P.1 

OAR Box 1128 

Prepped by Ollie Stewart 

Document Number: 

66) 11-1-244 

Docket Number: 

A-83-22 

Printed 4/21/2008 11:07:13 AM Sheet 66 of 198 
P.2 

'> 

r >/-" 

p'5-f r / iui i s. 

fir ! ^ ^ 

n^the2Set4ljiieirts and Fauna of a Small Midwestern Stteaiu 

ERJu/MRlieSt^lCeK R W. Larimore, M. J. Wetzel 

.i-- Illinois State Natural History Survey 

Natural Resources Bldg. 

Urbana, Illinois, U.S.A. 

61801 

The combustion of gasoline containing tetraethyl lead has caused a signinicant redistribution of lead in the environment. Lead emissions from automobile 

exhausts, which commonly excede 0.5 g/1 of gasoline burned, total nearly 1.7 kg 

per car per year More than 60% of these lead emissions are particulates with 

an average atmospheric residence time of about one month

 2. Wind dispersal of 

such particles causes widespread, low-level contamination. Lead levels, although 

excessive in terrestrial environments adjacent to roads with high traffic volumes, 

rapidly approach background values as the distance from a road increases

 3fl*. 

Lead from terrestrial ecosystems enters most aquatic systems primarily in 

the surface runoff containing lead as suspended particles, in solution, or adsorbed to_jojl_pj1rticles

 5'6. Atmospheric fallout, aerosals scrubbed from the 

air by precipitation, and direct contact with products containing lead are other 

sources of lead in an aquatic ecosystem. All of these potential sources of lead 

in the hydrosphere are likely to occur in urban areas. Since aquatic systems 

have no major exports of lead, they must be considered potential sinks for lead 

pollution. 

This investigation of lead accumulation in the fish, invertebrates, macrophytes, and sediments of a small stream system was undertaken as a portion of 

a total ecosystem analysis. Appropiate measurements were made to compare lead 3paccumulations in organisms of rural and urban stream ecosystems and to determine 

the distribution of lead in the drainage system. 
P.3 

McNurney, et al, 

STUDY AREA 

The Saline Ditch drainage above Mayview, Champaign County, Illinois, was 

divided into four study areas; the Rural Compartment, the Urban Compartment, 

The Marginal Compartment, and the Combined Compartment (Fig. 1). Sampling 

stations were assigned in each compartment to include a variety of habitats and 

localities. The information from each sampling site was extrapolated to a representative portion of the stream within each compartment. 

The Rural Compartment consisted of the main stream of the Saline Ditch 

and its headwater tributaries north of Champaign and Urbana, Illinois. /The 

drainage basin encompassed 13,626 ha of predominately agricultural land. Two 

major highways, Interstate 57 and U.S. 45, crossed the basin. Most of the 

47.5 km of streams have been channelized on several occasions to facilitate 

drainage. Four sampling stations (I-IV) were established on primary and secondary tributaries as well as three (V-VII) on the main channel (Fig. 1). The 

stream gradient varied from 0.19% for the trubutaries to 0.06% for the main 

3 ? 

channel. The discharge of the Rural Compartment was normally about 20 m /min. \, 

The predominant substrate was silt in the tributaries and sand and gravel in 

the main stream (Table 1). 

Cm^r\ OAJLtx. —, 

The Marginal Compartment, a stream section 5.5 km long with a catohmont 

of only 2,287 ha, was considered a transitional area between the rural and 

urban areas. Due to the complexity of external influences, minimal effort was 

expended on the two stations (VIII and IX) in this area. The gradient, discharge, and substrate composition were very similar to those of the Rural Compartment main channel. The allochthonous influences on this extension of the 
P.4 

McNurney, et al. 

rural channel were principally of urban origin. 

