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Open-File Report 2010–1252

Selenium Concentrations and Stable Isotopic Compositions of Carbon and Nitrogen in the Benthic Clam Corbula amurensis from Northern San Francisco Bay, California: May 1995–February 2010

By Amy E. Kleckner, A. Robin Stewart, Kent Elrick, and Samuel N. Luoma

ABSTRACT

The clam-based food webs of San Francisco Bay, California efficiently bioaccumlate selenium and thus provide pathways for exposure to predators important to the estuary. This study documents changes in monthly selenium concentrations for the clam Corbula amurensis, a keystone species of the estuary, at five locations in northern San Francisco Bay from 1995 through 2010. Samples were collected from designated U.S. Geological Survey stations and prepared and analyzed by U.S. Geological Survey methods. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in soft tissues of clams also were measured as an indicator of sources of selenium for the clams. These monitoring data indicate that clam selenium concentrations ranged from a low of 2 to a high of 22 micrograms per gram dry weight with strong spatial and seasonal variation over the period of study.

First posted October 8, 2010

For additional information contact:
A. Robin Stewart, MS496
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
http://wwwrcamnl.wr.usgs.gov/tracel/

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Suggested citation:

Kleckner, A.E., Stewart, A.R., Elrick, K., and Luoma, S.N., 2010, Selenium concentrations and stable isotopic compositions of carbon and nitrogen in the benthic clam Corbula amurensis from Northern San Francisco Bay, California: May 1995–February 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010-1252, 34 p.



Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Methods

Results

References Cited


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