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，雇用了近40万加拿大人，为加拿大经济贡献了408亿美元(2003年的统计数据)。然而，采矿的好处也伴随着环境后果。矿山向周围水域(如河流、湖泊)排放大量经过处理的废水。为了确定这些污水的排放是否会改变水的质量或生活在水中的动物(如鱼类和海底昆虫)的健康，已经作出了许多努力。然而，了解矿山废水可能如何影响水体是一项复杂的任务。此外，确定矿山废水是否正在引起变化只是迈向缓解和可持续发展的第一步。还需要了解影响的原因(例如，致病金属)和改变其毒性的因素，以探索解决办法。这项研究旨在更好地了解矿山废水对水域的影响，并为制定消除其毒性的战略提供信息。我们的目标是：1)确定安大略省萨德伯里一种鱼类对金属矿废水的反应，利用人工溪流和构建的食物链；2)比较相对于单一金属(铜、硒、铊)剂量的整个废水混合物的反应；3)了解作为暴露引起毒性的途径，水与饮食的重要性；以及4)探索改变废水混合物和主要单一金属的毒性(pH/碱度、有机物、饮食质量和数量)的因素。这项为期三年的研究计划将培养国家重要领域的研究生和本科生，并涉及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.