Cycling and trophic transfer of metals in a changing environment

气候变化、新的采矿项目、亚洲新兴经济体大气沉降的增加以及城市地区新物质的引入将改变加拿大金属的排放、运输、转化和归宿，对生态系统健康产生未知的影响。例如，加拿大目前正在考虑 200 个稀土元素 (REE) 采矿项目，从生态毒理学的角度来看，稀土元素是一种鲜为人知的金属，而汞 (Hg) 排放量预计在未来几十年将大幅增加。我们的长期研究计划侧重于金属的生物地球化学和食物网转移直至人类在不断变化的环境中暴露。在过去的6年里，我（共同）指导了58名高素质人才（HQP）；我和我的团队发表了 37 篇同行评审论文，并在会议上发表了 121 次演讲。未来五年，我们将在最新进展的基础上，对与金属生物地球化学相关的新问题进行有针对性的研究。主题 1. 首先，我们最近的工作表明，水生生物膜可能形成北部（非分层极地解冻池）和南部（圣劳伦斯河）汞转化的关键场所。我们将确定控制这些生物膜中金属络合的因素，以及微塑料等新出现的污染物如何改变生物膜/金属相互作用。主题 2. 大多数污染物的营养转移研究使用 N 和 C 的稳定同位素来了解食物网关系和转移。我们将评估基于金属亚细胞划分的补充概念方法，并将其用于单一金属，包括新兴问题（即稀土元素）和金属的拮抗组合。 16 名 HQP 将通过这一跨学科项目接受生态学、毒理学、基因组学和分析化学交叉领域的培训，为未来的就业市场做好准备。该计划将能够更好地预测金属在不断变化的环境中的命运和影响。它将在水生生物膜在金属循环中的作用以及金属营养转移的机制方面带来重大的根本性进展。生成的有关稀土元素转化和营养转移的数据将是加拿大首个此类数据，并将在该国稀土元素开采时代的黎明之际为决策者提供信息。关于 MP 对金属循环影响的研究可能是加拿大的首项研究，并将有助于评估与这一新兴威胁相关的风险。

Climate change, new mining projects, increased atmospheric deposition from emerging Asian economies, and introduction of new substances in urban areas will modify the emission, transport, transformation and fate of metals in Canada, with unknown consequences on ecosystem health. For instance, there are currently 200 mining projects under consideration for rare earth elements (REEs) in Canada, a group of metals little known from an ecotoxicological standpoint, whereas mercury (Hg) emissions are expected to rise considerably in the next decades. Our long-term research plan focuses on the biogeochemistry and food web transfer of metals up to human exposure in changing environment. In the past 6 years, I (co)supervised 58 highly qualified personnel (HQP); my team and I published 37 peer-reviewed papers and presented 121 times at conferences. In the next five years, we will build on our recent advances by conducting targeted studies on emerging issues related to metal biogeochemistry. Theme 1. First, our recent work has suggested that aquatic biofilms may form key sites of transformations of Hg in the North (unstratified polar thaw ponds) and in the south (St. Lawrence River). We will establish what controls metal complexation in these biofilms and how emergent contaminants such as microplastics, can modify biofilm/metal interactions. Theme 2. Most trophic transfer studies of contaminants use stable isotopes of N and C to understand food web relationships and transfer. We will assess a complementary conceptual approach based on subcellular partitioning of metals and use it on single metals, including those of emergent concerns (i.e. REE), and antagonistic combinations of metals. 16 HQP will be trained through this interdisciplinary program, at the intersection of ecology, toxicology, genomics and analytical chemistry, preparing them for the job market of tomorrow. This program will allow to better predict the fate and effect of metals in a changing environment. It will lead to significant fundamental advances regarding the role of aquatic biofilms in metal cycling and the mechanism involved in metal trophic transfer. The data generated on REE transformation and trophic transfer will be the first of this kind in Canada and will inform decision-makers at the dawn of an era of REE mining in this country. The study on the effect of MP on metal cycling will likely be the first in Canada and will help assess risk associated with this emerging threat.