Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T19:37:59.298Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14 - A Baseline Ecological Study of Tributaries in the Tenmile Creek Watershed, Southwest Pennsylvania

from Part III - Case Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

By
Brady Porter ,
Elizabeth Dakin ,
Sarah Woodley  and
John F. Stolz
Edited by
John Stolz ,
Daniel Bain  and
Michael Griffin
John Stolz
Affiliation:
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
Daniel Bain
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Michael Griffin
Affiliation:
Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania
Get access

Summary

In efforts to understand the potential impacts of the Marcellus Shale extraction activities on stream health, we performed a baseline study on a focal pair of small streams in the Tenmile Creek watershed in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Bates Fork had intensive Marcellus Shale well drilling activity and several violations upstream from our study site. A tributary, Fonner Run, served as a control stream site with no drilling activity. Through two years of monitoring, we established baselines for water chemistry and biological communities of bacteria, fish and salamanders. In addition, we compared population genetic diversity of two darter species with microsatellite markers. Although no conclusive differences were found between the stream-pair, we established baseline parameters and gained insight into refining tools to detect the signature of Marcellus Shale extraction impacts on small streams in southwestern Pennsylvania. We conclude this chapter with lessons learned from this case study, future directions and suggestions for improved monitoring and detection of Marcellus Shale impacts on streams in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Keywords

Watershedspecific conductivitygenetic diversitymicrosatellitemicrobiome
Type
Chapter
Information
Environmental Impacts from the Development of Unconventional Oil and Gas Reserves , pp. 340 - 362
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdelkrim, J, Robertson, BC, Stanton, JL, and Gemmell, NJ. (2018). Fast, cost-effective development of species-specific microsatellite markers by genomic sequencing. Biotechniques. 46(3): 185–191.Google Scholar
Blauch, M, Myers, R, Moore, T, and Houston, N. (2009). Marcellus Shale Post-Frac Flowback Waters - Where is All the Salt Coming From and What are the Implications? Society of Petroleum Engineers Eastern Regional Meeting, 125740.Google Scholar
Bowles, B, Sanders, M, and Hansen, R. (2006). Ecology of the Jollyville Plateau Salamander (Eurycea tonkawae: Plethodontidae) with an assessment of the potential effects of urbanization. Hydrobiologia. 553: 111–120.Google Scholar
Byrne-Bailey, KG, Gaze, WH, Zhang, L, Kay, P, Boxall, A, Hawkey, PM, and Wellington, EMH. (2010). Integron prevalence and diversity in manured soil. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 77(2): 684–687.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cantlay, T, Eastham, JL, Rutter, J, Bain, DJ, Dickson, BC, Basu, P, and Stolz, JF. (2020a). Determining conventional and unconventional oil and gas well brines in natural samples I: Anion analysis with ion chromatography. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A: Toxic/Hazardous Substances and Environmental Engineering. 55(1), 1–10.Google Scholar
Cantlay, T, Bain, DJ, Curet, J, Jack, RF, Dickson, BC, Basu, P, and Stolz, JF. (2020b). Determining conventional and unconventional oil and gas well brines in natural sample II: Cation analyses with ICP-MS and ICP-OES. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A: Toxic/Hazardous Substances and Environmental Engineering. 55(1): 11–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cantlay, T, Bain, DJ, and Stolz, JF. (2020c). Determining conventional and unconventional oil and gas well brines in natural samples III: Mass ratio analyses using both anions and cations. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A: Toxic/Hazardous Substances and Environmental Engineering. 55(1): 24–32.Google Scholar
