Purdue University’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) is now accepting applications for graduate student (PhD or MS) assistantships in aquatic ecology to work with FNR and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant researchers Paris Collingsworth and Tomas Höök. Applications are due January 7, 2019.
Graduate assistants will be co-advised by Collingsworth and Höök and will participate in research projects exploring dynamics of Great Lakes ecosystems, food webs and fisheries. Selected individuals will be expected to work collaboratively with scientists from federal laboratories as well as Purdue University. These projects involve an integration of field studies, laboratory analyses, controlled experiments and quantitative modeling analyses.
Research Topics Specific research topics include
Exploring the potential of the larval stage as a recruitment bottleneck for fish in the upper Great Lakes.
Determining the ecological effects of seasonal hypoxia on food web structure and fish vital rates in central Lake Erie.
Qualifications Minimum qualifications include
BS (for MS position) or MS (for PhD position) in Biology, Ecology, Fisheries Science or related field.
GPA of 3.2 or greater.
Above average GRE scores.
Salary Assistantships include 12-month stipend, full tuition coverage and insurance.
Start Date June 2019.
How to Apply The positions will remain open until filled. For full consideration, please respond by January 7, 2019 and submit cover letter, CV, GRE scores (unofficial), transcript (unofficial), and names and contact numbers of three references to Paris Collingsworth at pcolling@purdue.edu.
Additional Details For more information, please contact Paris Collingsworth at pcolling@purdue.edu or (312)886-7449. Purdue University is an affirmative action equal opportunity employer.
After an intensive hiring process with outstanding candidates, Pat Charlebois has been selected to lead Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) outreach program efforts. Before taking on this new role, Charlebois was IISG’s aquatic invasive species outreach specialist and coordinator for over 20 years.
“Pat has great experience as a highly successful outreach specialist and coordinator of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s aquatic invasive species program,” said Tomas Höök, director of IISG. “We’re excited to work with her as she builds on this experience to collaboratively oversee IISG’s diverse outreach programs.”
As the outreach program leader, Charlebois will lead the development, expansion and delivery of science-based outreach programming that helps communities and individuals make informed choices when managing and interacting with natural resources. She will help connect IISG’s specialists with scientists and potential partners and enhance our existing partnerships with Illinois Extension, Purdue Extension and the Prairie Research Institute.
“As I move into the role of outreach program leader, I’m excited by the prospect of using my experience to help IISG improve upon the great outreach programming that we’re known for,” said Charlebois. “I’m looking forward to mentoring our new staff as they build their own outreach programs, and I’m pleased to be helping lead the program as we continue to address Great Lakes issues.”
Charlebois has been acknowledged with several awards throughout her career, including an APEX Award for Publication Excellence, Professional Merit Awards from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Illinois Lake Management Association, and a National Sea Grant Blue Ribbon Award. She received both her B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology with a concentration in aquatic ecology from the University of Notre Dame.
The Lake Michigan Sea Grant programs, including Wisconsin Sea Grant, Michigan Sea Grant and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, seek integrated proposals to better understand coastal hydrodynamics and nearshore sediment transport processes on Lake Michigan, to help effectively communicate this information to promote sustainable shore protection, and to increase the integrity of beaches and stabilize bluffs. The result would be more resilient coastal communities and economies.
Research is to be conducted in the 2020–22 biennium. Up to $100,000 per year for two years will be available for funding each of the Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois-Indiana portions of a joint research project (i.e., up to $300,000 per year total). Michigan and Illinois- or Indiana-based partners must demonstrate a 50 percent match (1 non-federal dollar for every 2 dollars requested). Match is not required for Wisconsin partners.
By partnering, the three Lake Michigan Sea Grant programs can support broader-scale projects to tackle challenges at a regional scale. In addition, generating collaborations across state lines can enrich the expertise of our in-state research teams.
Pre-proposals must demonstrate plans for collaboration between researchers from two (2) or three (3) of the state programs. The amount of funding available to the research team depends on the number and nature of collaborating partners; e.g., a researcher from Michigan and a researcher from Wisconsin could submit a proposal together for up to $400,000; researchers from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois could submit a proposal together for up to $600,000.
More Information
Download RFP (PDF includes guidance for submitting pre-proposals).
