MERCURY CONTAMINANTS IN COMMERICAL AND RECREATIONAL FINFISH OF NARRAGANSETT BAY,

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。汞是一种影响人类健康的有毒环境污染物，主要是通过食用受污染的鱼类而接触到汞。为了尽量减少接触，国家机构发布了食用海鱼的建议。这些警告只涉及某些鱼类，而不涉及地理位置。沿海鱼类污染反映了大尺度的终生运动模式，而不是局部的汞污染。然而，如果考虑到致病因素，当地渔业中的汞污染物是可以预测的，例如，来自本地和远处来源的汞污染的空间变化，鱼类之间及其不同生命阶段的饮食差异，以及在感兴趣的水体中的停留时间。因此，需要以海洋生态学和环境化学为重点的研究，以支持描述生物可利用汞与当地鱼类污染之间关系的模型的发展。这项调查将集中在纳拉甘西特湾，那里的当地渔业是该州重要的饮食和商业资源。RI的土地利用和流域特征，以及潜在的汞点源，将与特定地点收集的沉积物和某些海洋鱼类和无脊椎动物物种的汞测量值相关。这些数据将在地理信息系统框架内使用，以创建预测模型，并分析RI土地利用与流域特征、汞污染和海洋食物网污染之间的空间关系。这些经验模型将被评估和改进，以包括由环境汞水平和食物网分析决定的海洋鱼类汞生物积累的空间和机制因素。最后，将根据垂钓者和当地商业鱼市场提供的当地消费鱼类的汞含量测量值，对预测商业和娱乐重要鱼类中汞含量的模型进行测试。这项研究的结果将提高评估海洋鱼类消费对人类健康风险的准确性。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Mercury (Hg) is a toxic environmental contaminant affecting human health, and exposure occurs mainly through eating contaminated fish. To minimize exposure, state agencies issue advisories for the consumption of marine fish. The advisories pertain to selected fish species, but not to geography. Coastal fish contamination reflects large scale lifetime movement patterns rather than local Hg contamination. However, Hg contaminants in local fisheries may be predictable if causative factors are taken into account, e.g., spatial variation in Hg pollution from locally- and distantly-derived sources, dietary differences among fish species and across their various life stages, and residence time within water bodies of interest. Thus, research focusing on marine ecology and environmental chemistry is needed to support the development of models describing relationships between bioavailable Hg and local fish contamination. This investigation will focus on Narragansett Bay, RI, where local fisheries are important dietary and commercial resources for the state. RI land use and watershed characteristics, and potential point sources of Hg, will be correlated with measured values of Hg from site-specific collections of sediment and certain marine fish and invertebrate species. These data will be used within the framework of a geographic information system to create predictive models and analyze spatial relationships between RI land use and watershed characteristics, Hg pollution, and contamination in the marine food web. These empirical models will be evaluated and refined to include spatial and mechanistic factors underlying Hg bioaccumulation in marine fish, as determined by environmental Hg levels and food web analyses. Finally, models predicting Hg levels in commercially and recreationally important finfish will be tested against measured Hg levels in locally-consumed fish provided by anglers and local commercial fish markets. The outcome of this research will be improved accuracy in the assessment of the risks to human health of marine fish consumption.