Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Likely Harmed Threatened Kentucky Fish Species plus 2 more

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Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Likely Harmed Threatened Kentucky Fish Species plus 2 more

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• Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Likely Harmed Threatened Kentucky Fish Species
• Deadly Diseases Could Strike Bighorn Sheep
• Hurricane Sandy Eroded Half of Fire Island's Beaches and Dunes: New Report Quantifies Coastal Change

Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Likely Harmed Threatened Kentucky Fish Species

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 12:50 PM PDT

Hydraulic fracturing fluids are believed to be the cause of the widespread death or distress of aquatic species in Kentucky's Acorn Fork, after spilling from nearby natural gas well sites. These findings are the result of a joint study by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Acorn Fork, a small Appalachian creek, is habitat for the federally threatened Blackside dace, a small colorful minnow. The Acorn Fork is designated by Kentucky as an Outstanding State Resource Waters.

"Our study is a precautionary tale of how entire populations could be put at risk even with small-scale fluid spills," said USGS scientist Diana Papoulias, the study's lead author. "This is especially the case if the species is threatened or is only found in limited areas, like the Blackside dace is in the Cumberland."

The Blackside dace typically lives in small, semi-isolated groups, so harmful events run the risk of completely eliminating a local population.  The species is primarily threatened with loss of habitat.

After the spill of hydraulic fracturing fluid, state and federal scientists observed a significant die-off of aquatic life in Acorn Fork including the Blackside dace as well as several more common species like the Creek chub and Green sunfish.  They had been alerted by a local resident who witnessed the fish die-off.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Commonwealth of Kentucky are currently working towards restoration of the natural resources that were injured by the release.

To determine the cause of the fish die-off, the researchers collected water and fish samples immediately following the chemical release in 2007.

The samples analyses and results clearly showed that the hydraulic fracturing fluids degraded water quality in Acorn Fork, to the point that the fish developed gill lesions, and suffered liver and spleen damage as well.

"This is an example of how the smallest creatures can act as a canary in a coal mine," said Tony Velasco, Ecologist for the Fish and Wildlife office in Kentucky, who coauthored the study, and initiated a multi-agency response when it occurred in 2007.  "These species use the same water as we do, so it is just as important to keep our waters clean for people and for wildlife."

The gill lesions were consistent with exposure to acidic water and toxic concentrations of heavy metals.  These results matched water quality samples from Acorn Fork that were taken after the spill.

After the fracturing fluids entered Acorn Fork Creek, the water’s pH dropped from 7.5 to 5.6, and stream conductivity increased from 200 to 35,000 microsiemens per centimeter.  A low pH number indicates that the creek had become more acidic, and the stream conductivity indicated that there were higher levels of dissolved elements including iron and aluminum.

Blackside dace are a species of ray-finned fish found only in the Cumberland River basin of Kentucky and Tennessee and the Powell River basin of Virginia.  It has been listed as a federally-threatened species by the Service since 1987.  

Hydraulic fracturing is the most common method for natural gas well-development in Kentucky.

The report is entitled "Histopathological Analysis of Fish from Acorn Fork Creek, Kentucky Exposed to Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Releases," and is published in the scientific journal Southeastern Naturalist, in a special edition devoted to the Blackside dace.

To learn more about this study and other contaminants research, please visit the USGS Environmental Health web page, the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Contaminants web page. 

Deadly Diseases Could Strike Bighorn Sheep

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 10:18 AM PDT

Declining bighorn sheep populations may be vulnerable to some of the fatal diseases, including chronic wasting disease (CWD), that are found in their western U.S. habitats, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study.

USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) research showed that bighorn sheep are likely susceptible to the deadly neurological diseases scrapie and CWD, which are occurring in or near natural bighorn sheep environments. These fatal diseases are caused by mysterious proteins called prions, and are known to infect domestic sheep (scrapie) and non-domestic deer, elk, and moose (CWD). The USGS study is published in the journal BMC Veterinary Research, and is available online.

"Bighorn sheep are economically and culturally important to the western U.S.," said Dr. Christopher Johnson, USGS scientist and senior author of the report. "Understanding future risks to the health of bighorn sheep is key to proper management of the species."

USGS laboratory tests found evidence that bighorn sheep could be vulnerable to CWD from either white-tailed deer or elk, and to a domestic sheep prion disease known as scrapie. However, none of a small number of bighorn sheep sampled in the study showed evidence of infection.

"Our results do not mean that bighorns get, or will eventually get, prion diseases," Johnson said. "However, wildlife species like bighorn sheep are increasingly exposed to areas where CWD occurs as the disease expands to new geographical areas and increases in prevalence."

The laboratory test results could be useful to wildlife managers because bighorn sheep habitats overlap with farms and ranches with scrapie-infected sheep and regions where CWD is common in deer, elk, and moose.

Bighorn sheep populations in western North America have declined from habitat loss and, more recently, epidemics of fatal pneumonia thought to be transmitted to them from domestic sheep. Prion diseases are another possible threat to this valuable species.

For more information on prion diseases such as CWD, please visit the USGS NWHC website.

Hurricane Sandy Eroded Half of Fire Island's Beaches and Dunes: New Report Quantifies Coastal Change

Posted: 27 Aug 2013 06:16 AM PDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Beaches and dunes on Fire Island, New York, lost more than half of their pre-storm volume during Hurricane Sandy, leaving the area more vulnerable to future storms. 

While the damage and destruction on Fire Island was immediately evident after the storm, a new U.S. Geological Survey study released today is the first to quantify the actual changes to the coast caused by the storm. 

"The beaches and dunes of the island were severely eroded during Sandy," said Cheryl Hapke, a USGS research geologist and lead author of the study.  "The island was breached in three locations, and there was widespread damage and destruction of coastal infrastructure, including private residences. The report shows that the beaches and dunes lost 54.4 percent of their pre-storm volume, and the dunes experienced overwash along 46.6 percent of the island, dramatically changing the island’s shape."

Field surveys conducted immediately after Sandy documented low, flat beaches and extensive dune erosion. Assessment of overwash deposits -- the material that was carried to the interior of the island -- indicates that most of the sand lost from the beaches and dunes during Hurricane Sandy was moved offshore, carried by waves and storm surge. Of the volume of sand that was lost from the beaches and dunes, 14 percent was deposited inland.  

"The impact from Sandy was unprecedented in recent times," said Hapke. "It is important that efforts to rebuild on the island be guided by the science, which shows that Sandy profoundly altered the shape and position of the barrier island, shifting it landward and redistributing large amounts of sand. Storms like Sandy are part of the natural evolution of barrier islands, which ultimately result in islands that are more resilient to sea level rise."

The extreme erosion of the beach and loss of dunes made the island more vulnerable to subsequent winter storms.  In the course of the following winter months, the shoreline position shifted as much as 57.5 meters (189 feet) inland. Although several areas begin to experience some recovery in the early spring, at the end of the survey period only a small fraction, 18 percent, of the pre-Sandy beach volume had returned.

"Barrier islands provide natural protection against storms, shielding coastlines from rising waves and tides," said Hapke.  "The loss of so much sand increases the vulnerability of this area of coastline to future storms."

Fire Island is the longest of the barrier islands that lie along the south shore of Long Island, New York. The majority of the island is part of Fire Island National Seashore and not only provides the first line of defense against storms, but is a unique and important recreational and ecosystem resource. USGS research on Fire Island focuses understanding the evolution of the form and structure of the barrier system on a variety of time scales, including storm driven change in the region.