Abstract
Jobos Bay, located on the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico, contains a variety of habitats including mangroves, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs. The watershed surrounding the bay includes a number of towns, agricultural areas, and the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). Jobos Bay and the surrounding watershed are part of a Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), involving the Jobos Bay NERR, the US Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to assess the benefits of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) on the terrestrial and marine environments. As part of the Jobos Bay CEAP, NOAA collected sediment samples in May 2008 to characterize over 130 organic chemical contaminants. This paper presents the results of the organic contaminant analysis. The organic contaminants detected in the sediments included polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls, and the pesticide DDT. PAHs at one site in the inner bay near a boat yard were significantly elevated; however, all organic contaminant classes measured were below NOAA sediment quality guidelines that would have indicated that impacts were likely. The results of this work provide an important baseline assessment of the marine environment that will assist in understanding the benefits of implementing BMPs on water quality in Jobos Bay.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Captain Claudio Burgos of the Estuarino for his skill and patience in getting to the sampling sites. We would also like to thank the Jobos Bay CEAP partners, including the Jobos Bay NERR, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, and the USDA. Funding for this work was provided by NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program and the USDA.
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Pait, A.S., Whitall, D.R., Dieppa, A. et al. Characterization of organic chemical contaminants in sediments from Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico. Environ Monit Assess 184, 5065–5075 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2322-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2322-1