Results
Marine aquaponics for the Great Lakes region
Aquaponics food production systems produce more food on less land, using less water than conventional food production systems. Further, they can be located near population centers, diminishing the carbon footprint of long-distance transportation of foods. Fresh food supplies in urban cities in the US takes advantage of the developing trends among consumers seeking sustainable, fresh, locally grown food supplies. Marine aquaponic systems are capable of producing fresh seafood and plant crops with high market value and strong consumer demand, but few species combinations have been developed well enough for practical applications. In this project, we propose continuing our ongoing efforts to explore marine aquaponics and provide operational guidelines for successful production.
Objective 1 – Complete our developing list of salt-tolerant plant species with a focus on seed availability, recommendations for germination, growth rates, and chemical composition data;
Objective 2 – Evaluate the long-term sustainability of a shrimp/plant marine aquaponic system, and evaluate salinity tolerance of 3-6 halophytic plant crop in marine aquaponics systems; and,
Objective 3 – Determine characteristics of the Asian markets in Chicago for products from marine aquaponic FPS and estimate total poundage of market demand.
Market Research for Yellow Perch Aquaculture
The objective of this project is to establish the current marketing status and potential for yellow perch products with wholesale and retail businesses in the seafood marketing channels in the North Central Region of the United States.
Measuring Local Government Response to Great Lakes Climate Risks
While there is an emerging consensus on the climate risks faced by different areas of the country, there is a profound lack of information on how local governments are responding to these risks. This proposal begins to fill the information gap by funding a faculty-student team to assist local officials in Indiana counties bordering Lake Michigan to complete the Hoosier Resilience Index Readiness Assessment (HRA). This instrument, developed by research staff at Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute (ERI), offers unique insight into the local response to climate risks, facilitating analysis of the political, social, and economic factors that shape policy decisions.
Mercury methylation and demethylation in a contaminated urban watershed
Metapopulation dynamics and control of the zebra mussel in freshwater and estuarine systems: the effects of hydrodynamics, larval supply, and embayments
- Monitor environmental factors and larval zebra mussel abundances in the Hudson River and contrast conditions in embayments and in the main river channel
- Conduct dye studies near embayments to determine their ability to retain zebra mussel larvae
- Use data from the Hudson River and our previous data from the Illinois and Hudson Rivers to determine whether side embayments can act as sources or sinks for zebra mussel larvae