Microplastics have been found in the water just about everywhere, as well as in fish and other organisms. At this point, the effects these microplastics are having on fish larvae growth and development, as well as their behavior, isn’t well understood. Nor is any combined impact with other known contaminants.

An Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant faculty scholar set out to gain some insights on these issues and found that fathead minnow larvae are more impacted when their parents have been exposed to microplastics rather than when they ingest it themselves.

Jessica Ward, an animal behavior scientist at Ball State University and graduate student Kenzie Persinger evaluated the impacts of microplastics and a common environmental estrogen on early life stages of the fathead minnow. (Fathead minnows are one of EPA’s model species for toxicology research and are widely used in lab work.)

“One of the main questions we hoped to answer was whether exposing parental fish to microplastics, as well as microplastics associated with endocrine disrupting chemicals, showed downstream behavioral effects in offspring,” said Ward.

The contaminants were introduced through the fish’s diet in amounts that reflect what they would likely experience in the real world. Adult minnows were exposed to microplastics alone or along with estrogen and then allowed to spawn.

After hatching, half of these larvae received continued exposure for 21 days and both this group and the unexposed control group were tested in how they performed in swimming trials.

The researchers measured a significant overall effect on fathead minnow offsprings’ swimming performance when their parents were exposed to microplastics, with or without estrogen. These larvae showed more hyperactive behavior.

“Compared to the control group, the larvae swam farther and faster, which is an indicator of hyperactive behavior,” said Ward.  “Hyperactivity is thought to increase the probability of predation.”

The researchers observed no further changes in larvae that received more exposure after hatching, and no significant effects were observed from larvae only exposed after hatching.

“This suggests that parental exposure has a stronger effect on offspring behavior than direct exposure of the offspring themselves,” said Ward.

Every five years, Lake Michigan is the focus of intense research and monitoring when scientists come together to answer critical questions and fill information gaps. A report summarizing the results of the most recent data collection on the lake is now available.

Each year since 2002, through the Cooperative Science Monitoring Initiative (CSMI), multiple federal, state, and university scientists gather on one of the Great Lakes to take part in coordinated research. CSMI is a binational program organized through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes National Program Office and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Lake Michigan was slated for 2020 to be its CSMI field year, but due to the pandemic, the sampling actually took place in both 2020 and 2021. Research priorities included learning more about the lake’s changing food web dynamics, the impacts of contaminants and bacteria, and the connections between watersheds and tributaries to the lake’s water quality.

Quagga mussels featured prominently in the key findings of the compiled 2020 research results—they are the dominant invertebrate species in the lake. The good news is that the quagga mussels’ population density has somewhat stabilized, on the other hand, their numbers in deeper areas of the lake continue to slowly expand.

“Quagga mussels continue to play a key role in nutrient and primary production dynamics in Lake Michigan,” said Paris Collingsworth, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) Great Lakes ecosystem specialist and Purdue University researcher. “Quantifying the effects of these mussels on the energy flow throughout the lake is an important concern for the management community of Lake Michigan.”

Collingsworth provides leadership in collaboration with EPA scientists, defining critical questions and coordinating research efforts of various agencies for large-scale studies. He works with the lake partnerships for each lake as they define CSMI research priorities, and with scientists as they set up studies and analyze data. 

The significant presence of quagga and zebra mussels, or dreissinids, in Lake Michigan and their consumption of so much of the energy of the lower food web have left lake waters clear. CSMI research showed that this extreme clarity has shifted the vertical distribution of planktonic organisms lower in the water column to avoid high ultraviolet radiation in surface waters.

Mortality from ultraviolet exposure may also be a bottleneck for fish larvae survival and potential recruitment in Lake Michigan, but some species may fare better than others.

For example, higher pigmentation on bloater larvae compared to those of alewife suggests that bloater can endure ultraviolet exposure. In fact, findings reveal that while alewife larvae catches in 2021 were 3.7 lower than in 2015, bloater densities were 2.2 times higher in 2021.

Researchers found that quagga mussels are having an impact on fish populations in other ways. When the quagga mussel veliger, a larval stage, is part of the larval fish diet, this reduces fish growth and survival rates.

