Examination of the effects of mixtures, metals, and toxicity modifying factors on fathead minnow at Vale Inco, Junction Creek, Sudbury, ON

采矿业对加拿大非常重要，雇佣了近40万加拿大人，为经济贡献了408亿美元（2003年统计数据）。然而，采矿带来的好处也带来了环境后果。矿井将大量处理过的废水排放到周围水域（例如河流、湖泊）。为确定这些污水的排放是否会导致水质或生活在水中的动物（例如鱼类和海底昆虫）的健康发生变化，已经作出了许多努力。然而，了解矿井污水对水体的影响是一项复杂的任务。此外，确定矿井污水是否正在引起变化只是朝着缓解和可持续发展迈出的第一步。了解影响的原因（例如，致病金属）和改变其毒性的因素也需要探索解决方案。这项研究旨在更好地了解矿山废水对水的影响，并为制定消除其毒性的战略提供信息。我们的目标是1)确认一种鱼类（黑头鲦鱼）对安大略省萨德伯里金属矿山废水的反应，使用人工溪流构建食物链；2)比较鲦鱼对整个污水混合物的反应与单一金属（铜、硒、铊）剂量的关系；3)了解水与饮食作为引起毒性的暴露途径的重要性；4)探索改变废水混合物和主要单一金属对黑头鲦鱼毒性（pH/碱度、有机物、饲料质量和数量）的因素。这个为期三年的研究项目将在一个具有国家重要性的领域培养研究生和本科生，并包括实验室和实地研究的综合结合。

The mining industry is of great importance to Canada, employing close to 400,000 Canadians and contributing $40.8 billion to the economy (2003 statistics). The benefits of mining however, come with environmental consequences. Mines discharge significant amounts of treated effluents to surrounding waters (e.g., rivers, lakes). Many efforts have been made to determine whether the release of these effluents causes changes in the quality of the water or the health of the animals that live in the water (e.g., fish and bottom-dwelling insects). However, understanding how waters may be affected by mine effluents is a complicated task. Further, determining if mine effluents are causing change is only the first step towards mitigation and sustainable development. Understanding the causes of the effects (e.g., causative metals) and factors which modify their toxicity is also required to explore solutions. This research seeks to better understand mine effluent effects on waters and to generate information for developing strategies for removing their toxicity. Our objectives are to 1) confirm responses of a fish species (fathead minnow) to metal mine effluents in Sudbury, Ontario using artificial streams with constructed food chains; 2) compare minnow responses to whole effluent mixtures relative to doses of single metals (copper, selenium, thallium); 3) understand the importance of water versus diet as the route of exposure causing toxicity; and 4) explore factors which modify toxicity (pH/alkalinity, organic matter, diet quality and quantity) of effluent mixtures and dominant single metals to fathead minnow. This three year research program will train graduate and undergraduate students in an area of national importance, and involve an integrated combination of laboratory and field studies.