Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

The Athabasca Oil Sands of Northern Alberta supplies about 25% of Canada's petroleum needs. This output is expected to quintuple by 2030 at which time the oil sands will be producing 20% of the North American oil consumption. Conventional surface oil sands mining and extraction produces large volumes of tailings and process affected water that, under the zero-discharge policy of the industry, must be safely incorporated into a reclaimed landscape. As a significant proportion of this landscape may be aquatic habitat, the industry has supported an ongoing research program to investigate potential impacts on biota and to develop biological tools to support environmental monitoring of reclaimed ecosystems. Waters in reclaimed systems may in general be influenced by chemicals leaching off of exposed lean oil sand material used in reclamation. Biota may also be exposed in end-pit lakes constructed on the final landscape. End-pit lakes are a reclamation option wherein tailings will form the bottom of constructed lakes on the oil sands leases. Studies conducted in experimental lakes consisting of water-capped oil sands tailings, or lakes in lean oil sands watersheds have shown the potential for increased susceptibility of fishes to opportunistic disease organisms. The central objective of this research is to develop monitoring tools for native fish species in order to predict alterations in the immune system of fishes that may eventually lead to increased disease susceptibility. The study will follow the course of disease over time in the experimental ponds in order to learn the seasonality of the infections and determine whether recovery or adaptation occurs. Parallel laboratory studies using both rainbow trout and perch will also be conducted in order to examine how well trout responses will predict perch responses and subsequently determine the mechanism and causes of process waters-influence on immune dysfunction. This research will inform management decisions and monitoring options in oil sands reclamation.