An Analysis of the Fish and Macrobenthos Along the Sand Island Ocean Outfall Using Remote Video: Vi
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
HANAU-S-96-002 C2 AN ANALYSIS OF THE FISH AND MACROBENTHOS ALONG THE SAND ISLAND OCEAN OUTFALL USING REMOTE VIDEO: VI. 1995 DATA Richard E. Brock PROJECT REPORT PR-96-06 March 1996 WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH CENTER UNIlVERSlTY OF HAWAI'I AT MANOA Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822 AUTHOR: Dr. Richard E. Brock AssociateResearcher and FisheriesSpecialist Sea Grant Extension Service Marine Science Building 204 University of Hawai'i at Mhtoa Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822 Tel.: 808/956-2859 FAX: 808/956-2858 $5.0O/copy Please make remittance in U.S. dollars fmm a U.S. bank or internationalmoney order to: ResearchCorporatha ot the Uaiverekyot Hawaii Mail to. Water Resources Research Center University of Hawai'i at Mmnoa 2540 Dole St., Holmes Hall 283 Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822 ~ U.S.A. Attn: Publications Of6ce NOTE: Pleaseindicate PR-9646 on checkor moneyorder for our reference. AN ANALYSIS OF THE FISH AND MACROBKNTHOS ALONG THE SAND ISLAND OCEAN OUTFALL USING REMOTE VIDEO: VI. 1995 DATA Richard E. Brock Project Report PR-9644 March 1996 PREPARED FOR Departmentof WastewaterManagement City and County of Honolulu Project Report for "The Assessmentof the Impact of OceanSewer Outfalls on the Marine Environment off Oahu, Hawaii" ProjectNo.: C39805 ProjectPeriod: 1 January1995-31 August 1996 Principal Investigator: RogerS. Fujioka WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH CENTER University of Hawai'i at Minoa Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822 Any opinions.findings, and conclusions or recommendationsexpressed in thispublication are those of the author and do not necessarilyreflect the view of the Water ResourcesResearch Center, ABSTRACT Becausethe diffuser of theSand Island Ocean Outfall lies below safe diving depths, a remotely controlled video camerasystem was used to determinethe statusof the fish and diurnallyexposed macrobenthos resident to thediffuser. The use of a remotelyoperated vehicle is stipulatedin theNational Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 301 h!waiver permit for the SandIsland Wastewater Treatment Plant. Video reconnaissance was completed over the entire 1,036m lengthof the outfall diffuser.Five visual"transects," which "sampled" approximately41% of the totaldiffuser length, were established on the diffuserpipe. Video sampling of the diffuser marine communitieswas carried out annually from 1990 to 1995. Onlya fewspecies of diurnallyexposed macroinvertebrates areevident on thevideotapes of the diffuser;the numbersare insufficient for any meaningfulanalysis. In 1995,25 fish species ,796 individuals!having an estimated biomass ranging from 19to 51 g/m~ mean30 g/m2! werecensused; in 1994,32 species,473 individuals!with a standingcrop from 16 to 46 g/m mean35 g/m2!were encountered; in 1993,22 species79 individuals!having an estimatedbiomass ranging from 6 to 39 g/m mean21 g/m2! were encountered;in 1992,31 fish species,936 individuals!having an estimated standing crop ranging from 39 to 77 g/m2 mean53 g/m2! were censused; and in 1991,28 species ,785 individuals!having a biomass ranging from 8 to 106 g/m2 mean 42 g/m2! were counted.Because the 1990 video census coveredonly the terminal183 m of the diffuser,whereas the later surveyswere spread out alongthe entire diffuser length,a directcomparison cannot be madebetween the 1990data and thedata for subsequentyears. In 1990,one "new" fish specieswas encountered for every22.9 rn2of substratumsampled and one fish wasseen for every5.6 m>;in 1991,it wasone new speciesfor every 13.1m2 sampledand one fish for every0.7 m>;in 1992,it wasone new speciesfor every10.3 m2 and one fish for every0.4 m2; in 1993,it wasone new species for every 17.3m2 and one fish for every3.9 m2;and in 1994it wasone new speciesfor every 10.2m2 and one new fish for every0.7 m2.The 1995census noted one new fish speciesfor every 14.7m> of substratumsampled and one fish for every0.7 m2.In the 1991-95period, measuresof the fish community number of species,number of individuals, and biomass! increasedfmm 1991to 1992,decreased in 1993,and haveoscillated annually since that time. From a statisticalperspective, changes in the meannumber of speciesper transectand the mean numberof individual fishesper transectare significant Kruskal-Wailis ANOVA!; changesin the biomass of fishes over the same period are not significant. These changesin the fish community are attributedto changesin the generalviewplane of videotapesrecorded in 1994 and 1995from that of earlier years,as well as to a changein the resolution of the videotape from which the data are derived. Poorer camera resolution results in lower counts; camera cameraresolution is affectedby local wind andcurrents interacting with the camera,tether, and support vesselas well as by water visibility. ControHingthese sources of variation inherent with the useof the remotelyoperated video system is difficult if not impossible.Until an alternative can be found, the remotely controlled video systemis the only low-cost means available to view the marine communities on the diffuser. Until a more accurate means of visual assessmentis available,the biological data generatedby the remotely operatedvideo camera shouldbe viewed asqualitative, with little statisticalrigor. