Proposed development of a mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) early life-stage bioassay as a surrogate to wild fish surveys

联邦环境影响监测(EEM)计划要求在加拿大运营的纸浆和造纸厂评估其废水对水生接收环境的影响。它们必须开展监测活动，作为受监管的三年周期的一部分。磨坊下游的一个监测重点领域是鱼类健康评估，这是一项野生鱼类调查，包括与生殖(性腺大小)、能量代谢(肝脏大小)和生长(年龄大小)有关的终点。然而，目前的EEM鱼类调查方法在评估河口接收环境方面的作用有限。因此，对于合作伙伴欧文纸业有限公司(IPL)和AV集团-Atholville纸浆厂(AV)等河口造纸厂，不可能对其对鱼类健康的影响进行直接环境评估。这些工厂和EEM项目认识到，需要替代方法来评估其废水的影响。这项建议描述了开发一种早期生命阶段生物测定(ELSB)，该方法评估了存在于这些工厂接收环境中的一种河口鱼类--粘鼠(Fundulus Heterocltes)的生长和发育。其目标是将ELSB开发为政府批准的野生鱼类调查替代方案，以在未来的EEM周期中测试磨坊污水。该建议还旨在通过研究器官发育和基因表达途径，扩大ELSB的使用，以探索参与木乃伊生长和性别分化的基本途径。这将为通过激素介导的影响(内分泌干扰物)以及纸浆和造纸厂废水产生影响的污染物的作用机制提供新的见解。这些研究将有助于确定对下游暴露的鱼类造成影响的行业的污染物来源和类型。学生将接受应用和协作研究领域的培训，该领域对保护沿海环境非常重要。通过更好地了解废水在不同生命阶段的影响，工厂的环境管理将得到改善，因为可以通过将废水来源与生物影响联系起来来实现改善。

The Federal Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) program mandates that pulp and paper mills operating in Canada assess the impacts of their effluents on aquatic receiving environments. They must undertake monitoring activities as part of regulated three-year cycles. One area of monitoring focus downstream of mills is the assessment of fish health, that is a wild fish survey that includes endpoints related to reproduction (gonad size), energy metabolism (liver size), and growth (size at age). However, current EEM fish survey methods are of limited use for assessing estuarine receiving environments. Direct environmental assessment of their impact on fish health is, therefore, not possible for estuarine mills such as partners Irving Paper Ltd. (IPL) and AV Group-Atholville Pulp Mill (AV). These mills and the EEM program recognize that alternate approaches are needed to evaluate effects of their effluents. This proposal describes development of an early life-stage bioassay (ELSB) that provides assessments of growth and development of mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), an estuarine fish present in receiving environments of these mills. The goal is to develop the ELSB as a government-approved wild fish survey alternative to test mill effluents in future EEM cycles. The proposal also sets out to expand use of the ELSB to explore fundamental pathways involved in growth and sexual differentiation of mummichog through studying organ development and gene expression pathways. This will provide novel insight into the mechanisms by which contaminants that act via hormone-mediated impacts (endocrine disruptors) and pulp and paper mill effluents elicit their effects. These studies will aid in the identification of sources and types of contaminants from industries that cause effects in fish exposed downstream. Students will be trained in an applied and collaborative research area important for protection of coastal environments. Environmental stewardship of the mills will be improved through better understanding of effects of effluents across different life stages because improvements can potentially be implemented by linking wastestream sources and biological effects.