Pre-proposals are due by 3pm CST (4pm EST) Friday, January 11, 2019.
Questions
For more information, Illinois and Indiana partners can contact Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Research Coordinator Carolyn Foley (cfoley@purdue.edu).
If you have interest in this topic and/or skills that would be relevant to a research team but you are not sure who to connect with in other states, contact Carolyn Foley (cfoley@purdue.edu), who can provide a Google doc link that is a resource for researchers who may be interested in partnering. Listing your information in this Google doc is not a requirement for submission to this RFP. It simply serves to help researchers find relevant partners.
Aquaculture and aquaponics operations in Illinois and Indiana produce a wide variety of high-value seafood and vegetable products. Despite this, the vast majority of local chefs and restaurants are unaware that these products are being produced locally, so they still rely on frozen or fresh processed seafood, according to Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Aquaculture Specialist Andrew Coursey.
Coursey wants that to change. Aquaculture operations in Indiana produce large quantities of food fish, and these products are then shipped to large metropolitan areas with live fish markets. “The farm-raised seafood market is established and successful,” said Coursey, “but it’s not connecting these aquaculture products to local markets where there could be high demand.”
This summer, Coursey conducted a tour of aquaculture facilities with 16 representatives from Purdue University Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue Dining and Catering, and local restaurants from the Lafayette, Indiana, area. The tour was used to educate chefs and dining executives on how fish and vegetables are produced using aquaculture and aquaponics practices, and to showcase high quality products that are produced locally.
Bob Rode, aquaculture research lab manager for the Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, takes a close look at the biofilters at Meador Farms in Cutler, Indiana. Recirculating aquaculture systems require the breakdown of waste products produced by fish (toxic ammonia) into non-toxic ammonia nitrate by culturing nitrifying bacteria in a biofilter, which provides an ideal environment for bacterial growth. (Photo: Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant/Andrew Coursey)
The group visited three local aquaculture facilities to see tilapia, barramundi, largemouth bass, Pacific white shrimp, red claw crayfish and aquaponics products operations. They then gathered at the Purdue Animal Sciences Research and Education Center for presentations by producers, aquaculture discussions, and a question and answer session. Representatives from producers throughout the state were in attendance, including White Creek Farms of Indiana, Falling Waters Farm, Sweetwater Springs Fish Farm, RDM Shrimp, Tippco Fish and Meador Farms.
Producer presentations covered a range of topics, including aquaponics, rainbow trout, tilapia, barramundi, largemouth bass, and hybrid striped bass. “Great discussions about recirculating aquaculture, aquaponics and fish processing occurred during this meeting and were beneficial to all groups in attendance,” said Coursey.
Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production industry in the world and a major industry in the United States, and aquaponics is also gaining traction. Aquaponics combines farming fish with growing plants hydroponically. Water is used in a closed system for producing both.
The tour was meant to connect food buyers and chefs with producers, educate chefs and producers about aquaculture and aquaponics, and generate interest in purchasing from local processing facilities. Presentations and aquaculture site visits provided information to both chefs and food buyers, while subsequent discussions allowed chefs to provide feedback to producers that will help them better market aquaculture products locally.
URBANA, Ill. – Seven projects have been selected to receive funding in the 2018 Interdisciplinary Collaboration Extension (ICE) grant competition.
ICE grants fund partnerships between University of Illinois Extension personnel and faculty in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences for projects that will use campus-based research to enhance the quality of life of people in communities across Illinois. Project themes vary widely—from improving school nutrition programs to helping farmers manage nitrogen application—but all focus on research with practical applications for Illinois residents.
Each winning team will receive up to $60,000 that can be spent over two years to enact their projects. Of 22 total proposals submitted for review, seven were selected for funding, described below. All departmental affiliations are in the College of ACES unless noted otherwise.
Targeting natural lawn care communications to homeowners in Illinois
Principal Investigator: Sarah Zack, Pollution Prevention Extension Specialist, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
Co-Principal Investigator: Lulu Rodriguez, Agricultural Communications Program Director
Conventional lawn care methods are resource intensive: Approximately 89 million pounds of pesticide-fertilizer products (weed and feed) are applied annually, and outdoor irrigation comprises 30 percent of community water demand in summer. In this project, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and College of ACES Agricultural Communications investigators will address lawn care-related pollution in watersheds by developing, piloting, and assessing a natural lawn care communication campaign in three Illinois communities.
