Poster Details
EFFECT OF SUSPENDED BENTONITE SEDIMENT ON FOUR SPECIES OF STREAM FISH (ETHEOSTOMA SPECTABILE, ETHEOSTOMA STIGMAEUM, NOTROPIS ATHERINOIDES, AND NOTURUS EXILIS)
The effects of suspended sediment, a common freshwater pollutant, vary significantly between fish species, though past sediment research has tended to focus on salmonid species. An experimental set-up was modified from Sweeten (1996) to measure the growth and stress responses of four non-salmonid fish found in Ozark streams. Fish were held for 7 days in either 0 mg/L, 55 mg/L, 148 mg/L, or 430 mg/L of bentonite clay in a laboratory. Concentrations corresponded to a control, the 75th and 90th percentile sediment levels in Ozark Plateau streams, and a mean sediment concentration during high-flow events due to upstream construction. Percent weight change and cortisol levels were measured. Four trials, with 2 fish per species in each treatment level, were completed during an NSF-REU (n = 8). Both growth and stress response varied between species. Notropis atherinoides was most affected, as measured by both percent weight change and cortisol levels; Etheostoma spectabile performed better in the low concentration over the control. Next steps include replication to increase the sample size, so that a generalized linear mixed model can be used.
Andy Miller (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Oklahoma State University, andy.miller@okstate.edu;
Shannon Brewer (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), U.S. Geological Survey, shannon.brewer@okstate.edu;
Madison Bowe (Primary Presenter/Author), SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, mabowe@syr.edu;