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. MATERIALS AND METHODS .. RESULTS DISCUSSION .. REFERENCES CITED Figure 1. Schematic of the 1,036-m-long Sand Island Ocean Outfall diffuser pipe showing the approximatelocations of the five transectsestablished in August 1991 and monitored annually using a remotely controlled video recording system.. Tables 1. Family and speciesof fishes censusedon five transectsalong the 1,036-m-long diffuser pipe of the Sand Island Ocean Outfall as delineated using a remotely controlled video camerasystem on 16 November 1995... 2. Summary of the diurnally exposedmacroinvertebrates censused on five video transectscarried out alongthe 1,036-m-longdiffuser pipe of the Sand Island Ocean Outfall on 16 November 1995 .. 3. Summary of diurnally exposedmacroinvertebrates censused on five transectsalong the 1,036-m-tongdiffuser pipe of the Sand Island OceanOutfall as delineatedusing a remotely controlled video camera systemin August of 1991 through 1994.. 4, Summary of the characteristics of five transects carried out at various points along the 1,036-rn-longSand Island OceanOutfall diffuser, with data from the fish censuses carried out at each transect in November 1995 .. 5. Fainily and speciesof fishescensused on five transectsalong the 1,036-m-longdiffuser pipe of the Sand Island OceanOutfall as delineated using a remotely controlledvideo camerasystem on 22 August 1991...... 6. Family and speciesof fishescensused on five transectsalong the 1,036-m-longdiff'user pipe of the Sand Island OceanOutfall as delineated using a remotely controlledvideo camerasystem on 28 August 1992...... 7. Family and speciesof fishescensused on five transectsalong the 1,036-m-longdiffuser pipe of the Sand Island OceanOutfall as delineated using a remotely controlled video camera system on 5 August 1993. 8. Family and speciesof fishes censusedon five transectsalong the 1,036-m-longdiffuser pipe of the Sand Island OceanOutfall as delineated using a remotely controlled video camerasystem on 10 August 1994...... 9. Comparative summary of fish community developmentmeasured over five yearsat five locations along the 1,036-m-longSand Island Ocean Outfall diff'user vu 10. Summaryof the nonparametric Student-Newman-Keuls multiplerange teston ranked values of parametersmeasured in the fish community at fivepermanent transects along the 1,036-m-long Sand Island diffuser censusedin Augustof 1991through 1994 and November 1995 .. INTRODUCTION In recent years controversy has arisen regarding the impact that sewageeffluent from the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant may have on marine communities resident to the receiving waters. The outfall was constructed in 1975, and screenedsewage has been dischargedsince 1976.The oceanportion of the outfall is comprisedof 2,780 m of 2.1-m- diameterreinforced concrete pipe that terminatesin a 1,036-m-longdiffuser. The diffuser is madeup of reinforcedconcrete pipe of threediameters: 490 m of 2.1-m-diameterpipe, 271 m of 1.7-m-diameterpipe, and 275 m of 1.2-m-diameterpipe at the terminus.Along its Length, the diffuser, which lies in water from 68 to 73 m in depth,has 282 portsthat rangefrom 7.6 to 9 cm in diameter.The diffuser restson a gravelpad and has someballast rock placedat the juncturesbetween sections. Fishes and macroinvertebrates have taken up residencealong most of the length of the deep ocean outfall. This study has been undertakenin an attempt to semiquantitativelyascertain the impactsthat may be occurringto thc communitiesresident to the dischargeport areasof the outfall. This reportpresents a synopsisof the datafrom the sixth annualsampling effort carried out on 16November 1995 and comparatively analyzes these data with informationcollected annuaHy since 1991. MATERIALS AND METHODS A remotelycontrolled video camera was used to conductthe census because the fish and diurnally exposedmacroinvcrtebrate communities of interestto this studyreside in waters belowsafe diving depths.In addition,the system was used because thc waiverpermit issued by theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency/Hawaii Department of Healthrequites the use of a remotelyoperated vehicle. There are a numberof drawbacksas weH as positive aspects to using a video camera system to visually census fishes and diurnally exposed macroinvertcbrates.The drawbacksinclude problemswith cameraresolution, making species and size identificationsdif6cult, andthe problemof adequatelycontroHing