Multiple Stressors and Cumulative Effects in the Great Lakes: An NSERC CREATE program to Develop Innovative Solutions through International Training Partnerships

大湖区-圣劳伦斯河流域拥有超过3300万人口，约占北美人口的10%。它是一个重要的工业和制造业中心，其周围的流域包含北美一些最具生产力的农业用地。伴随着如此密集的人类存在而来的是沉重的人类足迹，而五大湖生态系统长期以来一直存在着相互作用的人为压力机制（例如，营养物污染、化学污染、入侵物种、沿海开发、生境破坏等）。从历史上看，来自不同学科的研究人员从个人压力的角度研究了这些问题，但越来越清楚的是，有效和创新的政策解决方案所经历的五大湖的许多环境问题必须建立在全面了解压力如何相互作用及其累积效应。在五大湖独特的国际环境中，我们认为，这是通过培训专业人员的核心，采用跨界，多学科的方法，整合科学，社会和经济层面，促进研究人员，决策者和公共部门之间的直接互动来实现的。NSERC关于多重压力源和累积效应的CREATE方案采用基本和实践教学方法的全面结合，采用“边做边学”的理念，旨在培训下一代科学家和决策者，使他们了解并能够解决多重压力源和累积效应的复杂问题;学生谁是“市场准备”，因此能够在政府，工业和学术界担任领导职务;以及一批核心专业人员，他们将最有能力为未来的战略监管政策和管理框架提供建议和制定五大湖生态系统的可持续性。

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin is home to over 33 million people, approximately 10% of the population of North America. It is a key industrial and manufacturing center and its surrounding watersheds contain some of the most productive agricultural land in North America. With such an intense human presence comes a heavy human footprint, and the Great Lakes ecosystems have a long legacy of interacting anthropogenic stress regimes (e.g., nutrient pollution, chemical contamination, invasive species, coastal development, habitat destruction, among many others). Historically, researchers from different disciplines have examined these problems from the perspective of individual stressors but it is becoming increasingly clear that effective and innovative policy solutions to many of environmental problems experienced by the Great Lakes must be founded on a comprehensive understanding of how stressors interact and their cumulative effects. In the unique international environment of the Great Lakes, we believe that this is best achieved by training a core of professionals using a trans-boundary, multidisciplinary approach that integrates scientific, social, and economic dimensions which promotes direct interaction between researchers, policy-makers, and the public sector. Using a comprehensive combination of fundamental and practical teaching approaches, a "learn while doing" philosophy, this NSERC CREATE program on multiple stressors and cumulative effects is designed to train the next generation of scientists and policy-makers to understand and be capable of addressing the complex issue of multiple stressors and cumulative effects; students who are "market-ready" and therefore able to assume leadership positions in government, industry, and academia; and a core of professionals who will be in the best position to advise on and develop strategic regulatory policy and management frameworks for the future sustainability of the Great Lakes ecosystems.