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This document c lassi f ied by R. F. Foster

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Exper imenta l Biology I

and Medicine

This document cons i s t s of15 pages C S F ~ 52. #F m i e s . Series-

THE ABUNDANCE OF THE PRINCIPAL CRUSTACEA UF THE; COLUMBIA RIVER A N D T i iE XADIOACTIVITY 'THEY CONTAiS

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Biclogy Section 7-78 - J/f By Anthori:p Gf 0 .............................. June 25, I953 3 -!5- .f:.3r .......................................-

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Experimental Biology and Medicine

H. M . P a r k e r - M. L. Mickelson W . I. Patnode C. Tu'. Gross - -47. K. MacCready A . B. Greninger - 0. H. Greage r W. D. Norflood - P. A . Fuqua J. E. Maider - E. P. Lee - R. S. Bell D. W. P e a r c e - 2. E. Carey W . A . McAdams J. M. Smith L. K. Bustad R. F. Fos t e r - R. W. Coopey F. P. Hungate R . C. Thompson D. E . Warner H. A. Kornberg 300 File 700 File Yeilow Copy ExtrL Copies

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E xp e r i m en t a 1 B io 1 og y and Medicine

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Copy Number 8 21 Aeromedical Laboratory (WADC) 8

22 - 25 26 27 P.rmy Chemica! Cezter 28 - 30 31 - 32 33 34 35 - 40 41 - 42 4 3 Chicago Patent Group 4 4 Chief of Naval Research 4 5 Columbia University (Fai l la) 4 6 - 48 duPont Company, Augusta 49 - 50 51 Hanford Operations Office 52 Iowa State College 53 Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory

Argonne National Laboratory Armed Forces Special Weapons Pro jec t , Washington

At om i c En e rgy Commission, Washington Brookhaven National Laboratory Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Carbide and Carbo:! Chernica!~ Company (K-25 Plant) Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Company (ORNL) Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Company (Y -12 Plant)

General Elec t r ic Company ( A N P P )

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Los k l amos Scientific Laboratory Massachusetts Insti tute of Technology (Evans) Mound Laboratory Naval Medical Research Insti tute New York Operations Office Patent Branch, Washington Public Health Service RAND Corpora.tion Savannah River Operations Ofiice, Augusta The Surgeon General

1.1. S. Naval Hadiologiczl Defense Laboratory UCLA Medical Research Laboratory (Warren) University of California Radiation Laboratory,

IJniver3ity o f Rochester University of Tennessee (Comar) University of Washington wes te rn Reserve L'iiivei*sity jF13ied*tl;j Technical Information Service, Oak Ridge

USAF Radiation Laboratory Q

Ber k e I s y

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ABSTEACT 3

The species and abundance of crustacea together with the radioactivity they contained were t raced for a 14-month period. -

Seasonal changes were fnund to influence the am%nt of radioactivity present in the organisms. Rapid growth favored high activity density. Unequal seasonkl changes in radioactivity

levels of body crgans indicated functional differences in the utilization of the isotopes.

.e A pronounced spr ing pulse a d a s m a l l ~ r fall pulse tvere

e*rident in the abrtndance of bottom cladocera. Radioactivity w a s highest during the fall pulse.

6 Crayfish averaged 134 f 22 g live weight and 39 216 indi- viduals pe r 36 square f c d sampling a r e a . Cladocera showed2.6 g pe r &pare foot live weight. and 260.000 individuals p e r squa re fcot at maximum. No dec rease could br: found owns stream from the Hartford Operation. P32 wa? the principal isotope prc.sent in c rus tacea , notwithstanding a variety of isotopes present in crus- tacean food and in the r i v e r water.

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THE ABTJNDANCE O F TilE PRINCIPAL CRUSTACEA OF THE COLUiviBiA RIVEP, AND THE RADTOACTNITY THEY CONTAIN

An expanded program for sampling biological ma te r i a l s f rom the

Columbia River, beginning in the fall of 1948, has yielded more detailed information on problems deait with in a generalized manner in a previous report('). A recently published repor t (2) has covered in detail the aquatic invertebrates other than the c rus tacea .

mulated data dea ls with organisms which a r e important a s an intermediate s t ep in the food monomy of the aquatic environment leading progressively

f r o m the s imple algae through the invertebrates to the hieher f o r m s of life of the r ive r .