Information on the other six funded projects can be found in the University of Illinois Extension news release.
With a warning from the United Nations concerning a warming world, Chicago Tonight covered the topic with a local perspective from Tomas Höök, professor at Purdue University and director of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, and Elena Grossman, program manager of Building Resistance Against Climate Effects at University of Illinois. The story and video are available through WTTW’s What Global Warming Could Mean for Lake Michigan.
Crystal Hall is interning with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) as a recent graduate of Purdue University Northwest (PNW) with a B.S. in Biology and a concentration in Ecology. Funded by IISG and mentored by Leslie Dorworth, an aquatic ecology specialist with IISG and PNW, Hall is positioned with the U.S. Geological Survey to carry out work that moves projects forward through IISG, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
When I started my internship working with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), I had no idea what I wanted to do career-wise other than something with fish. To be honest, I still don’t fully know. Over the six months I have spent at USGS, I have learned a great deal of information and have gotten to know a wonderful group of people.
I have worked on several projects and learned new things from each:
Round Goby Mesocosm
The purpose of the round goby mesocosm project is to look at the shed and decay rates of round goby DNA in water and sediment. Several round goby were placed into a tank, and weekly water and sediment samples were taken for environmental DNA (eDNA). After a set amount of time, the round goby were removed and weekly water and sediment samples continued to be taken to see how long before no round goby DNA was detected. Throughout this project, I learned a lot about eDNA and how concentrations are different in water and sediment.
Cladophora
Hall separates zebra mussels from quagga mussels on June 4, 2018. (Photo U.S. Geological Survey)
On the Cladophora project, we deployed EXO2 water quality sondes in the Great Lakes and collected samples of dreissenid mussels and Cladophora algae from several depths and quadrants for biomass and nutrient processing. Researchers are seeking to understand the influence of phosphorus on Cladophora growth. I have learned to successfully identify zebra mussels from quagga mussels. And I’ve learned that it is not zebra mussels invading the Great Lakes anymore—it’s quagga mussels.
Area of Concern
We test for E. coli in the water at Whihala Beach and Hammond Port Authority, which are part of the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern. This information is used to notify the public of whether the beach is safe for swimming. Scientists used to test several other beaches in the area as well, but many were removed from the project because the water quality improved and met standards.
Artificial Reef
A year ago, an artificial reef was put in at Jeorse Park Beach by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of a large-scale restoration project for the beach. The U.S. Army Corps were hoping the reef would attract a number of native fish species that had once been in the area. In the artificial reef project I’m working on, I am assisting a master’s student with research that aims to see if this artificial reef has actually attracted native fish, or if round goby have colonized the reef since they’re attracted to rocky substrate.
Monthly water samples are taken and filtered for eDNA from several locations at Jeorse Park Beach, including surface water samples at the reef and water samples right above the substrate of the reef. After the sampling is complete, the DNA will be sequenced using fish primers for fish found in Lake Michigan to determine the composition of fish in the water based on the eDNA. Part of the project will be comparing the eDNA to traditional methods of monitoring (e.g., electroshocking).
I’ve learned so much. Before this internship, I knew nothing about freshwater reefs and artificial reefs. I didn’t know that breakwalls altered the flow of water in a way that can cause a buildup of E. coli and lead to unsafe water conditions. When I began my internship, everyone would talk about ongoing projects and try to inform me about the details of each one, but there was a lot that I didn’t understand. I’m proud to say that has changed, and now I am able to explain to others the projects we are doing, why we are conducting research in certain ways and what we are hoping to find.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to intern at USGS through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and to work with a great group of people. I have definitely gotten more out of my internship than I was ever expecting, and while I still don’t know what I would like to do as a career choice, I’ve discovered that working on projects like these is certainly an option and something I very much enjoy.
Cleaning up contaminated rivers, lakes and harbors facilitates the revitalization of waterfront economies on the Great Lakes. Aimed at industries, municipalities, states and non-governmental organizations, “A Seat at the Table: Great Lakes Legacy Act” is a new video that explains what it means to be a cost-share partner with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA). The video uses interviews with partners to describe the benefits and challenges of cost-share partnering, the cost-sharing mechanism, examples of in-kind services and the flexibility of partnerships.
