Restoration of Aquatic Systems

by Livingston; Robert J.

• ISBN13: 9780849319662
• ISBN10: 0849319668
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-07-11
• Publisher: CRC Press

Summary

Simplistic thinking would have us believe that by eliminating the loading of a given pollutant, an aquatic system will revert to its previous pristine state. This premise is without scientific verification. Besides the fact that typically very little documentation exists defining what exactly that previous pristine state was, it should be noted that biological processes are non-linear. They reflect adaptations by populations and corresponding responses of trophic organization that are not predictable by linear models of recovery.Restoration of Aquatic Systems makes a clear delineation between genuine restoration and public perception of restoration efforts. Written by Robert Livingston, one of the foremost international authorities on ecosystem studies of freshwater, estuarine, and marine environments, this work is the final volume of a trilogy derived from 70 field-years of data garnered from 10 different coastal systems on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The text provides a synthetic look at the restoration of aquatic systems, emphasizing the functional basis that supports such activities, followed by a review of the evidence of recovery.Livingston considers numerous cases of scientific restoration; however, while the first two volumes could be considered pure science, this volume brings into play the impact of political as well as economic interests and where appropriate, media leverage. This work is thus concerned with just how effective the restoration process becomes as a product of a complex mixture of competing interests.From this effort, an interdisciplinary comparative database has been created that is currently being published in a series of books and peer-reviewed scientific journals. This work is used to evaluate system-level processes that determine the effects of nutrient loading and nutrient dynamics on phytoplankton/benthic macrophyte productivity and associated food web responses.

