A Fish Larvae and Egg Exposure System (FLEES) for Evaluating the Effects of Suspended Sediments on Aquatic Life

The purpose of this technical note is to describe a laboratory system. The laboratory system was developed to expose early life history stages of fish and shellfish to specified concentrations and durations of suspended sediment in a controlled laboratory environment. This allows for the design of experiments that simulate resuspension of sediment as a result of dredging operations or other factors such as vessel traffic, freshets, or storms. The design and construction of the Fish Larvae and Egg Exposure System (FLEES) permits studies to be performed using various aquatic species and life stages (e.g., walleye eggs, salmonid larvae, oysters) that are driving environmental windows on dredging project operations at one or more sites. By using the FLEES, exposure response curves can be developed between aquatic organism health and suspended sediment concentrations, thus generating effects data that are needed to evaluate the effectiveness and necessity of EWs intended to protect the selected species.
The original document contains color images.