Atica: aquatic toxicology in a changing alaska university of alaska, anchorage (UAA) abstract this earmark request will establish a center for characterizing the impacts of environmental contaminant…

Atica: aquatic toxicology in a changing alaska university of alaska, anchorage (UAA) abstract this earmark request will establish a center for characterizing the impacts of environmental contaminant stressors on freshwater and marine aquatic life that inhabit alaska. The primary foci will be directed towards 1) understanding the mechanistic ways in which environmental drivers can create stress, 2) the sublethal responses of organisms subjected to exposure, and 3) integrative frameworks that can foster cross-pollination of ideas, skills, and scientific knowledge. Under this project, a subset of priority aquatic toxins and model organisms with a high likelihood of project successes will be selected for focused collaborations. This work sits at the intersection of environmental science, biomedicine, and environmental policy, all of which are strong suits of uaas faculty, programs, and research institutes. Collaborations, partnerships, and connections are already in place with knik tribal council, alaska department of environmental conservation, USGS, chugach regional resources commission, and kachemak BAY national estuarine research reserve, among others.