12 wk, 

NOEC- Growth 

(wt. gain)

- 2000 Johnson and 

Damron, 1982

American kestrel, 

Falco sparverius

Lead Diet, 5-7 mo, 

NOEC -carcass 

weight

- 54 Franson, et al. 

1983
78

Species (age) Chemical

Dose Description, 

Duration, and 

Endpoint

Acute Toxicity 

LD50 

(mg/kg)

Chronic Toxicity

(mg/kg diet) Reference

American kestrel, 

Falco sparverius

Acetic acid 

Lead 

(2+)salt

Diet, 60 d, NOEC 

- Mortality

- 448.3 Custer et al., 

1984

Domestic chicken

Gallus 

domesticus

(4 wk)

Acetic acid 

Lead 

(2+)salt

Diet, 4 wk, NOEC 

- Growth (wt. 

gain)

- 100 Damron et al., 

1969

Common shrew

Sorex araneus,

(<=5 mo)

Lead Diet, 31 d, LOEC -

Growth (weight)

- 371-423 Pankakoski, et 

al. 1994

Japanese quail

Coturnix japonica

(juvenile, 1d)

Acetic acid 

Lead 

(2+)salt

Diet, 14 d, NOEC 

-Growth (weight)

- 200 Stone et al., 

1981

Norway rat

Rattus norvegicus

(juvenile)

Acetic acid 

Lead 

(2+)salt

Diet, 22 mo, 

NOEC - Growth 

(weight)

- 1000

Jessup and 

Shott, 1969

3.4.5 Risk Analysis

The exposure of lead to aquatic-dependent organisms through their food is predicted by the 

“estimated residue level in diet.” This value is determined by multiplying the CCC for lead 

by the bioaccumulation potential for lead which is represented by the 84th percentile of the 

BCF/BAF values. The “estimated residue levels in diet” for the freshwater and saltwater 

lead chronic criteria are: 

Pb Freshwater (NJ) = 5.4 g/L (CCC) * 1089 L/kg (BCF) = 5.881 mg/kg

Pb Freshwater (EPA) = 2.5 g/L (CCC) * 1089 L/kg (BCF) = 2.722 mg/kg

Pb Saltwater = 24 g/L (CCC) * 679.5 L/kg (BCF) = 16.31 mg/kg

This tissue exposure concentration for each criterion (5.881, 2.722, and 16.31 mg Pb/kg 

prey tissue) is substantially below any potential chronic dietary threshold for aquaticdependent species (invertebrates: 431 mg Pb/kg diet; vertebrates: 100 mg Pb/kg diet) and 

therefore, the effects determination of lead and TDS for aquatic-dependent species is made 

solely on the acute and chronic assessment effects concentration (ECA) values for food 

organisms of these species listed in Tables 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 (found in Section 4 of this 

document). In each instance, the food item effect concentration was derived from known 

toxicity values for suspected food items.
79

3.5 Food Items of Federally-Listed Species

This section consists of the assessment results for water-column only toxicity to food items 

of aquatic and aquatic-dependent animals. For a description of the methodology to assess 

the effects of the New Jersey lead and TDS aquatic life criteria on food items of such

species refer to Section 3.5 of the Methods Manual. 

The aquatic toxicity data used for this assessment are presented in Tables 3.1 (lead) and 

3.3 (TDS) as acute (geometric mean LC50) and chronic (geometric mean NOEC) values 

for a given species. These data are then grouped into common categories (e.g., 

oligochaetes, insects, fish, etc.) that are relevant as food for the listed species in New 

Jersey. The range of acute and chronic ECA values for freshwater (based on New Jersey

and EPA criteria) and saltwater food items are shown in the text boxes below.