Boneyard Creek, a 4.8-km tributary to the Saline Ditch, was designated 

as the Urban Compartment. The entire 1,611-ha drainage basin was within the 

city limits of Champaign and Urbana. The bed gradient was about 0.15%, and 

3 

the normal discharge was about 5.0 m /rain. Almost 20% of Boneyard Creek was 

routed through poured concrete channels, segments of which were entirely underground. The natural stream bed was almost entirely sand and gravel (Table 1). 

High total dissolved solids and periodic occurrences of ammonia characterized 

the chemical nature of the stream. 

The Combined Compartment was comprised of the discharges from the Saline 

Ditch headwaters, Boneyard Creek, and the Urbana Sewage Treatment Plant. Two 

stations (XIII and XIV) were located along its 10.6-km length. The stream 

bed had an average gradient of 0.07%. The discharge from the study area was 

3 

usually about 60 m /min. Urban and rural land as well as a sanitary landfill 

were found within the 3,774-ha drainago baoi-n. The substrate was almost entirely sand and gravel (Table 1). The water was generally high in nutrients. 

METHODS 

Essential measurements of the size and character of the stream were made 

and updated throughout the study period. Width, depth, current velocity, and 

substrate type were measured on transects at 400-m intervals along the stream 

length. Discharge, bottom composition, and stream area for each station were 

calculated from these data. 

Quantitative samples of invertebrates and plants were taken with sub2 2 

strate samplers of three sizes (1/4-m open cylinder, 1/25-m grab sampler, or 

2 

1/300-m corer). The size used depended on the density of organisms at a par-
P.5 

McNurney, et al, 

-4-

ticular site. Benthic samples were taken at each station from each of available silt, sand, and gravel substrates. Samples were washed on a #30 seive and 

sorted by hand. In most cases, since the mass from quantitative samples was 

C 

insufficient for accurate lead analyses, supplementary samples were selective- ^r 

ly taken in order to acquire specific organisms for analyses. These samples 

were rinsed and sorted to allow seperation of organisms of interest. Invertebrates were washed in 95% ethyl alcohol, dried at approximately 100 C, and 

ground to a homogeneous powder. Aquatic plants were washed with water, dried, 

and ground to a powder. Most samples contained many individuals. 

J7°-

Fish were confined in a measured portion of stream with two 6-m seines 

e 

of 0.5-cra mesh. The upstream seinAwas slowly moved downstream, driving the 

fish into a bag seine at the lower end of the blocked-off segment. A series 

of samples of an isolated section indicated that this technique effectively 

removed 50% of the fish population without specific selection except that large "' 

carp (Cyprinus carpio) were successful in avoiding capture. The uniformity 

of the banks and bottom of the Saline Ditch, due to earlier channelization, 

permitted effective use of this technique. Fish were sorted after capture, oven 

dried without a preservative, and ground to homogeneous powder. Most samples 3 r 

tested for content consisted of one to three individuals. 

At the analytical laboratory, dried biological samples (2-g portions of 

larger samples) were transferred to weighed, tall-form Pyrex beakers and dried 

at 105 C for 3 h to obtain reference weights. 

The samples were then placed in a muffle furnace at room temperature. 

The furnace temperature was programmed for a 4-h rise time to 490 C, maintained 

at 490+5 C for 5 h, and allowed to return to room temperature before the samples 

were removed. A flow of supplementary air at approximately 3 1/h was maintain-
P.6 

j , e t .ii, 

ed through the furnace during the ashing cycle. The ashed samples were digested in 10 times the dried sample weight of 3N HCI for 4 h at approximately 80 C 

and allowed to cool. Deionized water was added to restore the original weight. 

Samples containing visible suspended matter or residue were filtered through 

Whatman No. 1 cellulose filters. 

Lead concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry 

with appropriate correction made for nonspecific absorption. Absorbance values for lead were measured at 283.3 nm, and nonspecific absorption was simultaneously measured at a "nonabsorbing" lead line at 287.3 nm. Appropriate 

reagent blank corrections were made. Analytical curves were calibrated from 

lead standards in 3N HCI; lead concentrations were reported as parts per million on the dried sample basis. 

