FATE OF MERCURY CONTAMINANTS IN NARRAGANSETT BAY, RHODE ISLAND

这个子项目是利用资源的许多研究子项目之一。 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。对子项目的主要支持 子项目的首席调查员可能是由其他来源提供的， 包括美国国立卫生研究院的其他来源。为子项目列出的总成本可能 表示该子项目使用的中心基础设施的估计数量， 不是由NCRR赠款提供给次级项目或次级项目工作人员的直接资金。 汞(Hg)是一种有毒的环境污染物，影响人类健康，接触主要通过饮食摄入受污染的鱼类。为了最大限度地减少汞暴露，公共卫生官员发布消费建议，告知公民食用鱼类可能存在的健康风险。然而，国家对海鱼的消费建议可能是无效的，因为它们没有考虑到汞污染的小范围空间差异。如果考虑到致因因素，例如来自本地和远程来源的汞污染的空间差异、鱼种之间的饮食差异以及在感兴趣的水体中的停留时间，当地沿海渔业中的汞污染物可能是可预测的。这项调查将集中在RI的纳拉甘西特湾，那里的当地渔业是该州居民重要的饮食和商业资源。国际土地利用/分水岭特征和潜在的汞点源将与特定地点采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土地利用与流域特征、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改进，以包括由环境汞水平和食物网分析确定的导致汞在海鱼中生物积累的空间和机制因素。这些模型提供了环境法规与其将人类饮食中的鱼类汞污染降至最低的效力之间的必要联系。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. 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.