Cycling and trophic transfer of metals in a changing environment

气候变化、新的采矿项目、亚洲新兴经济体增加的大气沉降以及在城市地区引入新物质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后果。例如，加拿大目前有200个稀土元素采矿项目正在考虑之中，从生态毒理学的角度来看，稀土元素是一组鲜为人知的金属，而汞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）监督了58名高素质人员（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。在接下来的五年里，我们将通过对与金属地球化学相关的新问题进行有针对性的研究，建立我们最近的进展。主题1.首先，我们最近的工作表明，水生生物膜可能会形成汞在北部（非分层极地解冻池）和南部（圣劳伦斯河）的转换的关键网站。我们将确定是什么控制这些生物膜中的金属络合，以及微塑料等紧急污染物如何改变生物膜/金属相互作用。主题2.大多数污染物营养转移的研究使用稳定同位素的N和C，以了解食物网的关系和转移。我们将评估一个互补的概念方法的基础上亚细胞分配的金属和使用它对单一的金属，包括那些紧急关注（即稀土），和金属的拮抗组合。16 HQP将通过这个跨学科的计划进行培训，在生态学，毒理学，基因组学和分析化学的交叉点，为明天的就业市场做好准备。该计划将允许更好地预测金属在不断变化的环境中的命运和影响。这将导致重大的基础性进展的作用，水生生物膜中的金属循环和金属营养转移的机制。关于稀土转化和营养转移的数据将是加拿大第一次这样做，并将在这个国家稀土开采时代的黎明为决策者提供信息。关于MP对金属循环影响的研究可能是加拿大的第一项研究，将有助于评估与这种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.