2 

Sediment samples were taken with a 1/300-m piston coring device to a 

depth of 10 cm. Most of the penetration of benthos and circulation of water 

was judged to occur in the upper 10 cm of sediment. Samples were screened to 

remove material larger than 2.0 mm in diameter, since preliminary work indi- S/°. 

cated that more than 90% of the lead was associated with smaller particles. 

Samples were dried and thoroughly mixed before subsampling for analysis. 

Analytical samples of 1 to 2 g, obtained by means of a riffle-type sample splitter, were transferred to weighed Pyrex beakers and were dried, weighed, 

ashed, and digested in 3N HCI according to the procedure for determining lead 

in animal tissue. The digested samples were allowed to cool, and deionized 

water was added to restore the original weights. The leachate was obtained 

for analysis by suction filtration through a Whatman No. 1 filter. 

Lead concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry 
P.7 

McNurney, et al, 

-6-

with appropriate correction for nonspecific absorption. Absorbance values for 

lead were measured at 287.3 nm. Nonspecific absorbance was simultaneously measured at a "nonabsorbing" lead line at 287.3 nm. Analytical curves were calibrated from lead standards in 3N HCI. Lead concentrations were reported as 

parts per million on the basis of the <2-mm fraction. 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

The distribution of benthos in the study area was highly variable (Table 

2). The total population density in the Combined Compartment was consistently 

higher than in the Rural or Urban compartments. Although the overall biomass 

densities (corrected for substrate availability) were not very different between 

the Rural and Urban compartments, the density on suitable substrates was much 

higher in the urban area. In all compartments in all seasons the biomass density was consistently highest on silt substrate. In the entire Rural Compartment nearly 70% of the biomass and 80% of the different species of benthos were 

found on the 25% of the stream bottom covered by silt. In most instances these 

wereareas_of_deposition composed of fines and organic detritus. These types 

of^sediments are more effective at binding lead than are the sand and gravel 

types because of their small average particle size and organic constituents,7. 

Benthic organisms were, therefore, congregated in areas of highest sediment 

lead levels. j 

Substantial temporal variations in biomass occurred in all compartments 

with a peak biomass evident in winter. Statistically significant seasonal 

changes in lead levels were determined only for Tubificidae from the Urban 

Compartment. V There was no difference, at the 0.5% level, between "seasonal **+** Ar*****"^* 

--from spring, summer, and fallj Wnwrvrr, tho mean lead concentration **• 
P.8 

McNurney, et al, 

-7-

twbifieida increased by over 60% to 484 ppm, MI winHay, This peak value corresponded to a period of high surface runoff when the ground was impermeable due 

to freezing. 

Lead levels (ppm of dry weight) of aquatic organisms varied substiantially 

both within and between compartments (Fig. 2). Lead levels in organisms from 

the Combined Compartment were generally 2-4 times higher than they were in the 

same kinds of organisms from the Rural Comaprtment. Similar organisms in the 

Urban Compartment had levels 10-20 times higher than those from the Rural Compartment. The mean levels for different species within any compartment were 

markedly different. The range of specific means extended from about 1.5 to 

30 ppm in the Rural Compartment, 30 to 90 ppm in the Combined Compartment, and 

10 to 370 ppm in the Urban Compartment. Standard deviations, usually between 

30% to 100% of mean values, indicated high individual variability within a 

taxonomic group. Analytical error, as determined from replicate samples, was 

found to be only about 10%. 

Significant differences occurred in lead levels of sediment samples from 

various sections of the Saline Ditch drainage (Table 3). The lead concentrations in Boneyard Creek sediments reached a maximum of 1100 ppm. The mean value 

was more than 10 times greater than that of the Combined Compartment. Rural 

sediments had levels less than half those of the Combined Compartment. There 

was no significant difference in sediment lead levels between stations on the 

rural tributaries and those in the Marginal Compartment. The area between, the 

main stream rural stations, had significantly lower levels. 