“The long-term tracking of invasive mussels and other lower food web organisms by CSMI partners has been extremely helpful to all lake managers because it improves our understanding of lake ecosystem processes, informs management decisions and provides sound scientific information on a changing ecosystem that can be shared with Great Lakes anglers and stakeholders,” said Vic Santucci, Lake Michigan fisheries program manager with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The scientists also studied contaminants in Lake Michigan and found evidence that spottail shiner may be exposed to a sediment source of PFAS (or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). These compounds are called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment.

To learn more about these results and many others, the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative Lake Michigan 2020 Report with key findings and an executive summary is on the IISG website.

This spring, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) is sharing opportunities to further research, engage audiences with new information, and bring experts together to share knowledge and set new goals.

The 2024 Graduate Student Scholars program is ramping up, with the program open to graduate students from institutes of higher learning in Illinois and Indiana. Applicants can request up to $10,000 to support research expenses, stipends, travel, or other activities that help expand the scholarly or societal impact of their research. To see how this program is going, you can read blog posts describing past and current scholars’ projects in our newsroom.

We have developed two new IISG education products that offer exciting approaches to facilitate learning. Both products are currently being pilot-tested and will be available later in the year.

First, years of support for high schools that incorporate aquaponics into their STEM classwork has led to the development of a new curriculum. Aquaponics is a form of sustainable agriculture that connects raising fish and growing plants through an interdependent relationship. The IISG High School Aquaponics Curriculum is nine lessons that comprehensively cover aquaponics but is also designed so that an educator can pull out a single component to reinforce classwork.

The second educational tool brings Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) to the classroom using 360-degree virtual reality technology. IISG’s Ashley Belle, Megan Gunn and their invaluable intern Xuanshu Lin developed an immersive experience along the Grand Calumet River in northwest Indiana.  Creating a novel way to introduce students to environmental science in the real world, the virtual reality images feature degraded areas of this AOC as well as sites that have been remediated and restored. The specialists also developed a complementary curriculum for use with middle and high school students.

In other news, I’d like to congratulate several well-deserved recent IISG award winners. Research Coordinator Carolyn Foley received the Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources 2023 Outstanding Administrative/Professional Staff Member Award. Carolyn was recognized for her leadership, resourcefulness, and selfless contributions to the department and IISG. Carolyn has served IISG’s research program since 2010 and is the primary contact for questions related to requests for proposals and IISG-funded research projects. She also developed and initiated the IISG Scholars Program in 2021.

Greg Hitzroth, our aquatic invasive species (AIS) outreach specialist, was chosen for the 2023 Illinois Lake Management Association Lake Guardian Award. Since 2012, Greg has worked to inform key audiences to help prevent the spread of AIS in Illinois waters and in the Great Lakes. As IISG has become the primary source of AIS outreach and education in Illinois, Greg has come to be seen as a regional expert regarding the “organisms in trade” pathway. This characterization came about through his efforts to develop well-informed outreach tools as well as his willingness to open new doors and try new approaches to this work. 

Spring brings a round of educational opportunities for us to share with residents, decision-makers, researchers, and partners too.

• To mark the fifth year of our native plant tournament, formerly known as “Mulch Madness,” we invite you to get ready for Rain Garden Rumble! The competition is in progress, but you can still get in on the fun. Visit the Red Oak Rain Garden’s social media pages, where you can vote for your favorite plants. Vote totals will determine which of the 28 plant species will move on to the next round and ultimately be crowned the 2024 champion.
• If you want more hands-on gardening knowledge, the Rainscaping Education program will hold a two-day training in Illinois’ Kane County; a how-to on installing rain gardens, a type of green infrastructure. Rain gardens can capture stormwater, helping to prevent floods and protect local water quality. The sessions on May 2 and 3 may include experiential training activities, field techniques, and field trips to view rainscaping projects.
• The 2024 Spring Fisheries Meeting will take place in the evening of March 28 at the Wilmette Harbor Club. Topics will include the offshore food web, largemouth bass in the Chicago River, and harvest patterns in nearshore Lake Michigan. If you can’t attend this in-person event, a virtual meeting and Q&A session with the speakers will take place on April 3. 
• Registration is open for the Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference on April 24–25. This virtual conference will feature 15-minute presentations and lightning talk sessions on the latest in emerging contaminant research, policies, and outreach in the soil, water, and air. Registration closes April 10.

Tomas Höök
Director, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Climate change is bringing more extreme weather to the southern Lake Michigan region along with dramatically variable water levels. With the risk of flooding increasing, so are potential threats to infrastructure, to residents, and to coastal communities as a whole.

An Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant faculty scholar is using computer modeling to help communities protect critical infrastructure in the face of increased flooding risks. Chengcheng Tao, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue University, has developed an approach that incorporates risk assessment factors along with fluid-structure interaction simulations.

Fluid-structure interactions are what happens when a structure is impacted by a fluid force, like air meeting up with an airplane or, in this case, waves pounding on bridge supports. Risk assessment factors regarding infrastructure include scores for how vulnerable these structures are and how critical they are to the community and its residents.

The IISG scholars funding has helped Tao develop and test these model components on common bridge structures.

“Although I use the bridge infrastructure as an example in the study, the model can be applied to other infrastructure, like buildings or highways,” said Tao, who also is the director of Purdue’s Sustainable Infrastructure and ManUfacturing Lab  

Thus far, she has been using publicly available data, but with access to a treasure trove of historical data to inform the model components, results will be more finely tuned. Purdue graduate student Junyi Duan, who is a key contributor to this project and is funded through the IISG Scholars program as well, has collected historical records from government organizations that reveal how floods have impacted locations in the Great Lakes region.

After combining the risk model with historical data and the physical model data, Tao will have a very comprehensive, data-rich framework. With that, she plans on building a smart infrastructure warning system.

“In the future, when a flood system is headed to a location, a smart warning system can predict the flood risk beforehand, before the damage happens,” said Tao. “The warning system may recommend that a community pay more attention to particular sites or infrastructure components.”

Ultimately, she wants to create a smart platform that residents can use on their cell phones or computers that show their particular flood risk scores.

A smart infrastructure warning system can help even earlier in the process. For example, insights from the modeling can help inform future infrastructure designs and even local design codes.

In addition to connecting with local organizations and presenting their work at three American Society of Civil Engineers conferences, Tao and her students joined with Purdue Science K-12 Outreach to film educational videos about flood hazards that will be posted on YouTube as part of Purdue’s Superheroes of Science series.

When it comes to managing ecosystems to address the problem of aquatic invasive species, knowing where they are and in what numbers can be critical in helping prevent the spread. To that end, an Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant faculty scholar is automating sampling equipment for keeping track of the invasive spiny water flea to make the process easier and more efficient.

Spiny water fleas are native to European and Asian waters but were introduced to the Great Lakes in the 1980s, likely in ballast water. These microscopic zooplankton eat other zooplankton, which are the base of the Great Lakes food web, but spiny water fleas have spikes on their long tails, so they are not a desirable food item. Their populations have grown and, today, they can be found throughout the Great Lakes.

“Traditionally, the way we sample aquatic microorganisms, including the water flea, is to throw a net out into the water and pull it up slowly. This is cumbersome and you are only able to do one sample at a time,” said Sachit Butail, a professor of mechanical engineering at Northern Illinois University.

With input from scientists at NOAA, he has worked to improve the design of an automated device for sampling aquatic microorganisms to expand its capacity and accuracy. This motorized device that is lowered into the water has six chambers − water passes through a net into one of the chambers. Each time the device is brought up out of water, it revolves, securing a water sample for analysis.

This allows for the collection of multiple samples in different locations in one field day.

In laboratory testing, using chia seeds, the revised design significantly improved the device’s performance—it reduced contamination between the chambers, resulting in a more accurate analysis of each site sampled.

Butail, who does much of his research and development in robotics, sees this project as a step toward creating a fully robotic sampling device as well as an autonomous boat that can be controlled from the shore. His team has developed preliminary designs for the boat and they are trying out early versions of the robotic sampling device in a laboratory testing pool.

“The new robot, which is in the shape of a glider and has an attached net, is an early step toward developing new ways to offset the effort that is traditionally required to sample water flea in deep waters,” said Butail.

Looking to the future, he sees the potential of widespread use of this technology in addressing aquatic invasive species.

“I hope that one day robotic technology will become integrated with citizen science,” said Butail. “My hope is that at some point, we can have citizen scientists directly control robots that record underwater videos. I think that the scale at which that would give us data about invasive species would be really significant.”

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.

This time of year, we tend to reflect on the last 12 months—what has transpired and what was accomplished—and at the same, to look forward to the promise of the somewhat fresh page of a new year. In that spirit, here are some recent Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant highlights, news and opportunities.