Lead: Range of Effect Concentrations for Freshwater Food Items Used in 

Tables 4.1a and 4.2a – New Jersey Freshwater Criteria Parameters

Organism Type Acute EC (g Pb/L) Chronic EC (g Pb/L)

Detritus, plant matter --- 289-262,449

Diatoms --- 1,077-7,924

Oligochaetes 1,405 228

Shrimp and crayfish 7.9-176,633 1-28,316

Insects 433-71,344 70-11,568

Snails 427-60,784 15

Seeds, plants and carrion 7.9-325,901 15-262,449

Fish and turtles 402-151,005 21-565

Lead: Range of Effect Concentrations for Freshwater Food Items Used in 

Tables 4.1b and 4.2b – EPA Freshwater Criteria Parameters

Organism Type Acute EC (g Pb/L) Chronic EC (g Pb/L)

Detritus, plant matter --- 289-262,249

Diatoms --- 1,077-7,924

Oligochaetes 503 59

Shrimp and crayfish 8.4-1,481,633 1-137,897
80

Lead: Range of Effect Concentrations for Freshwater Food Items Used in 

Tables 4.1b and 4.2b – EPA Freshwater Criteria Parameters

Organism Type Acute EC (g Pb/L) Chronic EC (g Pb/L)

Insects 33,323-225,556 3,101-20,933

Snails 424-64,641 10

Seeds, plants and carrion 8.4-1,481,633 1-144,600

Fish and turtles 1,076-110,412 131-855

Lead: Range of Effect Concentrations for Saltwater Food Items Used in 

Table 4.3

Organism Type Acute EC (g Pb/L) Chronic EC (g Pb/L)

Algae - 19.03 – 3,804

Jellyfish, sponges, and 

sessile organismsa

202-4,064 32.7-658.9

worms 503-3,718 81.5-602.9

Arthropods 229-157,104 16.2

Crustaceans 229-157,104 16.2

Horseshoe crabsb229-157,104 16.2

Blue crabsb229-157,104 16.2

Molluscs 200-209,471 208,269

Fish 314-57,167 50.9-9,269

a Used data for Echinodermata because there were no data for these groups.

b Used data for Crustaceans because there were no data for this taxon.

Total Dissolved Solids: Range of Effect Concentrations for Freshwater 

Food Items 

Organism Type Acute EC (g Pb/L) Chronic EC (g Pb/L)

Detritus, plant matter --- 2020

Diatoms --- 2020
81

Total Dissolved Solids: Range of Effect Concentrations for Freshwater 

Food Items 

Organism Type Acute EC (g Pb/L) Chronic EC (g Pb/L)

Oligochaetes 814-2,000 372-1,543a

Shrimp and crayfish 2,950b372-1,543a

Insects 1,406-6,222 372-1,543a

Snails 2,540 372-1,543a

Seeds, plants and carrion N/A 2020

Fish and turtles 4,243-11,943 300-1,348

a

 Range is for all invertebrates

b

 Malacostraca was used as a surrogate

3.6 Effects on Glochidia Host Species

EPA’s recent revision of the Methods Manual (November 2005) includes an evaluation of

criteria concentrations that are likely to adversely affect freshwater mussels due to toxic 

effect to the host fish species of glochidia. Glochidia are mussel larvae, which are released 

by the female mussel to find a suitable fish host for transformation into juvenile mussels. 

Glochidia attach to the gills or fins of the host fish where they encyst and eventually fall 

and settle to the bottom as juveniles. The listed species of New Jersey includes the dwarf 

wedge mussel which has two host fish species to which its glochidia attach, the tessellated 

darter (Etheostoma olmstedi) and the mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi).

