Richard Honour

Richard Honour

May 27, 2015

Group 6 Copy 72
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Mushrooms, Toads and Techs

Take your typical 'slope forest wetlands' (what's that?), add several tons per acre of toxic sewage sludge (dry wt), mix well with torrential rains for about a year, and what do you get?

A toxic wasteland hosting a slurry of deep sewage sludge that leaches and flows into soil and down slopes to surface waters and beyond, plus acres of dead biota and persistent wastewater treatment plant debris, i.e., 'Physical Inerts.'

The new-generation of Physical Inerts, known as Produce Stickers (Veggie Labels, Product Labels), are touted as being edible and compostable, but they remain here still, even after a year. How curious? (According to the American Society for Testing & Materials, for plastics to be considered as being compostable, they must be able to break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass at the same rate as paper. They need also to look like compost, should not produce toxic materials or chemicals and should be able to support plant life. Compostable items are made from plant materials such as corn, potato, cellulose, soy or sugar).

Yesterday's visit revealed more in the succession of fungal recovery, of sorts. On the one hand we see Mycena cinerella, our rapid fungal colonizer of fresh forest-disposed toxic sewage sludge, and on the other hand, with time, we see the next-generation of toxic sewage sludge fungal colonizers, such as Polyporus varius.

Now that many of the toxic chemicals have been leached and washed away for more than 11 months, we see also a newly emergent Mycena spp., another micro-mushroom yet to be identified, and in great abundance (New Mycena spp.; a forest micro-mushroom about 5 – 7 mm across the cap); it emerges from a bed of old sewage sludge, but was not noted in this area previously.

Toads are encountered in greater abundance now than in recent weeks. This toad, the Western or Boreal Toad (Anaxyrus boreas, subspecies Anaxyrus boreas boreas) is found from western British Columbia and southern Alaska to Washington, Oregon, Idaho and more.

The Western Toad is declining rapidly in Whatcom County, WA, and throughout the Puget Sound Lowlands. Once one of the most common amphibian species in the region, sightings of the Western Toad are now rare. The Western toad is currently a Candidate Species for listing by Washington State and federal agencies as a "Species of Concern," and may be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Scientific Name: Anaxyrus boreas (Baird & Girard, 1852).

Common Names: English, Boreal or Western Toad.

Red List Category & Criteria: Near Threatened.

Justification: Listed as Near Threatened because this species is in significant decline because of disease, thus making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable.

Major Threats: Carey (1993) hypothesized that environmental factors may stress the toad, causing immune suppression or indirect immune suppression by elevated secretion of adrenal cortical hormones; immune suppression may lead to infection by Aeromonas hydrophila or other infectious agents and subsequently to the death of individuals and extirpation of the population. Decline may be related to habitat destruction and degradation. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. www.iucnredlist.org.

An issue of concern and discussion has been the amount of toxic sewage sludge disposed in this slope forest wetlands about a year ago, and why it is still there. New images show that even at 11+ months after dumping, sludge in the pot holes and sink holes in this wetlands is still very deep, and is still a slurry to depths of 6 to 14 inches, based on new field measurements.

The Techs were busy surveying the Physical Inerts, finding they had not decomposed, as is alleged. More to do!

Mycena cinerella, the subject of our lab culture work.

A victim of slug gnawing.

Mycena spp., a smaller species not encountered previously during the past year since sludge dumping.

Anaxyrus boreas boreas, the Western Toad, a 'Near-Threatened Species,' a 'Threatened Species' or a 'Species of Concern,' 'in Decline' that '… may be caused by habitat destruction and degradation.' Go figure!

Anaxyrus boreas boreas, the Western Toad.

Anaxyrus boreas boreas, the Western Toad.

How deep is it? 14 Inches?

10 Inches?

6 Inches?

Tech at work in a slope forest wetlands sludge dump.

Non-Decomposable Produce Sticker.

Mustard, anyone?

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About This Project

The Precautionary Group

We've discovered a few new mushrooms thriving in this harsh environment of land-disposed sewage sludge in Snoqualmie, Washington. We're testing these mushrooms for new antimicrobial properties. Microbes that survive exposure to toxic sewage sludge engage adaptive mechanisms that transform toxins into secondary metabolites.

Blast off!

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