Data Report for the Preliminary Investigation of Amphibian Breeding Habitat and Screening of Breeding Pool Sediments for Polychlorinated Biphenyl Contamination, Hudson River, New York. Hudson River National Resource Damage Assessment.

摘要

Natural resources of the Hudson River have been contaminated through past and ongoing discharges of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees New York State, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of the Interior are conducting a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) to assess and restore those natural resources injured by PCBs. In May 2004, the Trustees undertook a preliminary investigation to find wood frog and leopard frog breeding pools and analyze sediments from those pools for PCBs. This work was undertaken by the Trustees as part of a preliminary investigation of amphibian breeding habitat on the Hudson River to assist in determining if a full-scale study of the effects of PCBs on Hudson River amphibians should be undertaken. Information gathered during this preliminary investigation will aid in the development of potential injury studies investigating the effects of PCBs on Hudson River amphibians. Two amphibian species the northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) and the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) were the focus of this preliminary investigation. There was also opportunistic collection of data on three other amphibian species the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), the green frog (Rana clamitans) and the American toad (Bufo americanus). Field surveys were conducted during the breeding season to determine if suitably sized leopard and wood frog populations occur in the Hudson River study area for use in a larger, potential future injury study. The field surveys consisted of amphibian chorusing surveys.