EPA recommends using the toxicity information from Tables 3.1 and 3.2 from this

document to estimate the sensitivity to the host species. Because the host species are not 

listed species, the central tendency of the toxicity (mean LC50 or NOEC) of the obligate 

host species, and not the 5th percentile conservative estimates, is used to assess whether 

there is an impact. The mean acute and chronic ECA values of obligate fish host species 

are compared to the acute and chronic criteria. The lead toxicity data set (Table 3.1) does 

not contain ECA values for either of the host species. The closest surrogate taxon for the 

mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi) is the family Cottidae in Table 3.2 which has a mean LC50 

of 1441 g/L (both New Jersey and EPA criteria); the mean NOEC for this taxon is 102.9 

g/L (New Jersey criteria) and 59.07 g/L (EPA criteria). The closest surrogate taxon for 

the tessellated darter (Etheostoma olmstedi) is the order Perciformes in Table 3.2, which

has a mean LC50 of 13,488 g/L (both New Jersey and EPA criteria); the mean NOEC for 

this taxon is 963.4 g/L (New Jersey criteria) and 553.0 g/L (EPA criteria). Because all 

the ECA values for the host species are well above the respective acute and chronic criteria 

(both New Jersey and EPA), EPA makes a “not likely to adversely affect” finding for the 

host species of the dwarf wedge mussel. 
82

For TDS, the closest surrogate for the two host fish species is the bluegill sunfish in the 

order Perciformes. The acute value for the bluegill (5,685 mg Cl-/L) is well above the 

New Jersey’s numeric criterion of 500 mg TDS/L. Since no chronic values were available 

for the bluegill, the chronic ECA value was estimated by calculating the geometric mean of 

the four NOEC values for the class Actinopterygii (638 mg/L). Because both the ECA 

values for the host species are above the respective numeric criterion, EPA makes a “not 

likely to adversely affect” finding for the host species of the dwarf wedge mussel. 

4.0 EFFECTS DETERMINATIONS

4.1 No Effect–Notes

EPA is making a “no effect” determination for species that have limited exposure to 

“waters of New Jersey.” See Section 2.3 of this document for a discussion on which 

species were selected as aquatic or aquatic-dependent and which species were considered 

to have limited exposure.

4.2 May Effect–Notes

This section contains the effect determinations for the species addressed in this biological 

evaluation, which are found in Tables 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 below. These effect determinations 

are based on the data and analyses in Section 3 of this document and are according to the 

methodology described in Section 4 of the Methods Manual. The effect determinations for 

lead and TDS rely on surrogate data and accordingly are a conservative estimate of the 

assessment effect concentration (ECA). 

The effect determinations were made on aquatic and aquatic-dependent listed species 

according to the following rationale as given in Section 4.2 of the Methods Manual.

Aquatic Species: Rationale for the Effect Determination in the Lead Analysis 

Type of Criterion

If the effects

concentration is:

Then the effects 

determination is:

New Jersey freshwater lead acute

(38 g/L)

38 g/L

<38 g/L

Not likely to adversely affect.

Likely to adversely affecta

New Jersey freshwater lead chronic

(5.4 g/L)

5.4 g/L

<5.4 g/L

Not likely to adversely affect.

Likely to adversely affecta

New Jersey saltwater lead acute

(210 g/L)

210 g/L

<210 g/L

Not likely to adversely affect.

Likely to adversely affecta
83

New Jersey saltwater lead chronic

(24 g/L)

24 g/L

<24 g/L

Not likely to adversely affect.

Likely to adversely affecta

EPA freshwater lead acute

(65 g/L)

65 g/L

<65 g/L

Not likely to adversely affect.

Likely to adversely affecta

EPA freshwater lead chronic

(2.5 g/L)

2.5 g/L

<2.5 g/L

Not likely to adversely affect.

Likely to adversely affecta

New Jersey freshwater TDS

(500 g/L)

500 g/L

<500 g/L

Not likely to adversely affect.

Likely to adversely affecta

Aquatic-dependent Species: Rationale for the Effect Determination in the Lead Analysis

Estimated Residue Level in Diet 

If the chronic 

dietary effects 

concentration is:

Then the effects 

determination is:

New Jersey Freshwater

(5.88 mg/kg)

5.88 mg/kg 

<5.88 mg/kg

Not likely to adversely affect.