The present portion of the accci-

METHODS :*

Data were collected from r ive r sampling stations located a s follows:* 3 :&

I t 6 I t between 100-D and 100-F Areas --- A 'TA I' 5 I ( one mile below 100-F Area &-

V I 4R I ' at Hanford in r ive r currept

4E I t at Hanford in siack water c. -

% Station 8 located one-half mile above 100-B Area between 100-B and 100-D Areas

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I t 3 a t 300 Area I t 2 a t Richland p II 1 1 1 ziL:Es atGve Fasco

McNary above McXary damsi te ( G O miles Lt t luw HanfurJ)

Crayfish activity density samples were collected a t all of the abovc stations together with occasional s amples from Ronneville Dam (2013 miles

* A map showing locations of the above stations i s giveit on page 6 of LL previous repor t . (2)

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below Haiii6T.d). ized, and a beta count was m x k CT! a 0. 75 g aliqcot portion.

specimens , depending on their availability, were included in each collection to lessen the influence of individual variability on the r e su l t s . were selected from the tbzee year cr older s i ze group.

were dissert.ed to nhtain t h e reri.i!?s f n r ?he activity densi?y crf rnmpnnen? organs.

These samples were dried under inf ra red lamps, pulver- TWG to four

Specimens

Ten specimens

Crayfish quantiiative samples were obtained a t five of the above listed stations a s indicated la te r . Each crayfish quantitative sample was

collected f rom an a r e a of 36 square feet in water not exceeding 30 inches

in depth and bordering the shoreline. s i z e were judged superior to repeated collections from one to two square foot areas which a r e custoniariiy made for sma i i e r organisms. observed tendency of crayfish to favor the l a rge r rocks for refuge and the difficulty of limiting the boundaries of s amples of sma l l areas where l a rge r rocks a r e intersected were fac tors considered in selecting th i s method. The animals were captured with hand ne ts as the bottom covering stones were individually removed i rom the sample a rea .

Collections f rom an a r e a of this

The

Bottom cladocera are r e s t r i c t ed principally to the s lack water

environments of eddies o r sloughs along the r i v e r margin. Such conditions

prevailed a t stations 8, 4E, 2 and McNary of those l isted above. All the organic and detri tal ma te r i a l s f rom a measured bottom area were collected TUI ,qua i t i i a t ive ~ t u d i e s . the laboratory by utilizing the i r positive phototropic r e sponse under normal t empera tu re conditions. Activity density samples were dr ied Ltnder infra- red lamps preparatory to counting.

Ciaciucr1.a we1.e ~ e p a r a i t x i II.UIII t i i is iliaieK.idi 1 1 1

The activity dens i t ies of a l l crustaceans were correc.ted for both radioactive decay and self-absorption.

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Crustacea sampling w a s not practicable during the May to July

f r e she t season. In addition, the sma l l number of bottom cladocera present

during Janua ry and Februa ry precluded activity density measu-ements. s HESULTS

Crayfish -- The Crayfish Astacus (Potamobius) trowbridgi is quantitatively by

weight the most important crustacean in the r ive r . excluded riffle and eddy locations were made from r i v e r cu r ren t habitats

at s ta t ions 3, 4”n and 7 . Tiiese sanipies shuwed ai average u l i34 t 22 g and 39 & 16 individuals p e r 36 squa re foot sample area o r approximately

3 . 7 g and 1. 1 individuals p e r s q u a r e foot. Two other samples , one in an eddy habitat a t station 4E, another in a riffle habitat a t station 5 showed 5.2 g with 6 individuals and 39 g with 1 1 individuals pe r 36 squa re foot area respectively. Th i s would indicate a preference of crayfish for the

average r i v e r cu r ren t as contrasted to e i ther eddies o r riffles. One s a m - ple f rom a riser cuKrent habi?at n e a r X’IcNary damsi te showed 115 g with

25 individuals pe r $8 s q u a r e foot a r e a which is within the range of stand- a r d deviation of the Hanford Ope- ition a r e a samplcs and infers a lack of

rad ica l change in c ray f i sh numbers below the Hanford plant. were collected during November, 1949. Changes in s t r e a m bed area resu l t ing f rom fluctuations in the r i v e r water level should be expected to

produce seasonal variations in abundance. Since the season of l o w water level includes November, the above figures may be regarded as maximum

T h r e e collections wh:rh

A l l samples

f o r shallow water near s h o r e .

