Accumulation of trace elements by invertebrates

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Canada is a major global producer of trace metals such as cadmium, copper and nickel. Such metals are found in high concentrations in lakes and rivers located in the vicinity of many mines and smelters on the Canadian Shield. To conduct environmental risk assessments, environmental managers require tools that will allow them to assess contamination levels and measure adverse effects on aquatic organisms. Such tools should be based on a sound knowledge of the chemistry of these pollutants and the biology of the organisms involved. My students and I will address several topics important to the development of such tools. For example: we will measure the uptake and loss of metals as well as the toxic effects of these contaminants on animals living in nature; we will determine whether organisms obtain their nutrients and contaminants mainly from sediment or from the water column so as to design appropriate criteria for protecting aquatic life; we will conduct experiments designed to explain why some animals in highly acidic lakes accumulate little metal. The answers to these and other questions will help us design reliable models for predicting metal concentrations in aquatic organisms and the impact of these contaminants on aquatic life. We will use a combination of approaches to ensure that our conclusions will be both realistic (field collections and experiments in lakes) and based on a knowledge of underlying mechanisms (laboratory experiments) so that they can be extrapolated to other metals, organisms, and aquatic systems.