Likely to adversely affecta

New Jersey Saltwater 

(16.31 mg/kg)

16.31 mg/kg 

<16.31 mg/kg

Not likely to adversely affect.

Likely to adversely affecta

EPA Freshwater 

(2.72 mg/kg)

2.72 mg/kg 

<2.72 mg/kg

Not likely to adversely affect.

Likely to adversely affecta

a Unless further evaluation or best professional judgment indicates it is reasonable to 

conclude not likely to adversely affect.

4.2.1 Not Likely to Adversely Affect

Lead

According to Tables 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, a “not likely to adversely affect” finding was 

determined for all aquatic and aquatic-dependent animal species. In making the effect

determinations for the food item component, a ‘likely to adversely affect’ determination is 

made where there is toxicity to a meaningful portion of the listed species’ diet, as indicated 

in Section 4.2 of the Methods Manual. 

The chronic effect concentration for plants (see Section 3.3.4) exceeds the freshwater and 

saltwater CCC by at least an order of magnitude. Therefore, EPA is making a “not likely

to adversely affect” finding for the swamp pink, Helonias bullata, Kneiskern’s beaked 

rush, Rhynchospora knieskernii and sensitive joint vetch, Aeschynomene virginica.
84

Table 4.1a. Results of Effects Analysis for Freshwater Aquatic Listed Species (all units in g/L)

(New Jersey Dissolved Freshwater Lead Criteria: CMC = 38 g/L, CCC = 5.4 g/L)

Scientific Name

Saltwater v. 

Freshwater 

Exposure

Order Acute

ECA

a

(μg/L)

Chronic

ECA

b

(μg/L)

Chronic

ECA’

(μg/L)

Taxon 

Represented 

by ECA

Food Items Analysisc

Adverse 

Family Items Effects

Acute ECA

(μg/L)

Chronic ECA

(μg/L)

Dwarf Wedge Mussel

Alasmidonta 

heterodon

FW Unionoida

Unionidae 242S

39.3S39.2 Mollusca

Detritus, plant matter

diatoms

N/A

N/A

289-262,449

1,077-7,924

Not likely to 

adversely 

affect

Shortnose Sturgeon

Acipenser 

brevirostrum FW Acipenseriformes

Acipenseridae 191I

31.0I30.9 Acipenser 

brevirostrum

oligochaetes, 

aquatic insect larvae, 

plants, 

snails, 

shrimp, and crayfish

1,405

433-71,344 

N/A

427-60,784

7.9-176,633

228

70-11,568

289-262,449

15-9,856

1-28,316

Not likely to 

adversely 

affect

a Acute assessment effects concentration derived using divisor of 2.27. 

b Chronic assessment effects concentration based on the NOEC.

c Ranges of toxicity values for food items are provided in the order the food items appear. Ranges are from text box (Section 3.5 this document).

I Estimate derived from an ICE model (lower bound of the 95% confidence interval) at the species, genus, or family level. All selected models are listed in 

Appendix A.

S Estimate derived from the SSD model (5% percentile). Value taken from Table 3.2a.
85

Table 4.1b. Results of Effects Analysis for Freshwater Aquatic Listed Species (all units in g/L)

(USEPA Freshwater Dissolved Lead Criteria based on a hardness of 100 mg/L as CaCO3 : CMC = 65 g/L, CCC = 2.5 g/L)

Scientific Name

Saltwater v. 

Freshwater 

Exposure

Order Acute

ECA

a

(μg/L)

Chronic

ECA

b

(μg/L)

Chronic

ECA’

(μg/L)

Taxon 

Represented 

by ECA

Food Items Analysisc

Adverse 

Family Items Effects

Acute ECA

(μg/L)

Chronic ECA

(μg/L)

