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）方案要求在加拿大经营的纸浆和造纸厂评估其废水对水生接收环境的影响。它们必须按照规定的三年周期进行监测活动。工厂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，包括与繁殖（性腺大小）、能量代谢（肝脏大小）和生长（年龄大小）有关的端点。然而，目前的EEM鱼类调查方法在评估河口接收环境方面用途有限。因此，对于欧文纸业有限公司（IPL）和AV集团-阿索尔维尔纸浆厂（AV）等合作伙伴来说，不可能对它们对鱼类健康的影响进行直接的环境评估。这些工厂和EEM计划认识到需要采用替代方法来评估其废水的影响。本提案描述了早期生命阶段生物测定法（ELSB）的发展，该方法提供了对mummichog （Fundulus heteroclitus）生长和发育的评估，mummichog是一种存在于这些工厂接收环境中的河口鱼类。目标是将ELSB发展成为政府批准的野生鱼类调查替代方案，以测试未来EEM循环中的工厂废水。该提案还打算通过研究器官发育和基因表达途径，扩大ELSB的应用范围，探索mummichog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）和纸浆和造纸厂废水产生影响的污染物的机制提供新的见解。这些研究将有助于确定对下游暴露的鱼类造成影响的工业污染物的来源和类型。学生将在对沿海环境保护重要的应用和合作研究领域接受培训。通过更好地了解废水在不同生命阶段的影响，将改善工厂的环境管理工作，因为将废水来源与生物影响联系起来可能实现改善。

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.