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Monitoring Data - Mussel Watch
Mussel Watch Project (1986 to Present)
Mussel Watch Video (Requires QuickTime)
Since 1986, Mussel Watch has monitored chemical contaminants in oysters and mussels and in sediments. Mussel Watch sites are selected to be representative of large coastal areas and to avoid small-scale patches of contamination, or "hot spots." For this reason, its data can be used to compare contaminant concentrations across space and time to determine which coastal regions are at greatest risk in terms of environmental quality.
Presently, over 280 U.S. coastal and estuarine sites are sampled for bivalve biennially and for sediments once every decade. Bivalve and sediment samples are collected from three stations at each site (stations are generally within 100 m of a site center). Tissue contaminant concentrations are measured in several bivalve species.
Initially, NS&T Mussel Watch Project based its suite of measured contaminants on an earlier EPA Mussel Watch Program and reoccupied 50 sites from that Program.
The Mussel Watch Project determines concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, several pesticides, butyltins, and certain toxic elements in sediment and bivalve samples from the coastal waters of the US. Click here for the Mussel Watch contaminants list. The data are used for determining the extent and temporal trends of chemical contamination on a nationwide basis and identifying which coastal areas are at greater risk in terms of environmental quality.
Mussel Watch sites are designed to describe national and regional distributions of contamination. Mussel Watch sites are selected to represent large coastal areas and to avoid small-scale patches of contamination, or "hot spots." Non-urban sites selected for monitoring are generally 10 to 100 km apart.
Mussel Watch species are:
| Species | Location |
|---|---|
|
Smooth-edged jewelbox (Chama sinuosa) |
Florida Keys |
|
Quagga mussel (D. bugensis) |
Great Lakes |
|
Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) |
Great Lakes |
|
Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) |
Hawaii |
|
Tropical oyster (Ostrea sandvicensis) |
Hawaii |
|
Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) |
Mid-Atlantic southward through the Gulf of Mexico |
|
Foolish mussel (Mytilus trossulus) |
Pacific Coast |
|
Mediterranean mussel (M. galoprovincialis) |
Pacific Coast |
|
California mussel (M. californianus) |
Pacific Coast |
|
Caribbean oyster (Crassostrea rhizophorae) |
Puerto Rico |
Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) |
U.S. North Atlantic |
The bivalves are collected from intertidal to shallow subtidal zones, brushed clean, and shipped on ice to the analytical laboratory. Sediments are collected using a grab sampler and the top one centimeter is removed for analysis. The bivalves and sediment samples are usually shipped to the laboratory within a day of collection.
Once in the laboratory, bivalve samples are composited. The bivalve composite samples and sediment samples are analyzed for organic and metal contaminants.
Project Partners
National Research Council of Canada
National Institute of Standards and Technology
NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries
NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserves
NOAA Special Projects
TDI Brooks International