The importance of urban runoff as a source of lead, and potentially of 

other heavy metals, was obvious. Lead concentrations in stream sediments and 

three organisms (Figure 2) showed progressive increases correlated with the 
P.9 

McNurney, et al. 

-8-

relative amount of urban runoff received by the section of stream represented. 

In the Rural Compartment, lead levels were the same as those in surrounding 

field soils. Values from the rural channel and tributaries (considered baseline data) were exceeded, successively, by values from the Marginal, Combined, 

and Urban compartments. The highest lead levels, in all cases much greater than 

any others, were found in the Urban Compartment. Sediments at Station X, the 

headwaters of Boneyard Creek, had a mean lead content of 584 ppm (dry weight), 

a value significantly higher than those of all other stations. The relatively 

high concentration of lead in the sediments of the rural tributaries resulted 

from the ability of these very fine, highly organic sediments to bind lead more 

successfully than the sand material which predominated elsewhere in thewatershed. 

Perhaps the most striking result of this study was the variability of 

lead levels of- different species from the same community. Such variation was A 

most evident in the Rural Compartment, where the most complex community structure existed. Lead concentrations of dry animal tissue ranged from 1.4 to 

16.0 ppm (Fig. 3). When the fauna of the stream was divided into gToups based 

on their food and habitat requirements, a very logical sequence developed. 

The first group, with the highest lead burdens, was composed of the mayfly, Hexagenia limbata, the Tubificidae, and the non-tubificid oliochaetes. 

These organisms burrow into and ingest the substrate

 e'9. In the present study, 

these species showed a definite preference for silt substrate, where they were 

continually exposed, both internally and externally, to high lead sediments. 

The second group was composed of benthic fauna inhabiting the sedimentwater interface. Orconectes virilis, which feeds on vegetation and detritus

 10* 

t

 . » 

the pelecypods, which are filter feeders utilizing suspended detritus, and j 
P.10 

McNurney, et al. 

-9-

Etheostoma nigrum, a benthic, carnivorous fish which occasionally ingests detritus and silt

 u , were included in this category. These organisms, which occasionally contacted lead-rich material in their food source and environment, had 

intermediate lead levels. 

The remaining two divisions were composed of fishes with very little body 

contact with settled or suspended sediment material and, therefore, low lead 

levels. Catostomus commersoni and Pimephales notatus are bottom feeding omnivores often ingesting mud and detritus

 12,13,1 \ Semotilus atromaculatus, 

Ericymba buccata, and Notropis umbratilus, on the other hand, are principally , 

carnivores

 1<*'15»l6*l7»18

 whose most likely lead source is their food. S_. 

atromaculatus, whose mean lead level was significantly lower (at the 5% level) 

than those of all other species, tends to be a piscivore, while E. buccata and 

N_. umbratilus are usually restricted to eating invertebrates. 

The lack of accumulation of lead through trophic levels was clearly indicated by these and other data

 19. The results of this study implied that internal (through ingestion) and external contact with lead sources may simultaneously or independently increase body burdens of lead in aquatic organisms. 

In this stream systemjSediments acted as a sink for lead which entered 

in association with surface runoff. Since organisms accumulated lead from contact with high-level sediments material as well as from food sources, the lead 

burden of a particular organism could be predicted from its niche and habitat 

requirements and measurements of the sediment lead level. Sediment lead levels 

couldbe predicted by determining the relative amount of urban runoff to a 

stream section and the substrate composition in the area. 
P.11 

McNurney, et al, 

-10-

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

This work was funded by the National Science Foundation-RANN Grant GI31605 through the University of Illinois, as part of an interdisciplinary study 

of the effects and distribution of lead in the environment. Lead analyses were 

performed at the Institute of Environmental Studies' Environmental Research 

Laboratory at the University of Illinois. 
P.12 

-11-

References 

1. Hutchinson, T. C., Lead pollution, the automobile, and health, Inst. 

Environ. Sci. Eng., Univ. Toronto Pub. EF-5.1-10, 1973. 

