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<oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd">
  <dc:contributor>Marie Noele Croteau</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>Christopher C. Fuller</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>David Barasch</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>Kimberly R. Beisner</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>Kate M. Campbell</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>Deborah Stoliker</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>Edward J. Schenk</dc:contributor>
  <dc:creator>Daniel J. Cain</dc:creator>
  <dc:date>2023</dc:date>
  <dc:description>&lt;div id="Abs1-section" class="c-article-section"&gt;&lt;div id="Abs1-content" class="c-article-section__content"&gt;&lt;p&gt;Potential adverse ecological effects of expanded uranium (U) mining within the Grand Canyon region motivated studies to better understand U exposure and risk to endemic species. This study documents U exposures and analyzes geochemical and biological factors affecting U bioaccumulation at spring-fed systems within the Grand Canyon region. The principal objective was to determine if aqueous U was broadly indicative of U accumulated by insect larvae, a dominate fauna. Analyses focused on three widely distributed taxa:&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Argia&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;sp. (a predatory damselfly), Culicidae (suspension feeding mosquitos), and&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Limnephilus&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;sp. (a detritivorous caddisfly). The study showed that U accumulated by aquatic insects (and periphyton) generally correlated positively with total dissolved U, although correlations were strongest when based on modeled concentrations of the U-dicarbonato complex, UO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;(CO&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;)&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;sup&gt;–2&lt;/sup&gt;, and UO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;(OH)&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;. Sediment metal concentration was a redundant indicator of U bioaccumulation. Neither insect size or U in the gut content of&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Limnephilus&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;sp. substantially affected correlations between aqueous U and whole-body U concentrations. However, in&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;Limnephilus&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;sp., the gut and its content contained large quantities of U. Estimates of the sediment burden in the gut indicated that sediment was a minor source of U mass but contributed substantially to the total insect weight. As a result, whole-body U concentration would tend to vary inversely with the sediment burden of the gut. The correlations between aqueous U and bioaccumulated U provide an initial relational baseline against which newly acquired data could be evaluated for changes in U exposure during and after mining operations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</dc:description>
  <dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
  <dc:identifier>10.1007/s10661-023-11254-1</dc:identifier>
  <dc:language>en</dc:language>
  <dc:publisher>Springer</dc:publisher>
  <dc:title>Aquatic insect accumulation of uranium at spring outflows in the Grand Canyon region as influenced by aqueous and sediment geochemistry and biological factors: Implications for monitoring</dc:title>
  <dc:type>article</dc:type>
</oai_dc:dc>