Dwarf Wedge Mussel

Alasmidonta 

heterodon

FW Unionoida

Unionidae 225S

21.0S20.6 Mollusca

detritus

diatoms

plant matter

N/A

N/A

N/A

289-262,249

1,077-7,924

289-262,249

Not likely to 

adversely 

affect

Shortnose Sturgeon

Acipenser 

brevirostrum FW Acipenseriformes

Acipenseridae 278I

25.9I25.4 Acipenser 

brevirostrum

oligochaetes, 

aquatic insect larvae, 

plants, 

snails, 

shrimp, and crayfish

503

33,323-225,556

N/A

424-64,641

8.4-1,481,633

59

3,101-20,993

289-262,249

10-6,016

1-137,897

Not likely to 

adversely 

affect

a Acute assessment effects concentration derived using divisor of 2.27. 

b Chronic assessment effects concentration based on the NOEC.

c Ranges of toxicity values for food items are provided in the order the food items appear. Ranges are from text box (Section 3.5 this document).

I Estimate derived from an ICE model (lower bound of the 95% confidence interval) at the species, genus, or family level. All selected models are listed in 

Appendix A. 

S Estimate derived from the SSD model (5% percentile). Value taken from Table 3.2.
86

Table 4.2a. Analysis of Effects to Freshwater Aquatic-Dependent Species (Concentrations Based on Wet Weight)

(New Jersey Dissolved Freshwater Lead Criteria: CMC = 38 g/L, CCC = 5.4 g/L)

Species

BAF of food 

organism–

Freshwatera

Estimated Residue

levels in diet–

Freshwater (mg/kg)b

Chronic EC (Dietary 

Effects 

Concentration) 

(mg/kg)c

Food Items Analysisd

(all units in g/L, unless noted otherwise)

Item Adverse Effects

Acute 

ECA

Chronic 

ECA

Bald eagle 

Haliaeetus 

leucocephalus

1089 5.88 100

fish and turtles;

small mammals, waterfowl 

and carrion

402-151,005

N/A

21-24,484

N/A

Not likely to adversely affect

Bog Turtle

Clemmys muhlenbergii 1089 5.88 100

oligochaetes, 

insects, 

seeds, plant leaves, carrion

1,405

433-71,344 

7.9-325,901

228

70-11,568

5,438-262,449

Not likely to adversely affect

Indiana bat

Myotis sodalis 1089 5.88 100 insects 433-71,344 70-11,568 Not likely to adversely affect

a BAF values were determined on a wet weight basis. The BAF of 1089 is the 84th percentile of 14 BCF/BAFs determined for fish and invertebrates. The 84th

percentile approximates one standard deviation above the geometric mean .

b Estimated residue value is the product of the default BAF value for lead and the freshwater CCC value, 5.4 μg/L, then divided by 1000g/L, e.g., (5.4 g/L x 1089 

L/kg) x 1mg/1000 g, assuming 1L is approximately 1 kg (see Section 3.4.5).

c Chronic EC values are the 16th percentile of the dietary effect values for seven bird studies, one shrew study and one rat study.

d Ranges of toxicity values for food items are provided in the order the food items appear. Ranges are from text box (Section 3.5 this document), unless indicated 

otherwise.
87

Table 4.2b. Analysis of Effects to Freshwater Aquatic-Dependent Species (Concentrations Based on Wet Weight)

(USEPA Freshwater Dissolved Lead Criteria based on a hardness of 100 mg/L as CaCO3: CMC = 65 g/L, CCC = 2.5 g/L)

Species

BAF of food 

organism–

Freshwatera

Estimated Residue

levels in diet–

Freshwater (mg/kg)b

Chronic EC (Dietary 

Effects 

Concentration) 

(mg/kg)c

Food Items Analysisd

(all units in g/L, unless noted otherwise)

