Datasets / Contaminants investigation of the Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, 1989


Contaminants investigation of the Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, 1989

Published By US Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior

Issued over 9 years ago

US
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Summary

Type of release
a one-off release of a single dataset

Data Licence
Not Applicable

Content Licence
Creative Commons CCZero

Verification
automatically awarded

Description

This investigation was conducted to determine the nature and extent of contaminants at Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge Refuge and how they may affect fish and wildlife resources, especially migratory birds. The 3,699acre Refuge, located in northeastern New Mexico, includes several playas used for storing preuse irrigation water. Ten sediment and 42 biota samples collected from the Refuge were analyzed for 23 inorganic constituents, 6 chlorophenoxy acid herbicides, and 22 organochlorine compounds. In addition, mallard Anas platyrhynchos brains were collected and analyzed for cholinesterase activity. Organochlorine compounds and chlorophenoxy acid herbicides were below detection or were below 1 ugg ppm wet weight WW in sediment. At these levels, these compounds were considered to present little or no biological risk to biota on the Refuge. Diagnosis of brain tissue showed levels of cholinesterase activity inhibition that correlate to exposure of organophosphate or carbamate pesticides. Three out of five adult mallard brains had 28 to 52 percent inhibition. However, controls were unavailable to conclusively determine if exposure occurred within the study area. Of the 23 elements analyzed in sediment, the mean concentrations of nine exceeded geochemical baseline values for soils in the western United States These elements were beryllium, boron, chromium, iron, lead, nickel, selenium, vanadium, and zinc. Of these, selenium was also elevated in biological samples. The highest selenium concentrations in migratory birds were in killdeer Charadrius vociferus liver and kidney samples 21.6 ugg dry weight. This concentration may present biological risk teratogenesis to migratory birds that breed at the Refuge. The highest mercury concentration detected in fish from the Refuge was 0.21 ugg WW in a rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss sample. This concentration is above the National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program NCBP 85th percentile mercury concentration for fish nationwide. Arsenic, beryllium, molybdenum, nickel, silver, and vanadium were detected in biological samples at such low levels, or in such a limited number of specimens, that concentrations of these elements were considered to present little or no risk to biota that inhabit the refuge. No determinations of biological risk to biota inhabiting the Refuge could be determined for lead, because the detection limits were too insensitive. Any future studies should incorporate lead analysis in tissues; however, the detection limits must be considerably lower.