We recently announced $400,000 in funding for four new research projects focused on social issues related to PFAS in the Great Lakes region. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are used in a range of household and other products and these chemicals persist in the environment.

As we learn more about PFAS, researchers have found that they are associated with negative health effects. At the same time, many federal, state and tribal organizations are monitoring and detecting PFAS and related compounds in drinking water and fish.

Focusing on communication and policy issues, the upcoming research projects may help organizations as they communicate with the public about risks related to PFAS, and may help the public determine what actions to take to reduce the risks.

The funding for this work was provided by the National Sea Grant Office—the process to select new research projects included a scoping process to define social and economic knowledge gaps related to PFAS.

These “forever chemicals” are just one of several water resources issues covered in the 2023 issue of our annual magazine, The Helm. This publication is a collection of program research, outreach, and education accomplishments as well as ongoing activities that address coastal concerns. In addition to the prevalence of PFAS in Lake Michigan, this issue of The Helm describes IISG programs related to managing stormwater through green infrastructure, and how students are learning about water quality through a variety of hands-on opportunities.

The new year will bring another round of IISG support for a cohort of graduate students as they enhance their research. To that end, we have announced a call for applicants for the 2024 IISG Graduate Student Scholars Program. At the same time, our 2023 scholars are joining previous ones who have shared their research stories in our Meet Our Grad Student Scholars series.

The IISG Scholars Programs are part of an effort to help build a community of researchers and outreach professionals focused on critically important Lake Michigan issues. Through these programs, researchers are introduced to the issues and the people, organizations and communities that are affected by them.

For undergrads, the IISG Summer Internship Program provides opportunities for students to gain meaningful real-world experience working with our specialists engaging in research, outreach, or communication activities. In 2024, we are hiring interns to help further our efforts related to aquatic invasive species, sustainable communities, water affordability and youth education.

Finally, congratulations to Ashley Belle, our Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) specialist, who was honored recently with a University of Illinois Extension award in the category Individual Extension Excellence—Field-based Academic Professional (9 years or less). Belle, who is located in the U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office, plans public meetings and develops a variety of outreach products to inform AOC residents as their communities undergo environmental cleanup. 

Tomas Höök
Director, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.

As bigger storms become more frequent, flooding is more of a concern, especially in big cities with so many hard surfaces that do not absorb rainwater. In a city like Chicago with an estimated 4,000 miles of streets, would porous asphalt, which can soak up precipitation, be a possible solution for increased flooding risks?

Ramez Hajj, a civil engineer at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studied this question as part of his funding through the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Faculty Scholars Program.

Porous asphalt is developed to have more air voids to allow water to pass through, reducing flooding on roads that are otherwise watertight, and helping recharge groundwater sources. “It also offers the advantage of preventing cars from hydroplaning,” said Hajj.

This paving material is used successfully in a variety of locations, including in the state of Georgia, and it is in widespread use in the Netherlands. But porous asphalt has proven problematic in places where winters are colder, like Chicago. If water freezes in the nooks and crannies of the road, the street surface can break down when the ice thaws.

Usually, water runs right through the porous asphalt but when the air voids become clogged with debris and dust, then water can get stuck and that’s when the freeze-thaw becomes more of a problem.

“One of the biggest challenges is that you have to constantly vacuum to remove dust or debris,” said Hajj. “In cities like Chicago, this may not be practical because of all the other maintenance demands of the city’s roads.”

Add to that, the Chicago region has considerable truck traffic, which puts considerable stress on roadways.

Hajj’s team worked closely with the Chicago Department of Transportation, which shared insights into the city’s difficulties using porous asphalt successfully and provided core samples from a variety of Chicago locations for analysis.

“We had samples as old as 2008 and as recent as 2020 so we were able to see deterioration in real time,” said Hajj. “Generally, we saw a consistent trend of the porous asphalt breaking down quickly because of the heavy traffic loads on city roads.”

They also specifically studied the aging of the asphalt binder, which, unlike in conventional asphalt, was shown to happen even at the bottom of the sample due to oxygen being present throughout.

“Overall, I think the critical factor is, when you’re designing the mix, to make sure you’re choosing the right materials, those that are very resistant to water, to freeze-thaw and to aging,” said Hajj. “Then, once the road is constructed, maintenance is probably the most critical factor.”