Item Adverse Effects

Acute 

ECA

Chronic 

ECA

Bald eagle 

Haliaeetus 

leucocephalus

1089 2.72 100

fish and turtles;

small mammals, waterfowl 

and carrion

1,076-110,412

N/A

131-10,276

N/A

Not likely to adversely affect

Bog Turtle

Clemmys muhlenbergii 1089 2.72 100

oligochates, 

insects, 

seeds, plant leaves, carrion

503

33,323-225,556

8.4-1,481,633

59

3,101-20,993

1-144,600

Not likely to adversely affect

Indiana bat

Myotis sodalis 1089 2.72 100 insects 33,323-225,556 3,101-20,993 Not likely to adversely affect

a BAF values were determined on a wet weight basis. The BAF of 1089 is the 84th percentile of 14 BCF/BAFs determined for fish and invertebrates. The 84th

percentile approximates one standard deviation above the geometric mean.

b Estimated residue value is the product of the default BAF value for lead and the freshwater CCC value, 2.5 μg/L, then divided by 1000g/L, e.g., (2.5 g/L x 1089 

L/kg) x 1mg/1000 g, assuming 1L is approximately 1 kg (see Section 3.4.5).

c Chronic EC values are the 16th percentile of the dietary effect values for seven bird studies, one shrew study and one rat study.

d

. Ranges of toxicity values for food items are provided in the order the food items appear. Ranges are from text box (Section 3.5 this document), unless indicated 

otherwise.
88

Table 4.3. Analysis of Effects to Saltwater Aquatic-Dependent Species (Concentrations Based on Wet Weight)

(New Jersey Saltwater Dissolved Lead Criteria: CMC = 210 g/L, CCC = 24 g/L)

Species

BAF of food 

organism–

Freshwatera

Estimated Residue

levels in diet–

Freshwater 

(mg/kg)b

Chronic EC 

(Dietary Effects 

Concentration) 

(mg/kg)c

Food Items Analysisd

(all units in g/L, unless noted otherwise)

Item Adverse Effects

Acute 

ECA

Chronic 

ECA

Northeastern 

beach tiger beetle 

Cicindela dorsalis 

dorsalis

679.5 16.31 431

beach arthropods,

dead amphipods, marine 

fish and crabs

229-157,104

229-157,104

16.2 - 25,473

16.2 - 25,473

Not likely to adversely 

affect

Piping plover

Charadrius 

melodus 679.5 16.31 100

marine worms;

marine mollusks;

marine crustaceans and 

insects

503-3,718

200-209,471

229-157,104

81.5 - 602.9

32.3 - 208,269

16.2 - 25,473

Not likely to adversely 

affect

Roseate tern

Sterna dougallii 

dougallii

679.5 16.31 100

fresh and marine small fish 

and minnows

314-57,167 50.9 - 9,269 Not likely to adversely 

affect

Hawksbill sea 

turtle 

Eretmochelys 

imbricata

679.5 16.31 100

jellyfish, sponges, 

sessile organisms;

marine algae

202-4,064 32.7 - 658.9

19 - 3,804

Not likely to adversely 

affect

Kemp's ridley sea 

turtle 

Lepidochelys 

kempi

679.5 16.31 100

blue crabs and other marine 

crustaceans

229-157,104 16.2 - 25,473 Not likely to adversely 

affect

Leatherback turtle 

Dermochelys 

coriacea

679.5 16.31 100

jellyfish and 'soft-bodied' 

sea animals

202-4,064 32.7 - 658.9 Not likely to adversely 

affect
89

Loggerhead turtle

Caretta caretta 679.5 16.31 100

marine sponges;

mollusks;

horseshoe crabs

202-4,064

200-209,471

229-157,104

32.7 - 658.9

32.3 - 208,269

16.2 - 25,473

Not likely to adversely 

affect

a

 BAF values were determined on a wet weight basis. The BAF of 679.5 is the 84th percentile of BCF/BAFs determined for fish and invertebrates. The 84th

percentile approximates one standard deviation above the geometric mean.

b

 Estimated residue value is the product of the BAF value for lead and the freshwater CCC value, 24 μg/L, then divided by 1000g/L, e.g., (24 g/L x 679.5 L/kg) x 

1mg/1000 g, assuming 1 L is approximately 1 kg (see Section 3.4.5).

