Marine Pollution Bulletin 56 (2008) 1598–1608 0025-326X/$ - see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.05.018 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Marine Pollution Bulletin journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul 1. Introduction Stormwater management ponds, including detention and reten- tion ponds, are a commonly used best management practice for the control of stormwater runoff in the USA. In the state of South Carolina alone, it is estimated that over 8,000 ponds have been constructed (South Carolina Algal Ecology Lab, unpublished data, 2005). Their purpose is to reduce downstream impacts of storm- water runoff by reducing runoff peaks, removing sediments and pollutants, and enhancing overall stormwater quality through a variety of physical, chemical, and biological processes. However, the typical pond design results in the drainage of stormwater directly from road and street surfaces through concrete pipes into the ponds, thereby bypassing natural processes of contami- nant removal. As suspended solids settle out on the pond bottom, contaminants may accumulate in the sediments. If these contami- nants are bioavailable to epibenthic and pelagic organisms in the pond, they then could pose a risk to wildlife using the pond, such as wetland bird species and overwintering ducks. Pond outflows in coastal areas are often directly linked to tidal creeks and estu- aries, thus they can have a significant impact on the water qual- ity of these adjacent natural systems. Stormwater retention ponds function as the interface between development and estuarine eco- logical health as indicated by water quality, biodiversity and com- plexity, resilience, and sustainability. One important class of contaminant associated with these stormwater management ponds are polycyclic aromatic hydrocar- bons (PAHs) (Fernandez and Hutchinson, 1992; Marsalek and Mar- salek, 1997; Marsalek et al., 2002; Kamalakkannan et al., 2004). PAHs are organic compounds that consist of two or more aromatic (benzene) rings. These compounds are a natural part of fossil fuels, and are formed as products of incomplete combustion. Nat- ural sources of PAHs in the environment include forest and grass fires, volcanoes (Nagpal, 1993), and fossil fuels such as coal and oil, where PAHs have formed as result of diagenetic processes. The main anthropogenic sources of PAHs are coal combustion and vehi- cle emissions (Dickhut et al., 2000). Other anthropogenic sources include wood burning, industrial emissions, used motor oil and fuel drips and spills, tire wear, asphalt, tar, small engine exhaust, creosote, and waste incineration. The PAHs quantified in this study were naphthalene (NAPT), acenapthylene (ACNY), acenapthene (ACEN), fluorene (FLUR), phen- anthrene (PHEN), anthracene (ANTH), fluoranthene (FLTH), pyrene (PYR), benzo(a)anthracene (B[a]A), chrysene (CHRY), benzo(b)flu- oranthene (B[b]F), benzo(k)fluoranthene (B[k]F), benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P), dibenz(a,h)anthracene (D[ah]A), benzo(g,h,i)perylene Survey of PAH in low density residential stormwater ponds in coastal South Carolina: False dark mussels (Mytilopsis leucophaeata) as potential biomonitors Alan T. Flemming a , John E. Weinstein b, * , Alan J. Lewitus c a Masters of Science in Environmental Studies Program, 66 George Street, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424, USA b Department of Biology, The Citadel, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC 29409, USA c NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research, 1305 East West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA article info abstract Keywords: Mussels Mytilopsis leucophaeata Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Stormwater runoff Detention pond South Carolina The distribution of PAHs was studied in sediment and false dark mussels, Mytilopsis leucophaeata, of three brackish stormwater retention ponds on Kiawah Island, a gated residential community and golf resort. Impervious surface in pond watersheds ranged from 5 to 30%. Sediment concentrations were lower than those found in other studies of suburban residential areas, and there were no significant differences among ponds or seasons. Mean )PAH 16 values for sediments in Ponds 67, 100, and 37 were 184.7 ± 101.3 ng g ¡1 , 67.5 ± 26.0 ng g ¡1 , and 84.3 ± 75.5 ng g ¡1 , respectively. Mussel )PAH 16 concentrations from Pond 67 in August (mean 734.5 ± 148.1 ng g ¡1 ), and from Pond 37 in December (mean 1115.1 ± 87.7 ng g ¡1 ), were significantly higher than other ponds. Mean )PAH 16 values for mussels in Ponds 67, 100, and, 37 were 555.9 ± 219.7 ng g ¡1 , 312.5 ± 99.1 ng g ¡1 and 737.8 ± 419.8 ng g ¡1 , respectively. The mean biota-to- sediment ratio was 7.6 ± 8.1. Isomer ratios generally suggested pyrogenic sources. False dark mussels are a promising indicator species for PAH contamination because they are abundant, easy to sample, bioaccu- mulate PAH profiles representative of the time-integrated sediment profiles, and their PAH levels are less variable than either stormwater or sediment samples. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 843 953 7796; fax: +1 843 953 7264. E-mail address: john.weinstein@citadel.edu (J.E. Weinstein).