FATE OF MERCURY CONTAMINANTS IN NARRAGANSETT BAY, RHODE ISLAND

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 汞（Hg）是一种影响人类健康的有毒环境污染物，主要通过饮食摄入受污染的鱼类而暴露。为了最大限度地减少汞接触，公共卫生官员发布消费指南，告知公民食用鱼类可能带来的健康风险。然而，国家海洋鱼类消费量统计可能没有效果，因为它们没有考虑到汞污染的小规模空间变化。如果考虑到各种致病因素，例如，本地和远距离来源的汞污染的空间差异、鱼类之间的饮食差异以及在相关水体中的停留时间。这项调查将集中在纳拉甘塞特湾，国际扶轮，当地渔业是重要的饮食和商业资源的居民的国家。 RI土地利用/流域特征和汞的潜在点源将与特定地点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联。这些数据将在地理信息系统的框架内使用，以创建预测模型，并分析RI土地利用和流域特征，汞污染和海洋食物网污染之间的空间关系。将对这些经验模型进行评估和完善，以纳入海洋鱼类中汞生物累积的空间和机制因素，这些因素由环境汞水平和食物网分析确定。这些模型为环境法规与其在最大限度地减少人类食用鱼类汞污染方面的功效之间提供了必要的联系。

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 dietary uptake of contaminated fish. To minimize Hg exposure, public health officials issue consumption advisories to inform citizens of the possible health risks associated with eating fish. However, national consumption advisories for marine fish are possibly ineffective because they do not account for small-scale spatial variations in Hg contamination. Hg contaminants in local coastal 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 residence time within water bodies of interest. This investigation will focus on Narragansett Bay, RI, where local fisheries are important dietary and commercial resources for denizens of the state. RI land use/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. Such models provide the necessary link between environmental regulations and their efficacy in minimizing dietary fish Hg contamination in humans.