Investigation of Legacy Methane Seepage into Freshwater Food Webs Using Novel Applications in Stoney Creek, New Brunswick

Abstract

Legacy oil, gas, and coalfields in the Maritime region have emitted methane into the surrounding ecosystem for more than 100 years. Methane escaping from these legacy sites may have effects on the surrounding terrestrial and aquatic environments. I investigated whether methane could be detected entering streams via groundwater inputs in an area with abandoned and active oil and gas wells. Introduction of a foreign compound, such as methane, could act as an environmental stressor and could impact the local food web starting at the lowest trophic level. I predicted that if methane was entering freshwater streams and being incorporated into the food web, it would be evident in the stable isotopes of consumers and prey. Methane would have a distinct isotopic carbon signature and could be traced through the various biotic compartments. This project focuses on the novel application of using a small thermal imaging camera to help detect subsurface groundwater inputs into the stream for site selection. Using this temperature sensing technology, I found and selected 5 suspected groundwater sources flowing into the stream channel. I collected biofilm (e.g. bacteria, algae, diatoms) and benthic macroinvertebrate from both upstream and downstream of each suspected groundwater input site. With small streams and low summer water levels, I was unable to adequately sample the fish community. Stable isotope analysis of biofilm and benthic macroinvertebrates did not show obvious incorporation of methane into the food web, though some values were suspect. Additionally, I completed a diatom community assessment applying the Eastern Canadian Diatom Index (IDEC) as a measure of the biological integrity of streams and were able to show that the study sites in the Stoney Creek region are currently considered “slightly polluted”, with a few select locations bordering on “polluted”. Although these techniques and tools did show the incorporation of methane in the food web at Stoney Creek, the combination of inexpensive tools can be employed in the investigation of methane at other sites. This study serves as an exploration and application of tools and techniques that have not previously been applied in this context.