Porous asphalt may not be ideally suited for Chicago, but Hajj did find that there might be some parts of Illinois and Indiana where it could be beneficial. Because porous asphalt has been shown to reduce traffic noise, it might be a strategy in locations where traffic intensity is lower and noise is a sensitive issue.

Going forward, Hajj and his team are interested in studying porous asphalt from a different approach—its potential impact on the environment.

“How does the quality of the water that drains through this asphalt compare with typical stormwater discharge from the road? What about air quality—what is the difference in emissions from a porous surface versus a conventional one? We want to make sure that we’re building with materials that can make things a little better,“ he said.

The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Faculty and Graduate Students Scholars programs help develop a community of scientists to research critical issues related to Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes region through funding and other opportunities for one year. 

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) announces $400,000 in funding for four new research projects focused on social and policy issues related to PFAS in the Great Lakes region. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment.

PFAS are used in a range of products, including nonstick cookware, water- or stain-resistant clothing or carpeting, cosmetics and even toilet paper. As a result, scientists are finding PFAS in waterbodies just about everywhere they look.

These substances have been associated with negative health effects, including a weakened immune system, kidney disease and cancer.

“Many federal, state and tribal organizations are now monitoring and detecting PFAS and related compounds in drinking water and fish,” said Tomas Höök, IISG director. “However, it may be unclear how organizations can communicate to the public about risks related to PFAS, and the public may struggle to determine what actions to take to reduce risk.”

Four new research projects have been recommended for funding to fill in these information gaps:

Through a listening session and surveys, Susan Buchanan, a medical doctor and an environmental health scientist at the University of Illinois Chicago and her team will engage with recreational anglers in two communities of color in Chicago, Illinois and Benton Harbor, Michigan to assess their knowledge about PFAS and related issues and their fish consumption levels. The researchers will work closely with on-the-ground local partners in both locations.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Lyn van Swol, a communication scientist, will test the effectiveness of messaging to the public, with a special emphasis on Latino populations in the state. Her team will gather data on people’s internet searches related to PFAS information. Then they will test specific messages with municipal water users, and finally, test what messaging engages audiences on social media.

Ruohao Zhang, an agricultural economist at Pennsylvania State University will lead an effort to develop an online risk assessment tool to help residents of Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania get a better understanding of their exposure to PFAS related to their location and personal choices. The team will also assess the effectiveness of local regulations and advisories on public awareness and decisions related to PFAS levels.

Finally, to help inform state regulators and lay the groundwork for regional consensus regarding PFAS policies, Catherine Janasie, a senior research counsel at the National Sea Grant Law Center, will lead an effort to compile a list of all PFAS-related state laws and regulations in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain regions. The team will then engage in comparative analysis of these policies and create case studies to further explore policy challenges.

“Researchers are continuously learning more and more about the prevalence of PFAS in the environment and their effects on humans, thereby complicating policy setting and communication about risks,” added Höök. “We hope these projects will collectively contribute to improved communication and consideration of policies related to PFAS in the Great Lakes region.”

IISG is working in cooperation with Great Lakes Sea Grant programs and with funding from the National Sea Grant Office to support these projects. Each team has been awarded up to $100,000 with an additional $10,000 directed to Sea Grant partners to develop and engage in related extension work.

IISG’s efforts to identify and fund these projects began with guidance from an advisory committee as a plan was developed to define social and economic knowledge gaps related to PFAS. Then, more than 70 representatives from at least 45 federal and state agencies, tribal nations, academic institutions and consulting firms joined in the scoping process. The results have been compiled in the PFAS Scoping Report.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Ashley Belle, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) specialist, was honored recently with a University of Illinois Extension (UIE) award in the category Individual Extension Excellence—Field-based Academic Professional (9 years or less). This, and other 2023 UIE awards, were presented in mid-November at the annual meeting.

Belle, who is located in the U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office, provides outreach and education to empower stakeholders in Great Lakes AOC communities to interpret and apply science and engineering-based information to sediment remediation projects.

This award encompasses Belle’s work with IISG since 2021 and during her previous position as an environmental and energy stewardship educator with Extension. The award criteria focused on service, organizational leadership, professional improvement, and teamwork participation. In her Sea Grant role, Belle has developed a variety of outreach products to inform AOC residents as their communities undergo environmental cleanup. 

Belle will likely display this award next to her two previous UIE awards—Interdisciplinary State Team Excellence in 2019 and Program Evaluation Excellence in 2020.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.