MERCURY CONTAMINANTS IN COMMERICAL AND RECREATIONAL FINFISH OF NARRAGANSETT BAY,

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 汞（Hg）是一种影响人类健康的有毒环境污染物，主要通过饮食摄入受污染的鱼类而暴露。 为了最大限度地减少接触，国家机构发布了特定物种但不特定地理的海洋鱼类消费许可证。 后者假设沿海鱼类污染反映了大规模的终生移动模式，而不是当地的汞污染。 然而，如果考虑到各种致病因素，例如，本地和远距离来源的汞污染的空间差异、鱼类之间及其不同生命阶段的饮食差异，以及在相关水体中的停留时间。 因此，需要开展以海洋生态学和环境化学为重点的研究，以支持建立描述生物可利用汞与当地鱼类污染之间关系的模型。 这项调查将集中在纳拉甘塞特湾，国际扶轮，当地渔业是重要的饮食和商业资源的居民的国家。 RI土地利用/流域特征和汞的潜在点源将与特定地点沉积物和某些海洋鱼类和无脊椎动物物种的汞测量值相关联。 这些数据将在地理信息系统的框架内使用，以创建预测模型，并分析RI土地利用和流域特征，汞污染和海洋食物网污染之间的空间关系。 将对这些经验模型进行评估和完善，以纳入海洋鱼类中汞生物累积的空间和机制因素，这些因素由环境汞水平和食物网分析确定。 最后，将根据垂钓者和当地商业鱼市场提供的当地食用鱼中测得的汞含量，对预测具有商业和娱乐重要性的有鳍鱼类中汞含量的模型进行测试。 这项研究的成果将提高评估食用海洋鱼类对人类健康风险的准确性。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Mercury (Hg) is a toxic environmental contaminant affecting human health, and exposure occurs mainly via dietary uptake of contaminated fish. To minimize exposure, state agencies issue advisories for the consumption of marine fish that are species-specific, but not geographically-specific. The latter assumes that coastal fish contamination reflects large scale lifetime movement patterns rather than local Hg contamination. However, Hg contaminants in local fisheries may be predictable if causative factors are taken into account, e.g., spatial variation in Hg pollution from locally- and distantly-derived sources, dietary differences among fish species and across their various life stages, and residence time within water bodies of interest. Thus, research focusing on marine ecology and environmental chemistry is needed to support the development of models describing relationships between bioavailable Hg and local fish contamination. This investigation will focus on Narragansett Bay, RI, where local fisheries are important dietary and commercial resources for denizens of the state. RI land use/watershed characteristics and potential point sources of Hg will be correlated with measured values of Hg from site-specific collections of sediment and certain marine fish and invertebrate species. These data will be used within the framework of a geographic information system to create predictive models and analyze spatial relationships between RI land use and watershed characteristics, Hg pollution, and contamination in the marine food web. These empirical models will be evaluated and refined to include spatial and mechanistic factors underlying Hg bioaccumulation in marine fish, as determined by environmental Hg levels and food web analyses. Finally, models predicting Hg levels in commercially and recreationally important finfish will be tested against measured Hg levels in locally-consumed fish, provided by anglers and local commercial fish markets. The outcome of this research will be improved accuracy in the assessment of the risks to human health of marine fish consumption.