The GLLA is a component of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative that addresses sediment remediation and habitat restoration in Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Contaminated sediment—caused by toxic chemicals, heavy metals, oil and other pollutants—can be a serious problem for communities struggling to revitalize their waterfronts and boost their economies.
Since 2002, the EPA has partnered with 57 entities under the GLLA to study, design and execute sediment cleanups across the Great Lakes basin. Over 4 million cubic yards of sediment have been remediated, removing threats to public health, creating vibrant environments for fish and wildlife, and giving coastal communities usable waterfronts.
The program is based on cost-sharing, which means that cleanup projects that result in economic revitalization, increased property values and an improved quality of life cannot take place unless partners contribute money or in-kind services. Through the GLLA, the EPA will cover up to 65 percent of the cleanup cost, and nonfederal entities can team up to volunteer matching funds. Once partners have been established, the GLLA program is able to help communities by completing cleanup projects.
“Legacy Act projects don’t take place unless a volunteer comes to the table and contributes cash or in-kind services,” said Caitie Nigrelli, an environmental social scientist for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and a liaison to the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office. “We have a lot of contaminated sediment sites left in the Great Lakes, creating blight and preventing local economies from realizing their potential. Voluntary, collaborative partnerships are the solution to the problem.”
Current and past partners include industry organizations (Honeywell, Ford, U.S. Steel), states (Indiana, Minnesota), municipalities (City of Toledo, Ashtabula City Port Authority) and non-governmental organizations (Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper).
Want to see what successful partnerships can accomplish? Follow Caitie Nigrelli (@Gr8LakesLady) on Twitter as she shares 22 sediment site success stories, including before and after photos, contamination causes, partnerships and cleanup details. She’ll share one story, highlighting one location, each day for 22 days. Follow and join the conversation using #22SedimentStories.
“A Seat at the Table: Great Lakes Legacy Act” was funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and produced by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and University of Illinois Extension.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Indiana’s average air temperatures are expected to rise by as much as 6 degrees Fahrenheit by mid-century, warming and reducing wintertime ice cover on the state’s lakes, streams, and rivers. At the same time, increases in winter and spring rainfall will likely wash more nutrients from farm fields into those water bodies, adding significant challenges to already fragile ecosystems.
Those are some of the key points in “Aquatic Ecosystems in a Shifting Indiana Climate,” the latest report from the Purdue University-based Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment, released during a community briefing Sept. 12 at Bass Pro Shops in Portage, Indiana.
“Changes in Indiana’s climate are going to affect the timing of water flows, the quality of water and water temperatures. All of these things have major implications for the wide variety of animals and plants that live in aquatic ecosystems,” said Jeff Dukes, director of the Purdue Climate Change Research Center. “Climate change is an additional stressor to Indiana’s native fish population. We already have invasive fish in many of our water bodies, and we have added a wide variety of pollutants and nutrients to our streams. How well some of our native populations will be able to deal with this accumulation of stresses piling up on them is still unclear.”
Rising water temperatures will likely shift stratification – the layering of water at different depths in lakes. That may improve or increase habitat for the state’s warm water fish.
However, those rising temperatures and increasing spring rain totals will send more nutrients from farm fields into nearby waters. That combination is problematic for many coldwater species, such as cisco, a native fish that used to exist in about 50 of the state’s lakes but has already suffered from rising temperatures.
“Because many of our lakes are very nutrient-rich, they experience large algal blooms in late spring and summer, which may grow larger with warmer temperatures and more spring runoff. Dead algae later settle to the lake’s bottom and are decomposed by bacteria, depleting the water’s oxygen,” said Tomas Höök, Purdue professor of fisheries and aquatic sciences, director of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and lead author of the report. “This creates hypoxia in bottom waters. Cisco are going to get really squeezed from warmer temperatures on the surface and lack of oxygen on the bottom. Cisco persist in six lakes right now, but they may not be present in the state much longer.”
Changing precipitation patterns could also negatively impact Indiana’s already-endangered freshwater mussels, with different effects across seasons. Drier summers will likely reduce water levels in streams where the mussels live, exposing them to intolerable conditions. In the spring increased stream flows could dislodge mussels from their habitats in rivers.
