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17 results for “road salt”
The interactive effects of nitrate and road salt on benthic algal assemblages in an artificial stream experiment
To investigate and quantify the multi-tiered responses of benthic algal assemblages to the impacts of road salt and nitrate, we created artificial flow-through streams with terracotta vessels with nutrient diffusing substrates (NDS) containing varying concentrations of both salt (0-7500 mg/L) and nitrate (0-5.9 mg/L) and incubated for 56 days during the summer. This work was done at the University of Michigan Biological Station's stream research facility. The streams and algae were sampled on day 7, 14, 28, and 56. The algae pigments were quantified via a fluoroprobe and diatoms were quantified with counts on slides. Finally, both 13s and 16s DNA sequencing was performed on all of the samples.
PIE LTER measurements of the two tallest Phragmites australis stems per five meter interval along transects at the Argilla Rd. salt marsh restoration site (Ipswich, MA) and Rough Meadows reference marsh (Rowley, MA – Stackyard Road area).
The file contains measurements of the two tallest Phragmites australis stems per five meter interval along transects at the Argilla Rd. salt marsh restoration site (Ipswich, MA) and Rough Meadows reference marsh (Rowley, MA – Stackyard Road area). The culvert feeding Argilla Marsh was enlarged in late November 1998, thus data from 1999 onward is considered as representing a hydrologically restored marsh. A long term study not directly part of the PIE LTER, but a companion study related to tidal restrictions and hydrological alterations of salt marshes in the Plum Island ecosystem.
PIE LTER plant species percent cover in quadrats along vegetation transects at the Argilla Rd. salt marsh restoration site (Ipswich) and Rough Meadows reference marsh (Rowley – Stackyard Road area), Massachusetts.
Plant species percent cover in quadrats along vegetation transects at the Argilla Rd. salt marsh restoration site (Ipswich) and Rough Meadows reference marsh (Rowley – Stackyard Road area), Massachusetts. A long term study not directly part of the PIE LTER, but a companion study related to tidal restrictions and hydrological alterations of salt marshes in the Plum Island ecosystem.
PIE LTER plant species presence along vegetation transects at the Argilla Rd. salt marsh restoration site (Ipswich) and Rough Meadows reference marsh (Rowley – Stackyard Road area), Massachusetts.
Plant species presence along vegetation transects at the Argilla Rd. salt marsh restoration site (Ipswich) and Rough Meadows reference marsh (Rowley – Stackyard Road area). A long term study not directly part of the PIE LTER, but a companion study related to tidal restrictions and hydrological alterations of salt marshes in the Plum Island ecosystem..
Investigation of road salts and biotic stressors on freshwater wetland communities.
The application of road deicing salts has led to the salinization of freshwater ecosystems in northern regions worldwide. Increased chloride concentrations in lakes, streams, ponds, and wetlands may negatively affect freshwater biota, potentially threatening ecosystem services. In an effort to reduce the effects of road salt, operators have increased the use of salt alternatives, yet we lack an understanding of how these deicers affect aquatic communities. We examined the direct and indirect effects of the most commonly used road salt (NaCl) and a proprietary salt mixture (NaCl, KCl, MgCl2), at three environmentally relevant concentrations (150, 470, and 780 mg Cl−/L) on freshwater wetland communities in combination with one of three biotic stressors (control, predator cues, and competitors). The communities contained periphyton, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and two tadpole species (American toads, Anaxyrus americanus; wood frogs, Lithobates sylvaticus). Overall, we found the two road salts did not interact with the natural stressors. Both salts decreased pH and reduced zooplankton abundance. The strong decrease in zooplankton abundance in the highest NaCl concentration caused a trophic cascade that resulted in increased phytoplankton abundance. The highest NaCl concentration also reduced toad activity. For the biotic stressors, predatory stress decreased whereas competitive stress increased the activity of both tadpole species. Wood frog survival, time to metamorphosis, and mass at metamorphosis all decreased under competitive stress whereas toad time to metamorphosis increased and mass at metamorphosis decreased. Collectively, road salts and biotic stressors both can affect freshwater communities, but their effects are not interactive. The direct and indirect effects of road salts reported are important for management and conservation efforts given the salinization of freshwater systems following winter road maintenance.