Cayol, JL, Ollivier, B, Patel, BKC, Prensier, G, Guezennec, J, and Garcia, JL. (1994). Isolation and characterization of Halothermothrix orenii gen. nov., sp. nov., a halophilic, thermophilic, fermentative, strictly anaerobic bacterium. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. 534–540.Google Scholar
Chen, HH, Zhao, GZ, Park, DJ, Zhang, YQ, Xu, LH, Lee, JC, Kim, CJ, and Li, WJ. (2009). Micrococcus endophyticus sp. nov., isolated from surface-sterilized Aquilaria sinensis roots. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 59: 1070–1075.Google Scholar
Collins, J and Storfer, A. (2003). Global amphibian declines: Sorting the hypotheses. Diversity and Distributions. 9: 89–98.Google Scholar
Daley, RA, Borton, MA, Wilkins, MJ, Hoyt, DW, Kountz, DJ, Wolfe, RA, Welch, SA, Marcus, DN, Trexler, RV, MacRae, JD, Krzycki, JA, Cole, DR, Mouser, PJ, and Wrighton, KC. (2016). Microbial metabolisms in a 2.5-km-deep ecosystem created by hydraulic fracturing in shales. Nature Microbiology. 1: 1–9.Google Scholar
Ding, L and Yokota, A. (2004). Proposals of Curvibacter gracilis gen. nov., sp. nov. and Herbaspirillum putei sp. nov. for bacterial strains isolated from well water and reclassification of [Pseudomonas] huttiensis, [Pseudomonas] lanceolata, [Aquaspirillum] delicatum and [Aquaspirillum] autotrophicum as Herbaspirillum huttiense comb. nov., Curvibacter lanceolatus comb. nov., Curvibacter delicates comb. nov., and Herbaspirillum comb. nov. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 54: 2223–2230.Google Scholar
Dugas, O. (2014). Isolation and Characterization of Salinivibrio sp. Strain LP-1 from an Impoundment with Marcellus Shale Waste Water. Master’s thesis, Duquesne University.Google Scholar
Eastham, JL. (2012). Enrichment, Characterization, and Identification of Microbial Communities Found in Unconventional Shale Gas Production Water. Master’s thesis, Duquesne University.Google Scholar
Fichter, JK, Johnson, K, French, K, and Oden, R. (2008). Use of Microbiocides in Barnett Shale Gas Well Fracturing Fluids to Control Bacteria Related Problems. NACE International - Corrosion. 2008: 08658.Google Scholar
Fisher, MM and Triplett, EW. (1999). Automated approach for ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis of microbial diversity and its application to freshwater bacterial communities. Applied Environmental Microbiology. 65: 4630–4636.Google Scholar
Frantz, MW, Wood, PB, Latta, SC, and Welsh, AB. (2020). Epigenetic response of Louisiana Waterthrush Parkesia motacilla to shale gas development. Ibis. 162(4): 1211–1224.Google Scholar
Gabel, JM, Dakin, EE, Freeman, BJ, and Porter, BA. (2008). Isolation and identification of eight microsatellite loci in the Cherokee Darter (Etheostoma scotti) and their variability in other members of the genera Etheostoma, Ammocrypta, and Percina. Molecular Ecology Resources. 8: 149–151.Google Scholar
Goudet, J. (1995). FSTAT (Version 1.2): A Computer Program to Calculate F-Statistics, Journal of Heredity. 86(6): 485–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grossman, GD and Skyfield, J. (2009). Quantifying microhabitat availability: Stratified random versus Constrained focal-fish methods. Hydrobiologia. 624: 235–240.Google Scholar
Groundwater Protection Council (GWPC). (2009). Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States: A Primer, prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.Google Scholar
Hariharan, H, Lopez, A, Conboy, G, Coles, M, and Muirhead, T. (2007). Isolation of Escherichia fergusonii from the feces and internal organs of a goat with diarrhea. The Canadian Veterinary Journal. 48: 630–631.Google Scholar
Hillman, S, Withers, P, Drewes, R, and Hillyard, S. (2009). Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Amphibians. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hohenlohe, PA, Funk, WC, and Rajora, OP. (2020). Population genomics for wildlife conservation and management. Molecular Ecology. 30: 62–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jackson, PE. (2006). Ion chromotography in environmental analysis. In Meyers, RA (ed.) Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., pp. 2779–2801.Google Scholar
Joshi, SN. (2013). Isolation and Characterization of a Bacillus Firmus Strain SWPA-1 from Marcellus Shale Flowback Water. Master’s thesis, Duquesne University.Google Scholar
