The production of natural gas from the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania results in water that travels up through the well bore. This water generally has high concentrations of various salts and other dissolved substances, as well as a variety of other compounds. This project measures lethal and nonlethal responses of mayflies exposed to produced water diluted with water from the White Clay Creek and another exceptional value stream in northeastern Pennsylvania. It builds on our experience in rearing the parthenogenetic mayfly Centroptilum triangulifer in the laboratory by comparing responses of C. triangulifer from the White Clay Creek with responses of two mayfly species that commonly co-occur with C. triangulifer in small streams of eastern North America.
Funded by: Delaware River Basin Commission
Principal Investigators: John K. Jackson and Bernard W. Sweeney
Project Years: 2012, 2013