The Combined Effects of Road Salt and Biotic Stressors on Amphibian Sex Ratios
Aquatic systems worldwide are threatened by the anthropogenic use of synthetic chemicals, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and road de‐icers. Exposure to contaminants can alter the behavior, morphology, and physiology of organisms if it occurs during sensitive life stages. For instance, past studies have documented feminization of male amphibians following herbicide exposure and skewed sex ratios among amphibian populations exposed to road salt. However, many of these studies lack the complexities found within natural environments, such as competition with conspecifics or threat of predation, which are also known to influence development. Thus, it is important to understand how anthropogenic and natural stressors interact to alter animal sex ratios. Given the growing concern of secondary salinization of freshwater systems, we exposed larval wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) to either road salt (sodium chloride [NaCl]) or an alternative salt mixture (NaCl, magnesium chloride [MgCl2], and potassium chloride [KCl]) at 3 concentrations (200, 600, and 1000 mg Cl−/L) crossed with 3 biotic stressors (no‐stressor control, competition, or predator cues) to examine their potentially interactive effects on sex. Exposure to biotic stressors and NaCl did not influence wood frog sex ratios. In contrast, tadpole exposure to the intermediate salt mixture concentration significantly reduced the proportion of female frogs. Future studies are needed to determine whether such changes in sex are widespread among sensitive species with complex life cycles, and to assess the consequences of sex ratio changes on long‐term population dynamics.
Cascading effects of insecticides and road salt on wetland communities, outdoor mesocosm experiment, New York, USA, 2015
Novel stressors introduced by human activities increasingly threaten freshwater ecosystems. The annual application of more than 2.3 billion kg of pesticide active ingredient and 22 billion kg of road salt has led to the contamination of temperate waterways. While pesticides and road salt are known to cause direct and indirect effects in aquatic communities, their possible interactive effects remain widely unknown. Using outdoor mesocosms, we created wetland communities consisting of zooplankton, phytoplankton, periphyton, and leopard frog (Rana pipiens) tadpoles. We evaluated the toxic effects of six broad- spectrum insecticides from three families (neonicotinoids: thiamethoxam, imidacloprid; organophosphates: chlorpyrifos, malathion; pyrethroids: cypermethrin, permethrin), as well as the potentially interactive effects of four of these insecticides with three concentrations of road salt (NaCl; 44, 160, 1600 Cl- mg/L). Organophosphate exposure decreased zooplankton abundance, elevated phytoplankton biomass, and reduced tadpole mass whereas exposure to neonicotinoids and pyrethroids decreased zooplankton abundance but had no significant effect on phytoplankton abundance or tadpole mass. While organophosphates decreased zooplankton abundance at all salt concentrations, effects on phytoplankton abundance and tadpole mass were dependent upon salt concentration. In contrast, while pyrethroids had no effects in the absence of salt, they decreased zooplankton and phytoplankton density under increased salt concentrations. Our results highlight the importance of multiple-stressor research under natural conditions. As human activities continue to imperil freshwater systems, it is vital to move beyond single-stressor experiments that exclude potentially interactive effects of chemical contaminants.
Data from: How common road salts and organic additives alter freshwater food webs: in search of safer alternatives
The application of deicing road salts began in the 1940s and has increased drastically in regions where snow and ice removal is critical for transportation safety. The most commonly applied road salt is sodium chloride (NaCl). However, the increased costs of NaCl, its negative effects on human health, and the degradation of roadside habitats has driven transportation agencies to seek alternative road salts and organic additives to reduce the application rate of NaCl or increase its effectiveness. Few studies have examined the effects of NaCl in aquatic ecosystems, but none have explored the potential impacts of road salt alternatives or additives on aquatic food webs. We assessed the effects of three road salts (NaCl, MgCl2 and ClearLane™) and two road salts mixed with organic additives (GeoMelt™ and Magic Salt™) on food webs in experimental aquatic communities, with environmentally relevant concentrations, standardized by chloride concentration. We found that NaCl had few effects on aquatic communities. However, the microbial breakdown of organic additives initially reduced dissolved oxygen. Additionally, microbial activity likely transformed unusable phosphorus from the organic additives to usable phosphorus for algae, which increased algal growth. The increase in algal growth led to an increase in zooplankton abundance. Finally, MgCl2 – a common alternative to NaCl – reduced compositional differences of zooplankton, and at low concentrations increased the abundance of amphipods. Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that alternative road salts (to NaCl), and road salt additives can alter the abundance and composition of organisms in freshwater food webs at multiple trophic levels, even at low concentrations. Consequently, road salt alternatives and additives might alter ecosystem function and ecosystem services. Therefore, transportation agencies should use caution in applying road salt alternatives and additives. A comprehensive investigation of road salt alternatives and road salt additives should be conducted before wide-scale use is implemented. Further research is also needed to determine the impacts of salt additives and alternatives on higher trophic levels, such as amphibians and fish.