2. Ter Haar, B. L., e t al. , Lead and Lead-210 in rainwater, Nature 216:353-

355, 1967. 

3. Gish, C. D., and R. E, Christensen, Cadmium, nickel, lead, and zinc in 

earthworms from roadside soil, Environ, Sci. Techno. 7(11):1060-1062, 

1973. 

4. Singer, M. J., and L. Hanson, Lead accumulation in soils near highways in 

the twin cities metropolitan area, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 33:152-153, 

1969. 

5. Kubota, J. et al., Lead, Ca, An, and Co in streams and lake waters of 

Cayuga Lake basin, New York, Environ. Sci. Technol. 8(3):243-248, 1974. 

6. Leiand, H. V., and J. M. McNurney, Lead transport in a river ecosystem, 

Proceedings of the international conference on transport of persistant 

chemicals in aquatic ecosystems, Ottawa, Canada, 1974. 

7. Siccama, T. G., and E. Porter, Lead in a Connecticut salt marsh, BioScience 

22(4):232-234, 1972. 

8. Hunt, B. P., The life history and economic importance of a burrowing mayfly, Hexagenia limbata, in southern Michigan lakes, Mich. Dept. Conserv., 

Bull, Inst. Fish. Res. 4:1-151, 1953. 

9. Pennak, R. W., Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States, pp. 278-

287, The Ronald Press Co., New York, 1953. 
P.13. 

-12-

b 

10. Caldwell, M. J., and R. V. Bovbjerg, Natural ^fistory of the two crayfish 

of northwestern Iowa, Orconectes virilis and Orconectes immunis, Proc. 

Iowa Acad. Sci. 76:463-472, 1969. 

11. Turner, C. L., Food of the common Ohio darters, Ohio J. Sci. 22:41-62, 

1921. 

12. Stewart, N. H., Development, growth, and food habits of the white sucker, 

Catostomus commersoni, Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish. 42:147-184, 1926. 

13. Draatz, W. C., Study of the food of the bluntnose minnow, Pimfrephales 

n 

j*btatus_, Ohio J. Sci. 28(2):86-98, 1928. 

14. Forbes, S. A., and R. E. Richardson, The fishes of Illinois, Second ed, 

111. Lab. Nat. Hist. Survey, Urbana, 357pp., 1920. 

15. Hubbs, C. L., and G. P. Cooper, Minnows of Michigan, Cranbrook Inst. Sci. 

Bull. 8:1-95, 1936. 

16. Dinsmore, J. S., Life history of the creek chub, with emphasis on growth, 

Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci. 69:296-301, 1962. 

17. Hoyt, R. D., Food habits of the silverjaw minnow, Ericymba buccata (Cope), 

in an intermittant stream in Kentucky, Am. Midi. Nat. 84(1):226-237, 

1970. 

18. Forbes, S. A., The food of fishes, Bull. 111. St. Lab. Nat. Hist. 1(3): 

18-80, 1880 

19. Mathis, B. J., and T. F. Cummings, Distribution of selected metals in 

bottom sediments, water, clams, tubificid annelids, and fishes of the 

middle Illinois River, Univ. of 111. Water Resour. Cent. Res. Rep. 41: 

1-45, 1971. 
P.14 

-13-

Table 1--Substrate composition of the benthos sampling stations in various parts 

of the Saline Ditch drainage. 

2 Table 2--Biomass density (wet grams/m ) of benthos from the Saline Ditch and 

Boneyard Creek. 

Table 3--Mean lead levels in sediments, to a depth of 10 cm, from the various 

compartments of Saline Ditch and Boneyard Creek. 