Activity dens i t ies l o r the mlrrrs occur , t r c gi~t : : in TsS!c

Hanford Station, the poi& where maxi- 1.

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TABLE 1 - 6

Water Activity Densiiy i n Units of 10 pc/ml; Crayfish and Cladocera in Units of pc/g Live Weight

CVaier X a t e r Crayfish Ciadocera v Month Temp. C Activity Density Activity Density Activity Density

1949 1 1. 5 2 2 .0 1 A 1 c) 3 . c)

4 5. a a 18.0 9 17 .0

10 1 5 . 3 11 12 .0 12 a. 5

1 . 9 1 .5 1 . 5 1 . 3 1.0 1 . 4 1 . 5 1 . 7 2 . 4

0 . 0 1 0 .02 0 .02 0 .01 0. i 4 0 .28 0.28 0. 18 0 . 0 6

1950 1 4 . 5 2. 8 0 . 0 9 2 3. I 2 . 9 0.04

- - - G . 2c

0. c 7 !. ! 2.0 3. 6 0. 92

0.28

Defe,*ring the cladocera activitv dens i t ies for l a t e r discussion, the following s t a t emen t s can be made concerning the crayfish and water activitx dens i t ies and the associated r i v e r conditions. by the melting of snow in the drainage headwaters and is consequently ;owest in winter and highest in ear ly s u m m e r . are governed by the degree of dilution of the pile effluents, art. therefore inversely re la ted to r ive r flow and consequently highest in w i n t e r and lowest in s u m m e r . 3 . Crayfish activity dens i t ies a re highest during September, October and November when water radioactivity levels m e intermediate

between the f r e she t and the winter low water per iods . Conversely cray- f i sh radioactivity leve ls d r o p during the December to March period when water radioactivity leve ls a r e significantly higher than for the September to November period.

1. River flow is goverpec!

2 . Water activity dens i t ies

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A winter period o i d e c x a s e d body function. amountin5 to a1 ieasi

semi-hibernation, begins at November water t e m p e r a t u r e s of approxi- mately 12OC and continues until .4pril or May. eton moulting, body growth and feeding activit ies a r e vir tual ly a t a s tand- stiii; therelore a drop in crayfish aciivity deilsiiies may b e expecrea in

sp i te of an inc rease in water activity levels over those of the September- November levels . As water t empera tu res r i s e , the metabolic ra te i n c r e a s e s and activity densi t ies r i s e correspondingly.

During th i s period exoskel-

A fur ther substantiation of this point i s gained f rom a comparison of the component o rgans of the c ray f i sh body at maximum and minimum periods of activity density, a s shown in Table 2 for the Hanford Station.

TABLE 2

Activity Density in U n i t s of pc!g Wet Weight --

October Februa ry Organ 1 9 4 9 1950 % Decrease -

Exoskeleton 24.0 2 . 5 90 Muscle 15.0 12.0 13 Gi l l s 21.0 3 . 3 a5 Eggs 5 6 . 0 3 . 5 94 L ive r -panc reas 51.9 16 . 0 69 Gut 34. (J 17 .0 50

Par t i cu la r ly noticeable a r e the drop in egg and exoskeleton activity During densit ies.

November o r December these egg2 r e a c h maturi ty , pass down the oviducts to the e s t e r i o r of the an imal and bczome attached to the pleopod appendages on the vent rum of the abdomen. change until water t e m p e r a t u r e s r i s e sufficiently during the h k y or J m e period to init iate hatching. Similarly with the exoskeleton, moulting o c c u r s

regular ly during the s u m m e r and fall to accommodate the increasing s i z e o f t h e animal; while during winter ecdysis is virtua!!y absen: beczuse cf the slow growth.

