Examination of the health of white sucker in response to oil sands reclamation-affected waters

阿尔伯塔省北部的阿萨巴斯卡油砂矿藏是世界上最大的原油来源之一，目前供应加拿大四分之一的石油需求。露天开采和从沙子中开采石油的作业产生了大量的尾矿和受工艺影响的水，根据零排放政策，这些尾矿和水必须安全地并入填海景观。油砂公司有兴趣开发用于水生围垦的监测工具，以确保提供能够支持鱼类和野生动物的栖息地。这种白色吸鱼很可能是第一批引入水生系统的本地鱼类物种之一。近三十年来，在由覆水油砂尾矿组成的实验池塘中或在水受到油砂尾矿或未提取碳氢化合物影响的自然系统中进行的研究表明，受影响的水域有可能增加鱼类对疾病的易感性，降低繁殖生长，并导致卵和早期生命阶段的死亡。这项研究的中心目标是检查一种重要的本地鱼种--白色吸盘对受油砂工艺影响的水域的敏感性，并检验与观察到的影响相关的机械假说。这项研究将进一步寻求确定任何观察到的影响和致病化学类别的同一性的毒理学机制。随着第一个完整的尾坑湖预计将于2012年完工，这项研究将直接为管理层提供关于引入和监测在填海景观中创建的水生生态系统的决策，并将直接有助于规划最有利于环境的路线，以发展健康的湖泊生态系统。

The Athabasca oil sands deposit in Northern Alberta represents one of the largest sources of crude oil in the world and currently supplies one quarter of Canada's petroleum needs. The operation of surface mining and extraction of the oil from the sands produces large volumes of tailings and process-affected water which, under a zero-discharge policy, must be safely incorporated into a reclaimed landscape. Oil sands companies are interested in developing monitoring tools for aquatic reclamation to ensure the provision of habitat capable of supporting fish and wildlife. The white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) is likely to be among the first native fish species introduced to aquatic systems. Studies conducted over nearly three decades in experimental ponds consisting of water-capped oil sands tailings, or in natural systems where water has been influenced by either oil-sands tailings or unextracted hydrocarbons, have shown the potential for affected waters to increase susceptibility of fishes to disease, decrease reproductive growth, and cause mortality of eggs and early life stages. The central objective of this research is to examine the sensitivity of a keystone native fish species, the white sucker to oil sands process-affected waters and to examine mechanistic hypotheses associated with observed effects. This research will further seek to determine the toxicological mechanisms of any observed effects and identity causative chemical classes. With the first full-scale end-pit lake expected to be complete by 2012, this research will directly inform management decisions regarding introduction and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems created in reclaimed landscapes and will directly contribute to planning the most environmentally beneficial route for the development of a healthy lake ecosystems.