Karr, JR, Fausch, KD, Andermeier, PL, Yant, PR, and Schlosser, IJ. (1986). Assessing biological integrity in running waters: a method and its rationale. Illinois Natural History Survey Special Publication. 5.Google Scholar
Karraker, NE, Gibbs, JP, and Vonesh, JR. (2008). Impacts of road deicing salt on the demography of vernal pool-breeding amphibians. Ecological Applications. 18: 724–734.Google Scholar
Keller, DH, Horwitz, RJ, Mead, JV, and Belton, TJ. (2017). Natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region: Well pad densities and aquatic communities. Hydrobiologia. 795: 49–64.Google Scholar
Kimmel, WG and Argent, DG. (2006). Development and application of an index of biotic integrity for fish communities of wadeable Monongahela River tributaries. Journal of Freshwater Ecology. 21(2): 183–190.Google Scholar
Kimmel, WG and Argent, DG. (2010). Stream fish community responses to a gradient of specific conductance. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 206: 49–56.Google Scholar
Kimmel, WG and Argent, DG. (2012). Status of fish and macroinvertebrate communities in a watershed experiencing high rates of fossil fuel extraction: Tenmile Creek, a major Monongahela River tributary. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 223: 4647–4657.Google Scholar
Kiviat, E. (2013). Risks to biodiversity from hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica shales. Annuals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1286: 1–14.Google Scholar
Lampe, DJ and Stolz, JF. (2015). Current perspectives on unconventional shale gas extraction in the Appalachian Basin. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A: Toxic/Hazardous Substances and Environmental Engineering. 50: 434–446.Google Scholar
Latta, SC, Marshall, LC, Frantz, MW, and Toms, JD. (2015). Evidence from two shale regions that a riparian songbird accumulates metals associated with hydraulic fracturing. Ecosphere. 6(9): 144.Google Scholar
Li, H and Durbin, R. (2011). Inference of human population history from individual whole-genome sequences. Nature Genetics. 475: 493–496.Google Scholar
Li, WJ, Zhang, YQ, Park, DJ, Li, CT, Xu, LH, Kim, CJ, and Jiang, CL. (2004). Duganella violaceinigra sp. nov., a mesophilic bacterium isolated from forest soil. International Journal of Systematic Evolutionary Microbiology. 54: 1811–1814.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maule, AL, Makey, CM, Benson, EB, Burrows, IJ, and Scammell, MK. (2013). Disclosure of hydraulic fracturing fluid chemical additives: analysis of regulations. New Solutions. 23(1): 167–187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meador, MR and Carlisle, DM. (2007). Quantifying Tolerance Indictor Values for Common Stream Fish Species of the United States. Ecological Indicators. 7(2): 329–338.Google Scholar
Mohan, AM, Gregory, KB, Vidic, RD, Miller, P, and Hammack, RW. (2011). Characterization of microbial diversity in treated and untreated flowback water impoundments from gas fracturing operations. Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. 147414.Google Scholar
Myers, GS. (1949). Salt-tolerance of fresh-water fish groups in relation to zoogeographical problems. Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde. 28: 315–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nixon, S. (2022). The microbiology of shale gas extraction. In Stolz, JF, Griffin, WM, and Bain, DJ (eds.) Environmental Impacts from the Development of Unconventional Oil and Gas Reserves. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Nunziata, SO and Weisrock, DW. (2018). Estimation of contemporary effective population size and population declines using RAD sequence data. Heredity. 120: 196–207.Google Scholar
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA). (1987). Biological Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Life: Volumes I–III. Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.Google Scholar
PADEP (2020). 2020 Pennsylvania Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report. Available online at https://gis.dep.pa.gov/IRStorymap2020/. Accessed March 31, 2021.Google Scholar
