Dr. Elsie Sunderland of Harvard will present this third seminar in a series offered jointly by the Nereus Program and Green College at UBC. The seminar will take place at Green College on November 17.
4:30-5pm – Meet and Greet coffee break
5-6pm – Session
6-6:30pm – Q&A
This seminar is free and open to the public.
Dr. Elsie Sunderland, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science:
Dr. Elsie Sunderland is the Thomas D. Cabot Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science. She holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Environmental Health in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Sunderland’s research group (http://bgc.seas.harvard.edu) studies the biogeochemistry of global contaminants. Here work aims to better understand how global contaminants are distributed in the environment and how global climate change and industrial development will affect future health risks.
Session Details:
Many environmental contaminants biomagnify in marine food webs, reaching high concentrations in top predators, posing health risks to humans and wildlife. Biomagnification is highly affected by dietary preferences of different species and locations of food foraging activity. The combination of climate driven changes in ocean conditions and fish harvesting activities by humans is causing major changes in marine food webs that also affect contaminant biomagnification. Using the example of methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin found ubiquitously in most marine environments, this presentation will explain how climate, global emissions and contaminant concentrations in marine food webs are intricately linked. The presentation will also discuss of the effectiveness of mitigation measures aimed at protecting human health such as emissions controls and dietary advisories for different fish species.
