Development of a benthic index to assess sediment quality in the Tampa Bay Estuary.
The identification, remedial treatment, and monitoring of contaminated sediments are among the priorities for managers of the Tampa Bay Estuary. Tampa Bay, as an urbanized estuary, is subject to the input of watershed sources of chemical contaminants, including metals, pesticides, and organic chemicals. Although the use of biological indicators and their incorporation into multi-metric indices is not new, the refinement and applications of such techniques for determining environmental condition still require further development and exploration. We present a single Tampa Bay Benthic Index (TBBI) that was developed specifically for Tampa Bay. Stepwise discriminant analysis was applied to a comprehensive list of potential benthic metrics. Results from the stepwise procedure identified the metrics that best discriminated between "healthy" and "degraded" conditions, as defined by sediment contaminant effect levels and dissolved oxygen. Discriminant analysis was then applied to the resultant three variables to determine the linear combination for the index.
Malloy
Kate J
KJ
Janicki Environmental, Inc., 1155 Eden Isle Drive, St. Petersburg, FL 33704, United States. kmalloy@janickienvironmental.com
Wade
David
D
Janicki
Anthony
A
Grabe
Stephen A
SA
Nijbroek
Ravic
R
D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005431:Florida; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000032:analysis; D011156:Population Density; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000032:analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D010100:Oxygen