Pascuzzi, M. (2012). The Effects of Total Dissolved Solids on Locomotory Behavior and Body Weight of Streamside Salamanders, and a Baseline Survey of Salamander Diversity and Abundance. Master’s thesis, Duquesne University.Google Scholar
Pelletier, A and Sygusch, J. (1990). Purification and characterization of three chitosanase activities from Bacillus megaterium P1. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 56(4): 844–848.Google Scholar
Pichel, M, Brengi, SP, Cooper, KLF, Ribot, EM, Al-Busaidy, S, Araya, P, Fernandez, J, Vaz, TI, Kam, KM, Morcos, M, Nielson, EM, Nadon, C, Pimentel, G, Perez-Gutierrez, E, Gerner-Smidt, P, and Binsztein, N. (2012). Standardization and international multicenter validation of a PulseNet Pulsed-Field gel electrophoresis protocol for subtyping Shigella flexneri isolates. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease. 9(5): 418–424.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Porter, BA, Fiumera, AC, and Avise, JC. (2002). Egg mimicry and allopaternal care: two mate-attracting tactics by which nesting striped darter (Etheostoma virgatum) males enhance reproductive success. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 51: 350–359.Google Scholar
Prettner, S. (2019). A Study of Chloride Levels in Pine Creek, Allegheny County, PA. Master’s thesis, Duquesne University.Google Scholar
Raymond, M and Rousset, F. (1995). GENEPOP (version 1.2): population genetics software for exact tests and ecumenicism. Journal of Heredity. 86: 248–249.Google Scholar
Rocco, GL and Brooks, RP. (2000). Abundance and Distribution of a Stream Plethodontid Salamander Assemblage in 14 Ecologically Dissimilar Watersheds in the Pennsylvania Central Appalachians, Final Technical Report No. 2000-4 of the Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center, Pennsylvania State University.Google Scholar
Rutter, J. (2012). A Baseline Study of Chemical Parameters and Microbial Diversity of Two Streams in the Ten Mile Creek Watershed in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Master’s thesis, Duquesne University.Google Scholar
Stolz, JF and Griffin, WM. (2022). Unconventional shale gas and oil extraction in the Appalachian Basin. In Stolz, JF, Griffin, WM, and Bain, DJ (eds.) Environmental Impacts from the Development of Unconventional Oil and Gas Reserves. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Struchtemeyer, CG, Davis, JP, and Elshahed, MS. (2011). Influence of the drilling mud formulation process on the bacterial communities in thermogenic natural gas wells of the Barnett Shale. Applied Environmental Microbiology. 77: 4744–4753.Google Scholar
Struchtemeyer, CG and Elshahed, MS. (2011). Bacterial communities associated with hydraulic fracturing fluids in thermogenic natural gas wells in North Central Texas, USA. FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 81: 13–25.Google Scholar
Tonnis, BD. (2006). Microsatellite DNA markers for the rainbow darter, Etheostoma caeruleum (Percidae), and their potential utility for other darter species. Molecular Ecology Notes. 6(1): 230–232.Google Scholar
Trevelline, BK, Latta, SC, Marshall, LC, Nuttle, T, and Porter, BA. (2016). Molecular analysis of nestling diet in a long-distance Neotropical migrant, the Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla). The Auk. 133: 415–428.Google Scholar
Wilson, JM and VanBriesen, JM. (2022). Water usage and management. In Stolz, JF, Griffin, WM, and Bain, DJ (eds.) Environmental Impacts from the Development of Unconventional Oil and Gas Reserves. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wolman, G. (1954). A method of sampling coarse river-bed material. Transactions, American Geophysical Union. 35: 951–956.Google Scholar
Woodley, SK, Freeman, PE, and Ricciardella, LF. (2014). Environmental acidification is not associated with altered plasma corticosterone levels in the stream-side salamander, Desmognathus ochrophaeus. General and Comparative Endocrinology. 201: 8–15.Google Scholar
Zhang, YQ, Li, WJ, Zhang, KY, Tain, XP, Jiang, Y, Xu, LH, Jiang, CL, Lai, R. (2006). Massilia dura sp. nov., Massilia albidiflaca sp. nov., Massilia plicata sp. nov., and Massilia lutea sp. nov., isolated from soils in China. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 56: 459–463.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×