Collaborative Research: Impacts of Anthropogenic Change on the Ecology of Human Pathogens in a Eutrophying Estuary: The Neuse River Estuary, NC

合作研究：人为变化对富营养化河口人类病原体生态的影响：北卡罗来纳州纽斯河河口

• 批准号: 0326811
• 负责人: James Bowen
• 金额: $ 19.6万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-10-01 至 2008-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0326811&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Impacts; Anthropogenic; Change

ABSTRACTOCE 0327056 / OCE-0326811Approximately 75% of people live in coastal watersheds, with coastal urbanization and agricultural and industrial development increasing at rapid rates. Accelerating nutrient- and pathogen-enriched wastewater discharge accompanying coastal development is putting unprecedented pressure on estuaries that receive and process the bulk of land-based runoff. Enhanced nutrient loading has led to increased primary productivity or eutrophication, the symptoms of which pose a significant threat to coastal resources and ecological health. This eutrophication leads to organic matter enrichment of affected waters. Most human pathogens in wastewater discharges are heterotrophs and may thrive under these enriched organic matter conditions. As a result, pathogen populations may increase under nutrient loading leading to eutrophication, as will human exposures and health effects.In this project, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel and University of North Carolina at Charlotte will focus on understanding the relationships between nutrient loading in the Neuse River Estuary, growth and fate of microorganisms linked to infectious disease, and subsequent impacts on human health. The long-term goal is the creation of a computational model useful in estimating the effect of watershed protection policies on ecological and human health. While the research is not strictly focused on human health risk, it will use a conceptual framework derived from human health risk assessment, and data collected under that framework, to focus on more fundamental scientific research in a way that ensures optimal reduction of uncertainties in current understanding of the links described above. The research will focus on microorganisms that are (i) of great significance to human health, (ii) the subject of research expertise by the PIs, and (iii) representative of the more general class of infectious disease agents whose fate is governed by environmental conditions in estuaries. An Advisory Board of distinguished scientists will guide the entire project from the range of disciplines involved. Intellectual Merit: This research will employ an interdisciplinary approach by bringing together investigators familiar with estuarine dynamics, pathogen ecology, and human health risk. The result will be a new research program in the Ecology of Infectious Disease at the participating institutions. A modeling framework will combine experimental and field information to examine underlying mechanisms, environmental controls, and trophic interactions in a well-characterized estuary experiencing advanced symptoms of eutrophication. The result will be enhanced interactions between experimentalists and modelers, ensuring that the two groups function as a single research unit. The research site, the Neuse River Estuary (NRE), is an important fisheries and recreational resource and key tributary of North Carolina's Pamlico Sound, the Nation's 2nd largest estuarine complex and the East Coast's most important fisheries nursery. Study of this system will provide a conceptual and computational framework for studying other estuarine systems in which the impacts of nutrient/organic matter concentrations on the diversity, growth, survival, and proliferation of a range of particle-associated and freely suspended bacterial human pathogens might be examined.Broader Impacts: This research project will facilitate a collaborative State-University-Industry water quality monitoring and assessment infrastructure, fostering a synergistic research atmosphere. It will also develop a novel, fundamental process-level understanding of the hydrologic, nutritional and ecological controls of human pathogen dynamics in a representative and tractable shallow estuary impacted by human development, with direct applicability to policy analyses in such systems. The project will serve as a keystone for an. experiential learning program for advanced undergraduates at an existing field site, preparing science undergraduates for careers at the interface of fundamental and applied science. Graduate students at both the MSc and PhD levels will be involved in intensive molecular and. Classical oceanographic training as part of this project. High school students, educators, and the public at large will actively participate in field experience seminars, using streaming video and interactive web-based activities as part of this project.

0327056/OCE-0326811大约75%的人生活在沿海流域，沿海城市化和工农业发展迅速增长。伴随着沿海开发而加速的富含营养物质和病原体的废水排放，给接收和处理大部分陆地径流的河口带来了前所未有的压力。营养负荷增加导致初级生产力增加或富营养化，其症状对沿海资源和生态健康构成重大威胁。这种富营养化导致受影响水域的有机物丰富。废水排放中的大多数人类病原体是异养菌，在这些富含有机物的条件下可能会茁壮成长。因此，在营养负荷下，病原体数量可能会增加，导致富营养化，人类暴露和对健康的影响也会增加。在这个项目中，北卡罗来纳大学教堂分校和北卡罗来纳大学夏洛特分校的研究人员将重点了解纽兹河河口营养负荷、与传染病有关的微生物的生长和命运之间的关系，以及随后对人类健康的影响。长期目标是建立一个计算模型，用于评估流域保护政策对生态和人类健康的影响。虽然这项研究并不严格地侧重于人类健康风险，但它将使用从人类健康风险评估得出的概念框架以及在该框架下收集的数据，以确保以最佳方式减少目前对上述联系的理解中的不确定性，侧重于更基础的科学研究。研究将集中于微生物，这些微生物(I)对人类健康具有重大意义，(Ii)PIs的研究专门知识，以及(Iii)代表更一般类别的传染病病原体，其命运受河口环境条件的支配。一个由杰出科学家组成的顾问委员会将从涉及的学科范围指导整个项目。知识价值：这项研究将采用跨学科的方法，将熟悉河口动力学、病原体生态和人类健康风险的研究人员聚集在一起。其结果将是参与机构在传染病生态学方面的新研究计划。一个模型框架将结合实验和现场信息来研究在经历严重富营养化症状的特征良好的河口的潜在机制、环境控制和营养相互作用。其结果将是加强实验者和模型师之间的互动，确保两个小组作为一个单一的研究单位发挥作用。研究地点是纽兹河河口(NRE)，是重要的渔业和娱乐资源，也是北卡罗来纳州帕米利科海湾的关键支流，帕米利科海湾是美国第二大河口综合体，也是东海岸最重要的渔业苗圃。对这一系统的研究将为研究其他河口系统提供一个概念和计算框架，在这些系统中，营养物质/有机物浓度对一系列与颗粒相关的和自由悬浮的细菌人类病原体的多样性、生长、生存和增殖的影响可能被考察。广泛的影响：该研究项目将促进州-大学-行业合作的水质监测和评估基础设施，促进协同研究氛围。它还将对受人类发展影响的具有代表性的、易处理的浅水河口中人类病原体动态的水文、营养和生态控制形成一种新的、基本的过程级别的理解，直接适用于此类系统的政策分析。该项目将成为一个重要的项目。在现有的现场为高级本科生提供体验式学习计划，为理科本科生在基础科学和应用科学的交界处就业做准备。硕士和博士两个级别的研究生都将参与密集的分子和。将经典海洋学培训作为该项目的一部分。高中生、教育工作者和广大公众将积极参与实地体验研讨会，将流媒体视频和基于网络的互动活动作为该项目的一部分。