Boron in Pariette Wetland Sediments, Aquatic Vegetation and Benthic Organisms
Class
Article
Department
Plants, Soils, and Climate
Faculty Mentor
Astrid Jacobson
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
Boron concentrations in the water flowing into the Pariette Wetlands have been observed to exceed the total maximum daily limit of 750 µg L-1. Considering water flow in and out of the wetlands it is likely that boron is accumulating within the wetlands where it may be sorbed to sediments and bioaccumulated or bioconcentrated by wetland plant and aquatic macro invertebrates. Since wetland plants and aquatic organisms serve as food sources for the migratory and resident bird populations in the wetlands, and boron is an avian teratogen, an estimate of boron ingestion exposure to wetland birds is warranted. We will work with samples from 3-4 of the 23 Pariette Wetland ponds targeting one pond near the inlet, one near the outlet, and 1-2 in the middle. Five sampling points will be designated along a 100 m transect of each pond. At each sampling point duplicate or when possible triplicate samples of water, sediments, benthic organisms and wetland vegetation (if present) will be collected. The sediments will be collected with a KB-corer and subdivided at depths of 0-2 cm, 2-7 cm, and 7-20 cm from the sediment surface. Benthic macro-invertebrates will be isolated from each depth range. A recently published method (Goldberg and Suarez, 2014) suggests that plant available boron estimates in soils are improved relative to the hot water extraction by extracting with a solution of DTPA and sorbitol. We will compare the two extraction procedures for their ability to estimate wetland plant available boron in the sediments.
Start Date
4-9-2015 12:00 PM
Boron in Pariette Wetland Sediments, Aquatic Vegetation and Benthic Organisms
Boron concentrations in the water flowing into the Pariette Wetlands have been observed to exceed the total maximum daily limit of 750 µg L-1. Considering water flow in and out of the wetlands it is likely that boron is accumulating within the wetlands where it may be sorbed to sediments and bioaccumulated or bioconcentrated by wetland plant and aquatic macro invertebrates. Since wetland plants and aquatic organisms serve as food sources for the migratory and resident bird populations in the wetlands, and boron is an avian teratogen, an estimate of boron ingestion exposure to wetland birds is warranted. We will work with samples from 3-4 of the 23 Pariette Wetland ponds targeting one pond near the inlet, one near the outlet, and 1-2 in the middle. Five sampling points will be designated along a 100 m transect of each pond. At each sampling point duplicate or when possible triplicate samples of water, sediments, benthic organisms and wetland vegetation (if present) will be collected. The sediments will be collected with a KB-corer and subdivided at depths of 0-2 cm, 2-7 cm, and 7-20 cm from the sediment surface. Benthic macro-invertebrates will be isolated from each depth range. A recently published method (Goldberg and Suarez, 2014) suggests that plant available boron estimates in soils are improved relative to the hot water extraction by extracting with a solution of DTPA and sorbitol. We will compare the two extraction procedures for their ability to estimate wetland plant available boron in the sediments.