The impact of the Worcester Landfill on the Marshall Brook ecosystem in Acadia National Park
Boyle TP, Beeson DR, Gibbs KE, Soukup M. 1989. The impact of the Worcester Landfill on the Marshall Brook ecosystem in Acadia National Park
From the abstract: "The Marshall Brook system in the southern part of Acadia National Park was investigated for adverse impacts from Worcester Landfill at several sites and in the receiving waters of Bass Harbour Marsh. The leachate from Worcester Landfill on the upper portion of the watershed is directly impacting the aquatic life in the stream. High levels of ammonia, sufficient to cause acute mortality in laboratory animals, were found in the rills draining the landfill and in the arm of Marshall Brook immediately downstream of the leachate point. Toxicity tests of serial dilution of the leachate and control water from Marshall Brook showed reduction in survival and reproduction in laboratory tests with fish and invertebrates. Assessment of the representative biological community in Marshall Brook revealed a reduction in the density of diatoms in the periphyton community and an increase in species richness and diversity; an increase in the macroinvertebrate density with a reduction in diversity; and extirpation of brook trout and American eel and possible replacement by four-spined stickleback in the reach immediately downstream from the leachate source. Closure of the landfill, mitigation of the ammonia concentrations and monitoring of the stream are the recommended courses of action. Assessment of the reported high levels of algal growth in Bass Harbour Marsh revealed very high levels of phosphorus which were not related to chemical constituents from the Worcester Landfill."
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Boyle, Terence; Beeson, David; Gibbs, K; Soukup, Michael
- Date of Issue
- 1989
- Units
- ACAD
- Keywords
- Algae, Ammonia (NH3), Aquatic, Bass Harbor Marsh, Conductivity, Diatoms, Discharge, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Distribution, Fish, Flow (Streamflow), Invertebrates, Iron (Fe), Landfills, Lurvey Brook, Marshall Brook, Mount Desert Island, Nitrogen (N), pH, Phosphorus (P), Pollution, Protozoa, Salmon & Trout (Salmonidae), sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae), Water Quality, Water Temperature, Worcester Landfill