Table of Contents

Section I: Definitions
Chapter 1 The Restoration Paradigm	3	(10)
1.1 Definitions	3	(1)
1.2 Ecosystem Research and Restoration	3	(1)
1.3 Human Impacts on Aquatic Systems	4	(2)
1.4 The Paradox of Actual Risks and Public Concerns	6	(1)
1.5 Factors for Successful Restoration :	7	(6)
Section II: North Florida as a Microcosm of the Restoration Paradigm
Chapter 2 Cultural Eutrophication of North Florida Lakes	13	(42)
2.1 Background of Solution (Sinkhole) Lakes	13	(3)
2.2 Urban Runoff and Solution Lakes	16	(1)
2.3 Lake Ecology Program	17	(1)
2.4 Urban Runoff and Lake Jackson	17	(9)
2.4.1 Background	17	(3)
2.4.2 Long-Term Cycles of Rainfall and Storm Water Runoff	20	(2)
2.4.3 Water Quality Changes	22	(1)
2.4.4 Sediment Changes	22	(4)
2.5 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation	26	(2)
2.6 Blue-Green Algae Blooms	28	(5)
2.7 Biological Response to Blooms	33	(5)
2.7.1 Infaunal Macroinvertebrates	34	(1)
2.7.2 Fishes	35	(4)
2.7.2.1 Fish Diseases	35	(1)
2.7.2.2 Fish Distribution	36	(1)
2.7.2.3 Fish Trophic Response to Algal Blooms	37	(1)
2.7.2.4 Long-Term Trends of Largemouth Bass Size	38	(1)
2.8 Lake Jackson Restoration Efforts	38	(1)
2.9 Urban Runoff and North Florida Lakes	39	(5)
2.9.1 Lake Hall	40	(1)
2.9.2 Lake Lafayette Basin	40	(3)
2.9.3 Lake Munson	43	(1)
2.10 Holding Pond Ecology	44	(2)
2.11 Press Coverage and Public Response	46	(6)
2.12 The Failure of Restoration	52	(3)
Chapter 3 Industrial Pollution: Pulp Mills	55	(24)
3.1 Study Area	55	(9)
3.2 River Flows, Nutrient Loading, and Water Quality Changes	64	(3)
3.3 Biological Responses in Freshwater Receiving Areas	67	(12)
3.3.1 Mill Effects on Freshwater Biota: Fenholloway River	67	(15)
3.3.1.1 Periphyton	67	(1)
3.3.1.2 Hester-Dendy Macroinvertebrates	68	(1)
3.3.1.3 Suction Dredge Macroinvertebrates	69	(1)
3.3.1.4 Fishes	69	(3)
3.3.1.5 Phytoplankton	72	(7)
Chapter 4 Pulp Mill Effluents and Apalachee Bay	79	(80)
4.1 Study Area	79	(1)
4.2 Impact Analyses	80	(2)
4.3 Water Quality	82	(6)
4.3.1 Rainfall and River Flow	82	(1)
4.3.2 Temperature and Salinity	83	(1)
4.3.3 Dissolved Oxygen	84	(1)
4.3.4 Watercolor and Light Transmission	85	(3)
4.4 Sediment Quality	88	(3)
4.4.1 Toxic Agents	89	(1)
4.4.2 Nutrients	90	(1)
4.5 Nutrients: Loading, Limitation, and Concentration	91	(2)
4.5.1 Nutrient Loading	91	(1)
4.5.2 Nutrient Limitation	92	(1)
4.5.3 Nutrient Concentration Gradients	93	(1)
4.6 Phytoplankton and Zooplankton	93	(17)
4.6.1 Introduction	93	(1)
4.6.2 Chlorophyll a Trends	93	(1)
4.6.3 Phytoplankton Distribution (1992-1993)	94	(3)
4.6.4 Color Removal and Bloom Generation	97	(9)
4.6.5 Comparison of Perdido Bay and Apalachee Bay	106	(4)
4.6.6 Zooplankton Distribution	110	(1)
4.7 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation	110	(5)
4.7.1 SAV Distribution in Space and Time	110	(5)
4.8 Invertebrates	115	(3)
4.9 Fishes	118	(2)
4.10 Summary of Findings	120	(31)
4.10.1 Water Quality	120	(1)
4.10.2 Chlorophyll a	121	(2)
4.10.3 Phytoplankton	123	(5)
4.10.4 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation	128	(1)
4.10.5 Invertebrates	129	(17)
4.10.6 Fishes	146	(5)
4.11 Press Coverage, Public Response, and Failure of the Restoration Process	151	(8)
Chapter 5 Nutrient Loading and the Perdido System	159	(36)
5.1 Phytoplankton Blooms in Coastal Systems	159	(1)
5.2 Research in the Perdido River-Bay System	160	(2)
5.3 History of Results	162	(22)
5.3.1 River Flow Trends	162	(1)
5.3.2 Nutrient Loading	163	(2)
5.3.3 Nutrient Concentrations and Ratios	165	(1)
5.3.4 Phytoplankton Trends: Bloom Distribution	165	(5)
5.3.5 Response to Nutrient Restoration Program	170	(3)
5.3.6 Bay Impacts (Fall 2002-Summer 2003)	173	(4)
5.3.7 Non-point Nutrient Sources: Agricultural and Urban Runoff	177	(3)
5.3.8 Statistical Analyses of the Long-Term Data	180	(4)
5.4 The Press and the Perdido System	184	(11)
5.4.1 The Dioxin Issue	185	(2)
5.4.2 Cumulative Impacts of Development on Perdido Bay	187	(3)
5.4.3 The News Media and Perdido Bay	190	(5)
Chapter 6 The Pensacola Bay System	195	(12)
6.1 Background	195	(1)
6.2 Purpose of Study	195	(1)
6.3 Summary of Results	196	(3)
6.4 Contamination of the Pensacola System	199	(4)
6.4.1 Upper Escambia Bay	200	(1)
6.4.2 Lower Escambia Bay	201	(2)
6.5 The Press and the Pensacola Bay System	203	(4)
