Complex stress regimes in freshwater ecosystems: trait-based prediction and diagnostics development

环境应激源可以是自然的，生物体已经进化到可以耐受它们，或者是人类衍生的，这对有机体提出了一个全新的挑战(例如，农药耐受性)。这样，环境管理就可以被认为是对自然的压力管理。河流系统不断地接受多种物质的低水平输入，其中每一种成分可能不会超过单独的物质准则，但组合在一起可能会造成重大的不利影响风险。声环境管理要求从背景环境噪声中检测和分离个体应激源信号，以确定它们对生物群的影响程度。河流科学家已经认识到了多个应激源制度带来的挑战，并开始了开发应激源分离和诊断方法的艰巨任务。在这里，我概述了一项研究计划，该计划研究如何利用生物体特征--它们的基本形态、生理和生态特征--来开发改进的环境应激源管理方法。要做到这一点，我们需要更好地了解特征与自然环境变异性的关系--这将通过研究河流生物的特征是如何由当地河流水流栖息地变化(自然压力)塑造的，以及这种变化对开发新的生物监测工具的影响来解决。这项工作将在一系列河流地点的1名博士和2名本科生外勤助理的协助下进行。在第二条调查路线上，我将在一名理学硕士学生的帮助下，研究现有知识(加拿大环境监测数据)，探索生物特征如何与人类衍生应激源(营养素、农药、金属)的影响相关，以更好地为基于特征的诊断工具提供信息，最终纳入加拿大水生生物监测计划(CABIN)。此外，利用所获得的知识，在一名理科学生和一名本科生现场助理的帮助下，我将研究如何根据暴露的生物群的特征特征来预测自然(捕食者威胁)和人类来源的应激源(农药暴露)的组合。

Environmental stressors can be natural, and organisms have evolved to tolerate them, or human-derived, presenting a wholly novel challenge to the organism (e.g. pesticide tolerance). In this way, environmental management can be considered stress management for nature. River systems continuously receive low-level inputs of multiple substances, each component of which may not exceed individual substance guidelines, yet in combination can pose significant risk of adverse effects. Sound environmental management requires detection and separation of individual stressor signals from background environmental noise, to determine their level of influence on the biota. River scientists have recognized the challenge posed by multiple stressor regimes and have begun the difficult task of developing approaches for stressor separation and diagnosis. Here I outline a program of research which examines how organism traits - their basic morphological, physiological and ecological characteristics - can be used to develop improved approaches for the management of environmental stressors. To do this, we require an improved understanding of how traits vary in relation to natural environmental variability - this will be addressed by studying how the characteristics of river organisms are shaped by local river flow habitat variations (natural stress), and the implications of such variation for the development of new biomonitoring tools. This will be carried with the assistance of 1 PhD and 2 undergraduate field assistants at a range of river sites. In a second line of investigation, with the assistance of an MSc student, I will study existing knowledge (Environment Canada monitoring data), to explore how biological traits are related to the effects of human-derived stressors (nutrients, pesticides, metals), to better inform traits-based diagnostic tools, for ultimate incorporation into the Canadian Aquatic Biomontoring program (CABIN). Also, using the knowledge gained, with the assistance of an MSc student and 1 undergraduate field assistant, I will study how combined natural (predator threat) and human-derived stressors (pesticide exposure) can be predicted from knowledge of traits characteristics of exposed biota.