Eggs a r e growing rapidly in the ovary during October.

They r ema in h e r e without significant

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The exozkeleton consti tutes m o r e ihan 60 p e r cent of the body weight. The re fo re , even though this organ is not among those with the highest activity density levels p e r unit weight, tke total radioactivity present in the en t i re exoskeleton amounts to a sl;bstantial Ferceiiiage of that p re sec t in the e n t i r e body. In October :he exoskeleton contained 61 p e r cent of the tota! radioacti..:'.- . cent of the total. is due a lmos t exclusively to P32. rad ioe lements p re sen t in the plant population, sucn as i n t h e p l d i o n

:f;e er;:i;e 501:; .;!-L!e in Februa ry i t constituted 33 pcr

Decay cu rves of the organs indicate that the radioactivity Th i s is in zontrast to the var ie ty of

(3) .

A co parison in Table 3 between the act,vi:y leve!s of crayfish of @J different age g roups collected at the Hanford Station in October, 1949, a l s o s h o w s the influence of Srowth ra te .

TABLE 3 -- Activity Density in Units of pc/g Wet Weight

1 s t Yea r 2nd Year 3rd S e a r and Older

2.0 0.56 0.28

T h e r e is considerable dispar i ty between rhe values for the f i r s t and succeeding y e a r groups. immunis grows rapidly during the f i r s t y e a r . for A. trowbridgi, bu t local observat ions point to a s i m i l a r t rend. possible 8 f f e r e n c e i n fooa habits between younger and o lde r an ima l s can- not be ignored. tendency toward plant m a t e r i a l s ; however, no information is available on the juvenile diet .

Tack(4 ) has shown that the c ray f i sh Cambarus Exact information is lacking

'l'he -

Tack(4) shows a var ie ty of food in the adult diet with a

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Table 4 gives the activity densi t ies for crayfish at all co!!ecting s ta t ions for months when maximum and minimum values w e r e obtained. also demons t r z?es the activity density gradient fer crayfish in this szct izn of the Columbia Eiver .

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TABLE 4

Activity Density i n Units of p c / g Wet Weight ----

Station October, 1949 Februa ry , 1950

8 (above Hanford Operation) 0.05 7 0.5 6 0.6 5 17.0 4 (Hanford) 28.0 3 P. -7 2 (Richland) 7 . 5 1 (Pasco ) 2 . 2 McNary dams i t e 0 . 8 . Bonneville Dam 0 . 3

0.05 0. 25 c . 75 2 . 5 3.0 1 . 7 2.0 1 . 2 - - -

Bottom Cladocera

Bottom clzdocera fluctuate seasonal ly in both s p e c i e s and zbur.- dance. Alona rectangula, A . affinis and Chydorus s p h a e r i c u s predominate -- in spr ing , fall and winter. mos t abundant in s u m m e r .

Sida crystal l in2 and E u r y c e r c u s lemallatus a re The f i r s t thr ig ' range between 0.35 and 1 . 0 mm

fer, Camptoce rcus r e c t i r o s t r i s , Xlona costata and P leu roxus denticulatus contribute s m a l l e r n p b e r s , depending on the season of the y e a r . -

Associated with the above as a minor component a re copepods of the g e n e r a Cyclops and Canthocamptus together with occasional o s t r acods and amphipods. Non-crustacean inver tebra tes , such as Rotifera and Protozoa, are present in g r e a t e s t abundance during the w a r m e r season.

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Most of t hese could not be seI;arated from the cladoceran sam;Jlas in gravi- m e t r i c analyses but contribute only insignificantly to the total weights.

Resul ts f rom the Hanford Station obtained during the sp r ing and fall pulses of bottom cladocera ;;s compared to intermediate t i m c s of l e s s e r abundance in January and September a r e shown in Table 5

TABLE 5

Month \Vet w t . p e r s q . ft. Abundance p e r sq. f t .

s:

Janua ry 1949 March, 1949 September , 1949 November, 1949

- - - 2 . 6 g 0 . 0 5 g 0.11 g

3,700 260,000

t 80 5,600

It is seen froin th i s that the ra t io of ?bundance between :he spr ing pulse and the fz!! p ! s c a: rr,axiniii is 4 6 : i ; however, the ra t io of weights duririg thesp s a m e periods i s only 23: l .

