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Ecology of Blue Spring

St. Johns River Water Management District. Ecology of Blue Spring. Robert A. Mattson, CEP, CSE Environmental Scientist V. Blue Spring Academy October 3, 2014. Volusia Blue Spring. Springshed area ~ 100 mi 2 Almost entirely within Volusia County

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Ecology of Blue Spring

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  1. St. Johns River Water Management District Ecology of Blue Spring • Robert A. Mattson, CEP, CSE • Environmental Scientist V Blue Spring Academy October 3, 2014

  2. Volusia Blue Spring Springshed area ~ 100 mi2 Almost entirely within Volusia County Encompasses all or part of five municipalities Predominant land use is residential

  3. Volusia Blue Spring • First Magnitude (mean annual flow 157 cfs) • Depth at vent 9.3 meters (~30.5 feet) • Spring run ~400 meters (1,320 feet) to the St. Johns River • Centerpiece of Blue Springs State Park • Primary warmwater refuge for St. Johns River manatee population during the winter Photo by Luis Modesti; from Fla. Park Service

  4. Volusia Blue Spring • Low ion (“soft water”) • Calcium 0.7-4.8 mg/L; Chloride 1-15 mg/L • Calcium bicarbonate • Ca 1-74 mg/L; Cl 1-21 mg/L • Mixed springs • Ca 32-167 mg/L; Cl 10-235 mg/L • Salt springs • Ca 40-600 mg/L; Cl 240-9400 mg/L (Woodruff, 1993)

  5. Springs Total Dissolved Solids

  6. Blue Spring Water Quality Summary • Background NOx in Floridan Aquifer ~ 0.05 mg/L (FGS) • NOx > 0.2 mg/L indicates “enriched” (USGS and SJRWMD) • Background TP for springs may be 0.04-0.06 mg/L (Odum, 1953)

  7. Continuous Water Quality Monitoringfloridaswater.com/springs Choose “Continuous sensor-based water quality data” from the right-hand menu.

  8. Continuous Water Quality Monitoringfloridaswater.com/springs Dissolved Oxygen Nitrate Choose “Continuous sensor-based water quality data” from the right-hand menu.

  9. Volusia Blue Spring Historic Water Quality • “. . . we soon came to a creek . . . of the color of the sea, smelled like bilge water, tasting sweetish and loathsome, warm and very clear, but a whitish matter adhered to the fallen trees near the bottom; the spring-head is about 30 yards broad , and boils up from the bottom like a pot . . . ” John Bartram, January 1766 • “. . . ran 8 miles up the river to a place called the Blue Spring. This is a sulphur spring . . . The water is very clear, emitting a strong smell & becoming more transparent as you approach the head of the spring.” Master Edward C. Anderson, USN, April 1844

  10. Blue Spring Water Quality Trends • Increasing trend: alkalinity, nitrate-nitrite N (NOx), total dissolved solids (TDS), potassium • No trend: dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, orthophosphate, chloride, conductivity, iron, sulfate, fluoride • No decreasing trends

  11. Blue Spring NOx Trend

  12. Blue Spring TDS v. Flow

  13. Blue Spring NOx v. Flow

  14. The ProblemShift in spring plant communities WeekiWachee 1951 WeekiWachee 2006 Source: Fla. State Archives Source: A. Pinowska, Michigan State Univ.

  15. Reasons to reduce nitrate loads • Increased growth rates of nuisance macroalgae (algal mats) • Toxicity to spring fauna • Inhibits growth of submerged macrophytes (aquatic plants) • Loading to downstream ecosystems

  16. Blue Spring Ecology Flora and Fauna

  17. Aquatic Plant Communities • Algae (periphyton & macroalgae) • Diatoms (Bacillariophyta) • “Blue green” algae (Cyanobacteria) • Green algae (Chlorophyta – including filamentous forms) • Red algae (Rhodophyta) • Yellow-green algae (Xanthophyta – Vaucheria) • Macrophytes(submerged aquatic vegetation) Ichetucknee River • “The spring boil is nearly devoid of rooted vegetation, but the spring run has thick growths of aquatic plants throughout its course ”. Fred Thompson, FLMNH, 1962

  18. Periphytic Algal Community(FDEP Bioassessment Data)

  19. Periphytic Algal Community(FDEP Bioassessment Data)

  20. Benthic Macroinvertebrates • Aquatic insects • Mayflies • Caddisflies • Chironomids (midges) • Aquatic beetles • Water bugs • Butterflies & moths • Dragonflies & damselflies ** Aphaostraconasthenes – Blue Spring hydrobe Floridobia (Cincinnatia) parva – Pygmy siltsnail • Molluscs • Snails** • Clams • Crustaceans • Amphipods • Isopods • Decapods (crayfish, shrimp) • Mysids

  21. MacroinvertebrateTaxa Richness(FDEP Bioassessment Data)

  22. Stream Condition Index Score(FDEP Bioassessment Data) >35 = Healthy

  23. Stream Condition Index Score(FDEP Bioassessment Data) Data collected by FDEP in 2007-08

  24. Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Macroalgae

  25. Blue Spring Fish Community Fish data: Stetson Univ.; Walsh & Williams (USGS); Woodruff (1993); FDEP/FPS

  26. Blue Spring Fish Community From Stetson University (Work and Gibbs) In SJRWMD Special Publication SJ2010-SP5

  27. Fish distribution in Beecher Spring(Odum and Caldwell 1955)

  28. Blue Spring “Marine Invasions” • Example taxa: • Striped mullet • Tarpon • Ladyfish • Striped bass • Atlantic needlefish • Gray snapper

  29. Blue Spring Manatee Population Data from Wayne Hartley

  30. Ecosystem Primary Productivity(Measure of plant productivity)

  31. Contact Rob Mattson Environmental Scientist V St. Johns River Water Management District (386) 329-4582 rmattson@sjrwmd.com

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