The purpose of this study was to investigate potential bioaccumulation of metals in selected invertebrates of the Susquehanna River adjacent to Hummel’s Wharf, PA. Crayfish and hellgrammites were collected from 4 sites in the river, 2 east and 2 west of Byers Island, which bisects flow south of the confluence of the West Branch and North Branch of the river, downstream of the fiber dam in Sunbury, PA. Flow on the east side of Byers Island goes past the confluence with Shamokin Creek, a stream impacted by acid mine drainage. In addition, there is an old abandoned lead-zinc mine somewhere up the slope of the eastern bank. We suspected that organisms on that side of Byers Island would be accumulating metals from those sources. The tissue concentrations of 11 metals in Susquehanna River crayfish and hellgrammites from the 4 sites were determined. All organisms were collected from rock baskets in 2009 and 2010, preserved in 70% ethanol by researchers at Susquehanna University, and provided to us for analysis. Crayfish samples were dissected into abdomens (n = 50) and cephalothoraxes (n=48), and hellgrammites (n=7) were separated into head, thorax, and abdomen. Crayfish were classified as juvenile or adult based on length from tip of head to the terminus of the abdomen. All tissue samples were lyophilized and subjected to an acid digest with 5M nitric acid in closed containers at 75°C, with crayfish abdomens and hellgrammite portions digesting for 14 days and crayfish cephalothoraxes for 8 days. All tissue samples were analyzed for metals using ICP-OES. Organisms from the eastern bank site contained elevated levels of Fe, Mn, Al, Pb, and Zn compared to the other sites, indicating that Shamokin Creek and the mine are delivering these metals to the river.

Profile of metal bioaccumulation in selected invertebrates from the eastern and western shores of the Susquehanna River near Hummels Wharf Pennsylvania

249th National Meeting (2015)

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