The reason fo r th i s difference is that the fall pulse is composed of larger spec ie s . During the m o r e prominent sp r ing pulse, the activity den- s i t y of ?he o rgan i sms is lower than during the fall pc lse . T h e two most evident influences which may contribute to th i s difference are f i r s t , the change in

spec ie s composition mentioned above and second, the much lower March water t empera tu res a s shown in Tablc 1 .

Several ccllections during the s u m m e r of 1949 w e r e separated into juvenile and adult forms. in the m o r e rapidly growing immature f o r m s .

One-third higher activity dens i t i e s were found

T h e activity density gradient. for c ladocera i n t h i s sec t ion of the

r i v e r during September, 1949, is shown in Table 6.

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4- .e TABLE 6

@ - - 4 Units of 10 Microcuries per. G r a m Wet Weight

%x Above Hanford Operation iianfor d fiic:l:i?id XcXary

0 . 0 0 6 11. 0 4 . 5 2.5 2 g

$

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:si -3 'f $4

Q @ ~ Planktonic c rus t acea , consisting of Diaptomus ashlandi and Cyclops

bicuspidatus, did not Occur in the main chanriel of

abundance for activlty density measurements . Bosmina longi ros t r i s did occur in abundance in the plankton of Hanford slough dur ing =id-summer I t s activity density i s comparable to that of t'ie bottom living f o r m s

e r i v e r in sufficient - --!E---

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SUMMARY

- a The amount of contained radioactivity and the abundance of the -d

YJ 4 3

important crustaceans of the Columbia R i v e r were de te rmined f rom J a n u - $j

5!i

ary , !gag, to February, :356. $

3G squa re foot sampling a r e a in November, 1943. No significant dec rease :$ 3 w a s noticeable downstream f r o m the Hanford Operation. Whole-body -a

activity density was highest in September-Kovember per iod and lowest ii.

the December-March period.

Crayfish averaged 134 f 22 g live weight and 39 f 16 individuals pe r .a

1 I

0 The activity density of the individual body

"a c

n-n-ne -- ,,-.--, z!?hough s?.crir.g similar z e z c ~ a ! ! r o d s , \p=!-!ed ecrnrd ing to +he

metabolic r a t e of the par t icular organ concerned. A rapid growth during the f i r s t y e a r of the life cycle contributed to significantly h g h e r activity levels than were found in older spec imens . P

3 @ Smal l e r crustaceans in the bottom fauna were composed of tune

spec ie s of cladocera with a s m a l l component of Copepoda. Quantitative

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samples of these showed a pronounced spring pulse and a l e s s definite fall pulse. Weight and abundance data showed no major change in the Haniord Operation sectior%f the r i v e r . Activity densit ies were hignest during a tne

fall pulse with radioactivity of the immzture forms exceeding that of the adult f o r m s by one-third.

Both c rayf i sh and cladocera showed a marked drop in radioactivity levels downstream a t Richland and McNary Dam with P32 as the principal

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w @ @ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Appreciation is expressed to R . G . Genoway of the Aquatic Biology staff for ass is tance in collecting and processing of s a m p l e s and to R. W. Kiser of Centralia Washington Junior College for identificstion of cladocera.

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0 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Coopey, R. W. , "Prel iminary repor t on the accumulation of radio- activity as shown by a limnological study of the Columbia River i n the vicinity of Hanford Works", Document HW-11662 (1948) (CONFIDENTIAL).

Davis, J. J. and C. L. Cooper, "Effect o w a n f o r d pile effluent upon aquatic invertebrates i n the Columbia River", 0 Document HW-20055 (1951) (SECRET).

Coopey, R. W . , I1Radioactive plankton f r o m the Columbia River", @

Tack, Peter I. , "The life history and ecology of the crayfish C a n b a r u s immunis Hagenll, Am. Midl. Na t . 25 (2): 420-446, 1941.

Document HW-20658 (1951) (UNCLASSIFIED). 0 8

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