Wetlands may stay wet longer in the spring and dry more than usual during the summer, altering ecosystems that depend on critical seasonal timing. Some plants and animals adapted to Indiana’s current climate may not thrive here in the coming decades.
In Lake Michigan, where near-surface temperatures have already warmed by 3 degrees Fahrenheit since 1980, temperature changes could lead some coldwater fishes, such as salmon, trout and lake whitefish, to move further offshore to deeper waters. As a result, they may spend less time in the Indiana waters of Lake Michigan, which are relatively shallow and warm. The lake’s warmer temperatures could also affect growth, spawning or reproductive processes for many valuable commercial and sport fish species.
Höök suggests those tasked with managing Indiana’s aquatic ecosystems focus on maintaining or increasing both genetic and habitat diversity.
“Trying to make precise predictions of how species will respond to climate change is tricky,” Höök said. “Climate change is one of many factors impacting aquatic organisms, along with pollution, invasive species, fisheries harvest and habitat destruction. But maintaining a diversity of species, habitats and genetic variation within these ecosystems should help buffer against these different stressors.”
Carolyn Foley, research coordinator for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and a co-author on the report, suggests that people all over the state have the ability to help work on the issue, from researchers to everyday people.
“There are a lot of freshwater ecosystems in Indiana—streams, rivers, wetlands, lakes, reservoirs,” said Foley. “And a lot of great, water-related research happening here, too. In this report, researchers worked together to paint a rich picture of how aquatic ecosystem components might be affected by climate change. If the general public wants to help, they could think about volunteering with local watershed alliances or other organizations trying to improve waterways through cleanups, habitat restoration, or decreasing runoff from land to water. Keeping waters as healthy as possible will support robust ecosystems, which are more likely to successfully navigate the changes that are coming.”
The Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment (IN CCIA) is compiling the latest scientific research into a series of easily understandable reports about climate change impacts in 10 topic areas: climate, health, forest ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems, urban green infrastructure, tourism and recreation, agriculture, water resources, energy, and infrastructure. The assessment team consists of more than 100 experts from Purdue and other Indiana institutions.
The IN CCIA has now released six reports. All are available on the IN CCIA website at http://indianaclimate.org/. For more information about the IN CCIA, go to the website or follow on social media at @PurdueCCRC, #ClimateChange, #INCCIA.
Writer: Brian Wallheimer, 765-532-0233, bwallhei@purdue.edu
Sources: Jeff Dukes, 765-496-3662, jsdukes@purdue.edu
Tomas Höök, 765-496-6799, thook@purdue.edu
Carolyn Foley, cfoley@purdue.edu
Join the Invasive Crayfish Collaborative for an exciting webinar featuring Purdue University master`s student Izzy Paulsen. Izzy will share her mixed method study exploring how and why teachers use live crayfish and their interest in outreach. Her study draws from interview and survey data conducted in Great Lakes states.
Deadline extended! The IISG program, in cooperation with the @nationalparkservice at @indianadunesnps and @UrbanRivers in Chicago, is offering two internship opportunities to support conservation policy efforts. Sea Grant’s national Community Engaged Internship (CEI) program aims to broaden participation in coastal, ocean, Great Lakes, and marine sciences providing training and mentorship to the next generation of scientists, decision-makers, and citizens.
The program will do so by recruiting, retaining and engaging students in place-based research, extension, education, and/or communication that respects and integrates local ways of knowing.
Meet IISG grad student scholar, Lena Azimi! Lena is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Purdue University, specializing in geomatics with a background in environmental engineering. During her master’s program, Lena encountered remote sensing technology, which provides a way to collect data from a distance, especially remote or hard-to-reach places. This experience led her to pursue a Ph.D. degree and dive deeper into remote sensing and tackle urgent environmental challenges.
Join us this Thursday for a seminar on the latest fish biology, ecology, and fisheries science happening in Lake Michigan.
Speaker will include: -Anna Hill (Purdue) with an update on alewife diet and growth rates in Lake Michigan -Charlie Roswell (INHS) with an update on Lake Michigan and Calumet River smallmouth bass movement -Dan Makauska (IL DNR) with an update from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
