- 2.2 DFO Lb ary MPO - Bibliothèque F.55 —7 c Ill 11 Ill 11 11 11 11 11 12021814 C I Preliminary Laboratory Study of the Effects of Burial by AMAX/Kitsault Mine Tailings on Marine Invertebrates B.J. Reid and J. Baumann Water Quality Unit Habitat Management Division Field Services Branch Department of Fisheries and Oceans 1090 West Pender Street Vancouver, B.C. V6E 2P1 August, 1984 \Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences No. 1781 Fisheries Pêches 1+ and Oceans et Océans Canacrd. Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Manuscript reports contain scientific and technical information that contributes to existing knowledge but which deals with national or regional problems. Distribu- tion is restricted to institutions or individuals located in particular regions of Canada. 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Les rapports manuscrits sont produits à l'échelon régional, mais numérotés à l'échelon national. Les demandes de rapports seront satisfaites par l'établissement auteur dont le nom figure sur la couverture et la page du titre. Les rapports épuisés seront fournis contre rétribution par des agents commerciaux. Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences No. 1781 August, 1984 PRELIMINARY LABORATORY STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF BURIAL BY AMAX/KITSAULT MINE TAILINGS ON MARINE INVERTEBRATES B.J. Reid and J. Baumann Water Quality Unit Habitat Management Division Field Services Branch Department of Fisheries and Oceans 1090 West Pender Street Vancouver, B.C., V6E 2P1 Fiihe.ries & Oceans LIBRARY OCT 2$19B4 I U L 10 1 H ,ÈQUE Pêches & Océans - ji - @ Minister of §Lipply and Services Canada 1984 Cat. No. Fs 97-4/1781E ISSN 0706-6473 Correct citation for this publication: Reid B.J,and J. Baumann. 1984. Preliminary laboratory study of the effects of buial by Amax/Kitsault mine tailings on marine,jnyrtebrates. Can. MS. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 1781: vi + 45p. !H ï TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ........................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ........ .................................... iv LIST OF APPENDICES ........................................ iv ABSTRACT .................................................. v . RESUME .................................................... vi INTRODUCTION .............................................. 1 MATERIALS AND METHODS ..................................... 2 SEDIMENT COLLECTION .................................... 2 INVERTEBRATE COLLECTION . ............................... 2 Subtidal Species .................................... 2 Intertidal Species .................................. 3 CONTINUOUS DEPOSITION STUDIES .......................... 4 STATIC BURIAL STUDIES . ................................. 7 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS ...................................... 9 RESULTS . .................................................. 10 SEDIMENT AND WATER CHEMISTRY ........................... 10 CONTINUOUS DEPOSITION STUDIES . ......................... 11 Twenty-Eight Day Exposure ........... ................ 11 Eleven Day Exposure .... ............................. 11 STATIC BURIAL STUDIES . ................................. 12 Yoldia thraciaeformis ......... ...................... 12 Macoma calcarea ..................................... 13 Sternaspis scutata ............. ..................... 14 Chionoecetes bairdï ................... .............. 14 DISCUSSION . ............................................... 15 GENERAL OVERVIEW ....................................... 15 Bivalves ............................................ 15 Polychaetes .... ..................................... 18 Crustaceans ................. ........................ 19 FACTORS AFFECTING INVERTEBRATE ESCAPE ABILITY AFTER BURIAL ................................................. 21 GENERAL DISCUSSION ..................................... 23 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ......................................... 27 REFERENCES ................................................ 28 - iv - LIST OF FIGURES Page FIGURE 1 Collection site for Amax/Kitsault mine tail- ings 31 FIGURE 2 Schematic representation of continuous deposit- ion apparatus 32 FIGURE 3 Summary of static burial studies with Yoldia thraciaeformis, Macoma calcarea and Sternaspis scutata 33 FIGURE 4 Diagrammatic presentation of burrowing beha- viour of a representative bivalve and poly- chaete 34 FIGURE 5 Bivalve foot types 35 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 List of species tested during deposition stu- dies 36 TABLE 2 Chemical and particle size characteristics of tailings and 5ediment 37 TABLE 3 Survival of test animals following 28 days of continuous tailings deposition 38 TABLE 4 Length, weight and condition factor of organ- isms following 11 days of continuous tailings deposition . 39 TABLE 5 Summary of static burial studies with Yoldia thraciapformis 40 TABLE 6 Summary of static burial studies with Macoma calcarea 41 TABLE 7 Summary of static burial studies with Sternas- pis scutata 42 LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX I Amax tailings and marine sediment sampling locations 43 APPENDIX II Water quality data for continuous tailings deposition studies 44 APPENDIX III Lengths and weights of surviving bivalves from the 28 day continuous' tailings deposition stu- dy 45 - - ABSTRACT Reid, B.J. and J. Baumann, 1984. Preliminary laboratory study of the effects of burial by Amax/Kitsault mine tailings on mar- ine invertebrates. Can. MS. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 1781: vi + 45 p. Continuous and static sediment deposition studies were con- ducted with selected marine invertebrates using tailings from the Amax of Canada Ltd. molybdenum mine at Kitsault, B.C.. Four sub- tidal bivalve species (Yoldia thraciaeformis, Y. limatula, Macoma calcarea and Acila castrenensis) and one polychaete species (Sternaspis scutata) survived 28 day continuous deposition of mine tailings. Three species of intertidal bivalves (Mytilus edulis, Protothaca staminea and Venerupis japonica), and limited numbers of juvenile Tanner crabs (Chionoecetes bairdi) survived exposure to a continuous suspension of Amax tailings for nine days (bivalves) and eleven days (crabs) respectively. Static core burial studies with Y. thraciaeformis and M. calcarea resul- ted in few mortalities (<8.3%) after 48 hour burial in up to 30 cm of Amax tailings or native sediments. Both species demon- strated an ability to migrate through 30 cm of either tailings or sediment. Migration ability or survival of Y. thraciaeformis and M. calcarea did not differ between burial in mine tailings or native sediments. Thirty cm of Amax tailings completely inhibi- ted vertical migration of the polychaete Sternaspis scutata resulting in 75% mortality after 48 hours. Test results iricliFité that the