Figure 1—The Saline Ditch drainage basin, study area divisions, and sampling 

stations. 

Figure 2—Mean lead levels of representative organisms and sediments of the 

compartments of the Saline Ditch. 

Figure 3»Mean lead levels of representative organisms from the Rural Compartment of the Saline Ditch. 
P.15. 

Table 1 

Substrate composition of the benthos sampling 

stations in various parts of the Saline Ditch drainage, 

Compartment-Station % Sand % Silt % Gravel % Rubble % Concrete 

iral Tributaries 

I 

II 

III 

IV 

Rural Channel 

V 

VI 

VII 

Marginal 

VIII 

IX 

Urban 

X 

XI 

XII 

Combined 

XIII 

XIV 

26 

5 

4 

2 

54 

82 

35 

44 

50 

96 

57 

13 

34 

52 

50 

95 

96 

98 

28 

7 

40 

21 

11 

2 

8 

8 

7 

24 

18 

11 

25 

25 

24 

31 

44 

41 

10 

15 

2 

9 

36 

14 

26 

20 
Table 2 

2 

Biomass density (wet grams/m ) of benthos from the Saline Ditch and Boneyard Creek. 

P.16 

Compartment 

Rural 

Urban 

Combined 

Substrate 

Silt 

Sand 

Gravel 

Summer Fall 

Weighted Average %/ 6.5 

Silt 

Sand 

Gravel 

Weighted AverageV 

Silt 

Sand 

Gravel 

Weighted Average«# 56.1 

Winter Spring 

9.2 

1.7 

0.6 

6.5 

34.2 

9.8 

3.7 

6.0 

177.5 

28.2 

47.1 

16.9 

1.8 

1.3 

12.4 

5.0 

12.8 

51.8 

11.2 

587.6 

32.5 

23.9 

20.5 

3.9 

2.3 

13.8 

64.2 

80.1 

41.8 

1251.3 

272.8 

-

18.9 

1.9 

0.7 

12.2 

63.7 

19.1 

-

15.8 

313.9 

5.0 

. 

73.1 299.4 49.1 

J£//W.. « l^c^assJe.shy ccr,\ctcd -Par s i/A,7W c OVO ,' lo hi 1,+/ 
Table 3 

Mean lead levels in sediments, to a depth of 10 cm, from the 

various compartments of Saline Ditch and Boneyard Creek. 

Urban Combined Headwaters Marginal Main Rural 

Stations 

Number of samples 

Pb level (ppm dry wt) 

Significance* 

X-XII 

104 

387.5 

XIII-XIV 

68 

37.8 

I-IV 

75 

15.8 

VIII-IX 

15 

13.8 

V-VII 

47 

10.2 

* Common underscore indicates means which are not significantly different at the 

5% level. 
P.18 

RURAL 

COMPARTMENT 

MARGINAL 

URBAN 

COMPARTMENT 

_l Champaign - Urbana 

City Limits 

O Sampling stations 

V7 Sewage treatment plant 
P.19 

JQP V 

JZ 

'a> 

>% 

i_ 

T? 

E 

CX 

CL 

tn 

a> 

> 

O 

0> 

300 

2£&-

.100 

Urban Compartment 

^ 1 Combined Compartment 

Marginal Compartment 

Rural Main Channel 

Rural Tributaries 

Sediments Tubificidoe Cladophoroceae Chironomidoe 
,: •'• 

P.20 

Semotilus atromaculotus 

Ericymbo buccoto 

Notropis umbratilus 

Cotostomus commersoni 

Pimepholes nototus 

Etheostoma nigrum 

Pelecypoda 

Orconectes virilis 

Hexagenia limbata 

Hirudinea 

Oligochaeta 

Tubificidae 

1.4 

[TO 

2.4 

2.7 

4.1 

5.3 

5.4 

10.4 

12.6 

13.2 

16.0 

Lead levels (ppm-dry weight )