Collaborative Research: Mercury Dynamics from the Holocene to the Anthropocene: Tracking Aleutian Mercury in Ocean Species important to Native Alaskan Diets

汞是人类健康十大令人担忧的污染物之一。在极地地区集中汞的全球进程使北极沿海社区特别容易受到汞污染的影响。太平洋鳕鱼、北方毛海豹和斯特勒海狮是阿拉斯加沿海社区重要的海洋物种。这些物种对于生存、文化和商业目的至关重要。由于它们在阿留申食物网中扮演着捕食者和猎物的重要角色，这三个物种被认为是生态系统哨兵。这项研究提供了工业革命前后汞的形态和潜在来源的新信息。它还对阿留申地区土著人民的传统食物方式和社区的经济福祉产生重大影响。重要的是，汞污染也对该地区的商业鳕鱼渔业产生了全球经济影响。阿留申群岛顶级捕食者体内汞的历史动态为了解整个北极的污染物扩散提供了基础。这项研究评估了关于汞污染的自然和人为来源以及过去三千年来汞污染的时间的假说。该项目使用现代、历史和考古骨骼来研究过去3000年来这些海洋物种在三个生态系统哨兵中汞浓度和营养位置的变化。这种采样方法澄清了阿留申群岛汞动态变化的时间和来源。该项目支持研究生和本科生，包括土著和农村社区的学生。社区推广活动包括为阿拉斯加农村社区开发的固定和流动博物馆展品，以及为小学、高中和社区成员举办的教育活动，以提高环境污染物的科学素养和传统食品的健康益处。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Mercury is one of the top 10 contaminants of concern for human health. The global processes that concentrate mercury in the Polar regions make coastal Arctic communities especially vulnerable to the effects of mercury contamination. Pacific cod, Northern fur seals, and Steller sea lions are marine species important to Alaskan coastal communities. These species are critical for subsistence, cultural, and commercial purposes. Due to their vital roles as predator and prey in the Aleutian food web, these three species are considered Ecosystem Sentinels. This study provides new information about patterns and potential sources of mercury pre- and post-industrial revolution. It also has critical implications for Indigenous peoples’ traditional food ways and the economic well-being of communities in the Aleutian Region. Importantly, mercury contamination also has global economic implications for the region’s commercial cod fishery. The historical dynamics of mercury in top predators across the Aleutian Islands provides the basis for understanding contaminant progression across the Arctic. This research evaluates hypotheses regarding natural and anthropogenic sources of mercury contamination and the timing of that contamination over the past three millennia. This project uses modern, historical, and archaeological bone to examine changes in mercury concentrations and trophic position in these marine species over the last 3000 years in three Ecosystem Sentinels. This sampling method clarifies the timing and sources of mercury dynamics in the Aleutians. This project supports graduate and undergraduate students, including students from Native and Rural communities. Community outreach includes fixed and traveling museum exhibits developed for rural Alaska communities and education events for elementary, high school, and community members that increases science literacy in environmental contaminants and the health benefits of traditional foods.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.