c Several chronic dietary toxicity values exist for surrogate aquatic-dependent species where the dose has been expressed in the desired units of mg Pb/kg food (prey 

item). The 16th percentile value of 100 mg/kg food was selected as the NOEC value for the analysis.

d Ranges of toxicity values for food items are provided in the order the food items appear. Ranges are from text box (Section 3.5 this document), unless indicated 

otherwise.
90

Total Dissolved Solids

The two listed freshwater species that are the focus of the biological evaluation for TDS 

are the dwarf wedge mussel and the shortnose sturgeon. The closest taxonomic grouping 

in Table 3.3 for the shortnose sturgeon is Class Actinopterygii which has five mean LC50 

values ranging from 4,243 to 8,906 mg/L; and four mean NOECs (range, 300 to 1,348 

mg/L). The prime habitat areas for shortnose sturgeon are river mouths, tidal rivers, 

estuaries, and bays suggesting this species is tolerant to high levels of TDS. Shortnose 

sturgeon do migrate upstream to spawn to waters most likely with lower TDS levels. TDS 

has been associated with effects on egg hardening in salmonids, but in a review of TDS 

effects on salmonids as well as other aquatic life by Scannell and Jacobs (2001), the 

authors noted fertilization and hatching rates in coho and chum salmon are significantly

reduced beginning in the range of 750 mg/L. Although little is known of the spawning 

requirements of the shortnose sturgeon, a criterion of 500 mg/L should be protective of 

young production based on the response of sensitive salmonid species. Based on the 

toxicity data for Class Actinopterygii in Table 3.3 and its preference for high TDS waters, 

EPA is making a “not likely to adversely affect” finding for New Jersey’s TDS criteria on 

the shortnose sturgeon.

Regarding the dwarf wedge mussel, Table 3.3 lists an LC50 of >2000 mg KCl/L for a 

mussel in the same family (Unionidae), the threehorn wartyback. Since no chronic data 

are available for mollusks, the surrogate NOECs for invertebrates are 372 mg/L (Daphnia 

magna) and 1,543 mg/L (Chironomus tentans). Daphnids appear to be one of the more 

sensitive groups to TDS with D. magna and Ceriodaphnia dubia all having mean LC50 

values less than 2000 mg/L (Table 3.3). This latter observation is relevant to the New

Jersey TDS criteria in that C. dubia is a test species in New Jersey’s whole effluent 

toxicity (WET) program and part of the TDS criterion requires compliance with WET 

limitations (see Section 2.2.1). Based on the ability of the WET program to control TDS 

and the apparent lack of sensitivity of Unionid mussels to TDS, EPA is making a “not 

likely to adversely affect” finding for New Jersey’s TDS criteria on the dwarf wedge 

mussel.

For the plants that may be exposed to TDS, the potential chronic effect concentration 

exceeds the freshwater CCC by almost three orders of magnitude. Therefore, EPA is 

making a “not likely to adversely affect” finding for the swamp pink, Helonias bullata, 

Kneiskern’s beaked rush, Rhynchospora knieskernii and sensitive joint vetch, 

Aeschynomene virginica.

4.2.2 Species Requiring Further Evaluation

Lead

None. No particular group of organisms as a whole appears to be most sensitive, such that 

further evaluation would be needed.
91

Total Dissolved Solids

None. Neither the dwarf wedge mussel nor the shortnose sturgeon appear to be sensitive 

to TDS, such that further evaluation would be needed.

5.0 ASSESSING EFFECTS OF THE NEW JERSEY LEAD AND TOTAL 

DISSOLVED SOLIDS CRITERIA ON DESIGNATED CRITICAL HABITAT

None of the listed species addressed in this biological evaluation have a critical habitat 

designated in New Jersey. Accordingly, where EPA has made a “not likely to adversely 

affect” for a listed species, EPA will similarly make a “not likely to adversely affect” 

determination for its critical habitat.
92

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