Trace Element Bioaccumulation in Appalachian Coalfield Streams

These data represent concentrations of eight trace elements (aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, copper, nickel, strontium, vanadium, and zinc) in water, three forms of particulate media (biofilm, leaf detritus, and sediments processed in a manner that concentrates organic components), and three types of aquatic macroinvertebrates (primary consumers, secondary consumers, and crayfish of the family Cambaridae) in nine headwater streams of the Appalachian coalfield. Three streams were relatively undisturbed by human activity (“reference”) and six were influenced by Appalachian coal mining but were subject to little influence by human activity otherwise. Each of the nine streams was sampled twice: in Fall 2015 and Spring 2016. Methods: The data were generated by K.M. Whitmore as described by Whitmore (2016), Whitmore et al. (2018), and Clark et al. (in review). Whitmore (2016) and Whitmore et al. (2018) describe methods for generating bioaccumulation data for selenium; these data were generated from those same samples as processed using those the same laboratory procedures. Significance: These data were analyzed for environmental significance as described by Clark et al. (in review). Corresponding data describing bioaccumulation of selenium for those same samples as processed using those the same laboratory procedures are posted in Whitmore et al. (2018), Supplemental Data. References: Clark EV, Whitmore KM, Schoenholtz SH, Soucek DJ, Zipper CE. Bioaccumulation of selected trace elements in Appalachian mining-influenced streams (manuscript in preparation with intent of publishing with this title). Whitmore KM (2016) Selenium Dynamics in Headwater Streams of the Central Appalachian Coalfields: An Investigation of Enrichment and Bioaccumulation. M.S. Thesis, Virginia Tech. Whitmore KM, Schoenholtz SH, Soucek DJ, Hopkins WA, Zipper CE (2018) Selenium dynamics in headwater streams of the central Appalachian coalfield. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 37(10):2714-2726.