Boat to support research on mecury contamination of aquatic food webs

支持水生食物网汞污染研究的船

• 批准号: 330786-2006
• 负责人: Hodson, Peter
• 金额: $ 1.9万
• 依托单位: Queen's University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2006-01-01 至 2007-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=325809
• 关键词: Boat; support; research; mecury; contamination

This proposal is for a grant to purchase an aluminium boat and motor to support NSERC-funded research on the mechanism by which mercury in contaminated sediments is transferred to predatory fish.  Mercury contamination of aquatic sediments near urban and industrial development is not uncommon in Canada, and often associated with excessive concentrations of mercury in edible portions of fish.  For example, mercury concentrations in sediments and walleye of the St. Lawrence River at Cornwall are above Provincial Guidelines, and an impediment to de-listing Cornwall as an Area of Concern.  Despite the progressive accumulation of clean sediments over layers of contaminated sediments, and low concentrations of mercury in invertebrate species that inhabit sediments, the concentrations of mercury in walleye have not decreased substantially, and appropriate remedial actions are not obvious.  Our current and future research will investigate the role of sediment chemistry, sediment release processes (e.g. methane gas generation by microbes in beds of wood chips), food web transfer, growth rates of fish, food web complexity, and presence of accumulator species on rates of methyl mercury transfer to walleye.  This research requires uninterrupted access to a research boat suitable for sampling the St. Lawrence River and related aquatic ecosystems in Ontario.   We wish to replace an older rental boat which has a high frequency and cost of repair, and which is unsuitable for certain kinds of sampling.  A new boat will increase the ability of our students to conduct experiments safely, and increase the efficiency of sampling sediments, water, and biota.  It will reduce down-time due to repairs, the frequency of missed sampling opportunities, and the operating costs of research.  With appropriate maintenance, we anticipate reliable and cost-effective support for our research programs on Canada's aquatic ecosystems for the next 20 years.

该提案是为了资助购买一艘铝制船和发动机，以支持NSERC资助的关于受污染沉积物中的汞转移到捕食性鱼类的机制的研究。在加拿大，城市和工业开发区附近的水生沉积物中的汞污染并不罕见，通常与鱼类可食用部分中的汞浓度过高有关。例如，康沃尔郡圣劳伦斯河沉积物和海象眼中的汞浓度高于省级指导方针，这是将康沃尔郡从关注区域中除名的一个障碍。尽管清洁沉积物在污染沉积物层上逐渐积累，和低浓度的汞在无脊椎动物物种栖息沉积物，汞的浓度在海象没有大幅下降，适当的补救措施是不明显的。我们目前和未来的研究将调查沉积物化学的作用，沉积物释放过程（如木屑床中微生物产生甲烷气体）、食物网转移、鱼类生长速率、食物网复杂性以及累积物种对甲基汞向海象转移速率的影响。 我们希望更换一艘旧的租赁船，这艘船维修频率高，维修费用高，不适合某些种类的采样。新船将提高我们学生安全进行实验的能力，提高对沉积物、水和生物群的采样效率。它将减少由于维修造成的停机时间，错过采样机会的频率，通过适当的维护，我们预计在未来20年内，我们对加拿大水生生态系统的研究计划将得到可靠和具有成本效益的支持。