Identification of the water quality factors which prevent fingernail clams from recolonizing the Illinois River—phase II

Sparks, Richard E.; Sandusky, Michael J.; Paparo, Anthony A.

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Description

Title

Identification of the water quality factors which prevent fingernail clams from recolonizing the Illinois River—phase II

Author(s)

• Sparks, Richard E.
• Sandusky, Michael J.
• Paparo, Anthony A.

Contributor(s)

• Illinois Natural History Survey Division
• Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

Issue Date

1981-03

Keyword(s)

• Water resources development
• Water resources development--Illinois
• Aquatic ecology
• Water pollution effects
• Bioassay
• Bioindicators
• Animal physiology
• Fingernail clams
• Sphaerium transversum
• Musculium transversum
• Sphaeriidae
• Silt
• Ammonia
• Suspended solids
• Suspended sediment
• Keokuk Pool
• Mississippi River
• Illinois River
• Pollutant identification
• Toxicity
• Clams
• Mussels
• Mollusks
• Bivalves
• Water pollution treatment
• Water quality
• Zeolites
• Clinoptilolite
• Activated carbon
• Filtration
• Pollution abatement
• Sediment
• Water pollution sources
• Food webs
• Limiting factors
• Secondary productivity
• Aquatic productivity
• Assay

Geographic Coverage

Illinois (state)

Abstract

Water samples taken from the Illinois River on 5 October and 22 April 1977 inhibited the beating of the cilia on isolated clam gills, within two hours of exposure. The April sample was significantly more toxic than the October sample. Sediment taken on 14 December 1970 from Quiver Lake, a bottomland lake which receives sediment from the Illinois River and where fingernail clams were abundant prior to a die-off in 1955-58, was toxic to isolated clam gills. A sediment layer from the 2.6-5.1 cm depth showed the greatest toxicity, the 0-2.5 cm depth the next greatest toxicity, and deeper layers showed significantly less toxicity. From 3 April to 8 May 1980, intact fingernail clams were exposed to raw Illinois River water (containing suspended sediment), clean well water, and raw river water subjected to three treatments: (a) sand filtration (b) sand filtration + carbon filtration (c) sand filtration + clinoptilolite filtration. After two weeks of exposure, clams in raw river water suffered significantly greater mortality (42.5%) than other clams. After six weeks of exposure, 62.5% of the clams in raw river water had died, the next highest mortality (47.5%) occurred in sand filtered water, and mortality in the other two treatments did not differ significantly from the well-water controls (24% mortality). The clams probably survived better in the treated water for two reasons: (1) clinoptilolite and carbon each removed ammonia, which is found in Illinois River water and which is toxic to fingernail clams (2) the additional physical filtration provided by the charcoal and clinoptilolite removed additional sediment, which contains unidentified toxic factors. Surviving clams grew better in river water and treated river water than in clean well water, probably because they fed upon fine organic matter which passed through the filters. The latter results indicate that the unidentified toxic factor acts directly on the clams, rather than indirectly by affecting their food supply. The rapid assay, using fingernail clam gills, and the deletion bioassay, where toxic components are selectively removed from raw water samples and the corresponding reduction in toxicity measured, are promising means of identifying effective treatments for complex wastes and polluted streams.

Publisher

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Water Resources Center

Series/Report Name or Number

Water Resources Center Research Report no. 157

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89980

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

• U.S. Department of the Interior
• U.S. Geological Survey

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 1981 held by Richard E. Sparks, Michael J. Sandusky, Anthony A. Paparo

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