Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The over arching goal of our research program is to develop early warning markers for measuring adverse effects of environmental contaminants on ecosystem health. Environmental exposure just above background levels rarely leads to observable immediate effects. Slow, insidious changes in biological functions, reflecting diminished wellbeing, are more common. We have spent the last five years developing, evaluating and validating the use of a number of neurochemical parameters involved in the dopaminergic and muscarinic cholinergic nervous systems as biomarkers for the neurotoxicity of methylmercury (MeHg) and other environmental chemicals. We now have a series of neurochemical and neurofunctional tests for wildlife and human population studies. The objectives of the next five year program are to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms and to evaluate the physiological and ecological consequences of these effects. Our approach of studying the same endpoints in keystone mammalian species (including human) is novel and relevant. We also have the capacity to use the findings from cutting-edge basic experiments for applied wildlife and epidemiological studies. Our results may be used to establish thresholds for ecosystem health management purposes.