Chapter 7 Sulfite Pulp Mill Restoration	207	(28)
7.1 Introduction	207	(2)
7.1.1 Study Area	208	(1)
7.2 Methods and Materials	209	(1)
7.3 Results	210	(12)
7.3.1 Water Quality Data	210	(4)
7.3.2 Light Transmission	214	(1)
7.3.3 Phytoplankton and Zooplankton	214	(5)
7.3.4 Multivariate Statistical Analyses	219	(4)
7.3.4.1 Laboratory Microcosms	221	(1)
7.3.4.2 Field Mesocosms	222	(1)
7.4 Discussion and Conclusions	222	(1)
7.5 Restoration Program	223	(8)
7.5.1 Physicochemical Conditions	224	(3)
7.5.2 Light Trends	227	(1)
7.5.3 Phytoplankton Analyses	227	(1)
7.5.4 Zooplankton Analyses	227	(2)
7.5.5 Multivariate Statistical Analyses	229	(2)
7.6 Discussion of the Amelia Program	231	(4)
Chapter 8 Research, News Reports, and Restoration Success	235	(10)
8.1 Restoration Processes and Public Opinion	235	(1)
8.2 Florida as a Microcosm for Restoration Activities	236	(1)
8.3 Comparison of Research Results, Media Coverage, and Public Response	237	(3)
8.4 Summary of Recent Trends in North Florida	240	(5)
Section III: Major Restoration Programs
Chapter 9 The Chesapeake Bay System	245	(12)
9.1 A Declining Resource	245	(1)
9.2 Research Results	246	(4)
9.2.1 Hypoxia	246	(2)
9.2.2 Phytoplankton	248	(1)
9.2.3 Toxic Substances and Over-fishing	249	(1)
9.3 The Chesapeake Restoration Program	250	(1)
9.4 Reality Sets In: The Rainfall of 2003	251	(6)
Chapter 10 Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Florida Everglades-Florida Bay-Coral Reef System	257	(20)
10.1 The System	257	(2)
10.2 Background	259	(4)
10.2.1 Kissimmee River-Lake Okeechobee	259	(1)
10.2.2 Florida Everglades	260	(1)
10.2.3 Florida Bay	261	(1)
10.2.4 Florida Keys, Coral Reefs	262	(1)
10.3 Water Quality in the Florida Everglades System	263	(4)
10.3.1 Mercury	263	(1)
10.3.2 Nutrients	264	(14)
10.3.2.1 Relationships of Nutrient Loading and Water Quality	265	(2)
10.4 Recent Evaluations of the Everglades Ecosystem	267	(2)
10.5 Management and Restoration	269	(2)
10.6 The News Media and Public Involvement	271	(6)
Section IV: Restoration of Toxic Waste Sites
Chapter 11 Mercury and Dioxin in Aquatic Systems	277	(20)
11.1 Mercury in the Aquatic Environment	277	(1)
11.2 Penobscot River-Bay System in Maine	278	(6)
11.2.1 Background	278	(1)
11.2.2 Mercury in the Penobscot River-Bay System	279	(2)
11.2.3 The "Wetlands Hypothesis"	281	(2)
11.2.4 Proposed Restoration of the Penobscot System	283	(1)
11.2.5 Legal Solution to the Penobscot Mercury Problem	284	(1)
11.3 Mercury in the South River-South Fork Shenandoah River	284	(3)
11.3.1 Background	284	(1)
11.3.2 Mercury in the South River-South Fork System	284	(2)
11.3.3 Ongoing Studies	286	(1)
11.3.4 Resolution	287	(1)
11.4 Dioxin in the Aquatic Environment	287	(5)
11.4.1 Background of Dioxin in the Newark Bay Complex	287	(2)
11.4.2 Dioxin in Fish and Invertebrate Tissues	289	(1)
11.4.3 Newark Bay Ecology: Fate, Effects, and Restoration	290	(2)
11.4.4 Legal Action and Regulatory Response	292	(1)
11.5 Regulatory Requirements and the Restoration Process	292	(1)
11.6 Press Response to Toxic Substances	292	(5)
Section V: Alternatives: Planning and Management
Chapter 12 The Apalachicola System	297	(20)
12.1 Background	297	(1)
12.2 Apalachicola River Flows	298	(1)
12.2.1 Apalachicola Floodplain	298	(1)
12.3 Linkage between the Apalachicola River and the Bay	299	(3)
12.4 Freshwater Flows and Bay Productivity	302	(3)
12.5 Planning and Management of the Apalachicola Bay System	305	(9)
12.5.1 Wetlands Purchases	305	(3)
12.5.2 Local, State, and Federal Cooperation	308	(6)
12.5.2.1 The Beginning: 1972 to 1977	309	(2)
12.5.2.2 The Middle Years: 1978 to 1982	311	(2)
12.5.2.3 1983 to the Present	313	(1)
12.6 Water Use in the ACF System	314	(1)
12.7 The Apalachicola Model: Management, not Restoration	315	(2)
Chapter 13 Conclusions	317
13.1 Introduction	317	(3)
13.2 Scientific Research	320	(1)
13.3 Regulation and Enforcement	321	(2)
13.4 Public Education	323	(1)
13.5 Legal Action	324	(1)
13.6 News Media	324	(2)
13.7 The Ecology of Restoration	326	(1)
13.8 Economic /Political Considerations	326
Section VI: Appendices
Appendix I Field/Laboratory Research Outlines and Methods	331	(58)
Appendix II Statistical Analyses Used in the Long-Term Studies of Aquatic Systems	389	(4)
References	393	(26)
Index	419