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Selenium in aquatic biota inhabiting agricultural drains in the Salton Sea Basin, California

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Abstract

Resource managers are concerned that water conservation practices in irrigated farmlands along the southern border of the Salton Sea, Imperial County, California, could increase selenium concentrations in agricultural drainwater and harm the desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius), a federally protected endangered species. As part of a broader attempt to address this concern, we conducted a 3-year investigation to collect baseline information on selenium concentrations in seven agricultural drains inhabited by pupfish. We collected water, sediment, selected aquatic food-chain taxa (particulate organic detritus, filamentous algae, net plankton, and midge [Chironomidae] larvae), and two poeciliid fishes (western mosquitofish Gambusia affinis and sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna) for selenium determinations. The two fish species served as ecological surrogates for pupfish, which we were not permitted to sacrifice. Dissolved selenium ranged from 0.70 to 32.8 μg/L, with selenate as the major constituent. Total selenium concentrations in other environmental matrices varied widely among drains, with one drain (Trifolium 18) exhibiting especially high concentrations in detritus, 5.98–58.0 μg Se/g; midge larvae, 12.7–50.6 μg Se/g; mosquitofish, 13.2–20.2 μg Se/g; and mollies, 12.8–30.4 μg Se/g (all tissue concentrations are based on dry weights). Although toxic thresholds for selenium in fishes from the Salton Sea are still poorly understood, available evidence suggests that ambient concentrations of this element may not be sufficiently elevated to adversely affect reproductive success and survival in selenium-tolerant poeciliids and pupfish.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and the USGS Fisheries: Aquatic and Endangered Resources Program for funding the work described in this report. Bruce Wilcox of IID assisted with contract management and provided invaluable logistical support. Jeff Tupen, Harry Ohlendorf, and members of the IID Implementation Team provided project guidance and technical oversight. James Fairchild and Harry Ohlendorf reviewed an early draft of this report. USGS personnel who contributed significantly to this project in the field or laboratory included William Brumbaugh, Cory Emerson, Francine Mejia, Toni Russell, and Michael Walther. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Geological Survey, Western Fisheries Research Center-Dixon Duty Station, 6924 Tremont Road, Dixon, CA, 95620, USA

    Michael K. Saiki & Barbara A. Martin

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA

    Thomas W. May

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  1. Michael K. Saiki
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  2. Barbara A. Martin
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  3. Thomas W. May
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Correspondence to Michael K. Saiki.

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Saiki, M.K., Martin, B.A. & May, T.W. Selenium in aquatic biota inhabiting agricultural drains in the Salton Sea Basin, California. Environ Monit Assess 184, 5623–5640 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2367-1

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