Data from: Road salt and organic additives affect mosquito growth and survival: an emerging problem in wetlands
The global increase in the application rate of road salts such as sodium chloride (NaCl) has led to concern about their negative effects on roadside habitats and freshwater ecosystems. To reduce the application rate of NaCl and minimize the ecological effects of road salts, transportation agencies are continuously seeking alternative salts such as magnesium chloride (MgCl 2) and organic additives such as beet juice and distillation byproducts. Yet, there is remarkably little information about how these road salt alternatives and additives affect aquatic communities, including their effects on mosquito populations. Nonetheless, understanding how anthropogenic factors such as road salts and salt additives affect mosquito populations could help minimize threats to human health, especially in urban environments. We used outdoor, freshwater mesocosms to experimentally investigate how the road salt MgCl 2 and two organic additives affect mosquito (Culex restuans) survival and emergence. Additionally, we measured changes to abiotic aspects of the environment that could affect mosquito larvae during development. We found that increased concentrations of MgCl 2 reduced mosquito survival while organic additives increased food resources that, in turn, reduced the average time to emergence for mosquitoes. Additionally, the organic additives reduced dissolved oxygen (DO) to hypoxic levels, which might negatively affect mosquito predators such as fish. In the absence of toxic concentrations of MgCl 2 or other salts, reduced predation coupled with the faster emergence times, means that organic additives, might increase mosquito population size. More comprehensive studies of multi-trophic interactions in freshwater ecosystems should be conducted before agencies promote the application of alternative road salts and road salt additives.
Data for: Impacts of urbanization on chloride and stream invertebrates: a 10-year citizen science field study of road salt in stormwater runoff
<p><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> <p>The use of deicing agents during the winter months is one of many stressors that impact stream ecosystems in urban and urbanizing watersheds. In this study, a long-term dataset collected by citizen scientists with the Missouri Stream Team was used to evaluate the relationships between watershed urbanization metrics and chloride metrics. Further, these data were used to explore effects of elevated chloride concentrations on stream invertebrate communities using quantile regression. While the amount of road surface in a watershed was a dominant factor in predicting the maximum chloride measurement, the median chloride concentration was also strongly related to the amount of medium-to-high density development in the watershed, suggesting that non-municipal salt use is an important contributor to increases in baseflow chloride concentrations. Additionally, chloride concentration appears to be one of the many factors that impact invertebrate density and diversity measurements, with decreases in invertebrate diversity corresponding with the U.S. EPA water quality criteria. Our findings suggest that the use of chloride-based road salt on municipal roads as well as in non-municipal settings is contributing to a loss of diversity and density of aquatic invertebrate communities in urban regions.</p>
Road salt inputs alter biogeochemistry but not plant community composition in exurban forested wetlands
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Forested wetlands of the temperate north are increasingly exposed to deicing salts, but it is unclear how this may alter wetland biogeochemistry and plant community composition. To investigate potential effects of deicing salts on exurban forested wetlands in southern New England, we employed a multi-site field study to describe spatiotemporal patterns of soil physiochemical, water quality, and vegetation characteristics with distance from road deicing salt source. We surveyed nine road-adjacent, red maple-dominated wetlands to quantify a suite of soil parameters (Na<sup>+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), heavy metals, N, P, soil moisture), as well as surface and groundwater salinity, and vegetation communities. With increasing distance from roads along 165-m transects penetrating into each wetland, soil salinity (EC, Na<sup>+</sup>) decreased, while soil base cation<sup> </sup>concentrations (Mg<sup>2+</sup>, Ca<sup>2+</sup>) increased, likely due to cation exchange (Na<sup>+</sup> displacing other base cations). <a name="_Hlk73441264">We also measured foliar chemistry and observed elevated Na<sup>+</sup> and reduced Mg<sup>2+ </sup>of<sup> </sup>dominant species leaf tissue near roads, suggesting plant nutrient uptake responds to road-salt related changes in soil physicochemical variables. </a>Despite this, we did not detect differences in plant community composition (ground, shrub layers) along road-salt induced soil chemistry gradients in the field, likely because surface and ground water salinities were relatively low (maximum: 0.64 ppt). To determine at which field salinities we could potentially expect changes in wetland plant communities, we conducted a full-factorial, manipulative seed bank experiment to examine how NaCl concentration (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8 parts per thousand (ppt)), frequency of salt exposure (pulse, constant) and water level (surface, 2-cm below surface) affected soil seed bank responses. Seedling richness was reduced at salinities exceeding 1 ppt, and seedling density was reduced above 2 ppt, but pulsing tended to alleviate salt-induced reductions in seed bank responses. As salinization of freshwater ecosystems continues to increase, our results suggest that field salinity levels of exurban New England forested wetlands are nearing yet still typically below the threshold for which we expect to see strong plant community responses. </p>
Raw data obtained during study regarding road salt impact on zooplankton communities, Poland
<p>Raw data obtained during the environmental study conducted in years 2019-2021 on four urban ponds located in Lodz, Poland.</p>
Data from: Road salt and organic additives affect mosquito growth and survival: an emerging problem in wetlands
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Road salt inputs alter biogeochemistry but not plant community composition in exurban forested wetlands
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Data from: Potential for local adaptation in response to an anthropogenic agent of selection: effects of road deicing salts on amphibian embryonic survival and development
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Data from: How common road salts and organic additives alter freshwater food webs: in search of safer alternatives
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Transcriptional changes in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) after embryonic exposure to road salt (NaCl)
GEO Series GSE71714. Salmo salar; salmonid fish. 8 samples. Type: Expression profiling by array.
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