INSPIRE: An Ecologically-Driven Strategy for Ensuring Sustainability of Anthropogenically and Climatically Impacted Lakes

1230543 (Paerl)。INSPIRE奖的部分资金来自工程理事会（ENG）化学、生物工程、环境和运输系统司（CBET）的环境可持续性计划、生物科学理事会（BIO）环境生物学司（DEB）的生态系统研究计划以及国际科学与工程办公室（OISE）。淡水中的营养富集（富营养化）促进了有害（有毒）蓝藻繁殖（CyanoHABs）的全球扩散，这一问题因全球变暖而加剧。该奖项是基于一个新的假设，挑战了普遍的范式，即蓝藻赤潮可以通过控制单一营养物质磷(P)来对抗。新的挑战范式的假设认为，大型湖泊的氮(N)负荷控制着浮游植物群落结构，大型湖泊蓝藻藻华的大小、空间范围和持续时间强烈依赖于N和P输入。该奖项适用于INSPIRE项目，因为该项目提出了转型模式的转变，以及提出的问题驱动型研究，这些研究需要一个全面和综合的方法（生态系统科学和工程分析）来应对确保充足优质淡水资源的可用性这一重大挑战。提出的基本问题是在生物科学和工程研究的界面。另一个挑战是在气候条件不断变化的背景下解决这一新模式。虽然了解氮和磷底物的输入减少如何有利于形成浮游植物群落是至关重要的，但这需要在考虑已知有利于蓝藻藻的气候变化的同时完成。管理营养物需要一种工程解决方案，但只有在受到生态限制的情况下，才能成功实施，从而使所产生的生物物种是可取的（例如，不产生毒素的属）。此外，考虑到传统的补救成功调查所需的时间框架（即，年），需要制定更快速的指标，以便更快地显示生态系统是否正朝着预期的可持续性发展。未来的气候条件将如何有利于蓝藻藻藻的形成，必须也将予以考虑。随着水生系统提供生态系统服务的外部压力越来越大，需要跨学科（分子、毒理学、生物地球化学、地质水文）的努力来解决问题并确保长期可持续性。在本研究中，将采用原位生物测定和基因表达的定量定位来确定不同数量的人为N（包括铵和硝酸盐）和P（作为磷酸盐）如何影响浮游植物群落的结构和功能，以及在环境温度和与变暖趋势一致的高温下，大型湖盆中蓝藻hab的潜力。这项特别的基于地点的研究将在中国第三大湖太湖进行。太湖研究将在位于中国科学院太湖环境研究实验室野外站的一个新近建成的流水池塘系统中使用中生态系统来完成。与中国研究人员合作，将收集太湖各地点的数据，将实验条件与季节性原地水华动态进行比较。结果将用于校准和验证富营养化-氰化hab模型。更广泛的影响一个直接的社会成果将是中国省级/中央政府基于科学的营养投入减少战略，这将使太湖保持在蓝藻藻阈值以下，并可转移到世界范围内正在经历氮和磷过度富集的浅层富营养化湖泊。学生记者和美国(UNC/UTK) -中国（河海大学、南京大学、NIGLAS、中国科学院）学生交流将向公众传播成功和新兴的科学成果。该项目将培养研究生、本科生和中学生在涉及生态系统服务可持续性的社会经济政策问题的背景下，进行跨学科、跨领域的生态分析和环境修复研究。虽然美国的领导机构是UNC-CH，但美国的合作机构（UTK）是EPSCoR机构，因此这项研究将支持历史上支持不足且通常缺乏实践研究经验的学生。教师培训讲习班将展示陆水界面研究在为学生发展STEM知识方面的效用，重点是在有限资源下使项目易于处理。该项目将聘请跨学科（生态学、分子生物学、毒理学、生态水文学、水管理）的国际研究团队（包括一名新的女教员）和学生来评估、控制和减轻蓝藻有害藻华。这将加强对大型湖泊生态系统长期变化的相互作用环境驱动因素的概念和技术理解，这些信息将有助于确保它们在变暖的世界中的可持续性。

1230543 (Paerl). This INSPIRE award is partially funded by the Environmental Sustainability Program of the Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems Division (CBET) in the Engineering Directorate (ENG), the Ecosystems Studies Program of the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) in the Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO), and the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE).INTELLECTUAL MERITNutrient enrichment (eutrophication) in freshwaters has promoted global proliferation of harmful (toxic) cyanobacterial blooms (CyanoHABs), and this problem is exacerbated by global warming. This award is based on a new hypothesis that challenges the prevailing paradigm that CyanoHABs can be countered by control of the single nutirent, phosphorus (P). The new paradigm-challenging hypothesis is that nitrogen (N) loading in large lakes controls phytoplankton community structure, and that magnitude, spatial extent, and duration of CyanoHABs in large lakes are strongly dependent on both N and P inputs. This award is appropriate for the INSPIRE program due to the proposed transformational paradigm shift as well as the proposed problem-driven research that requires a comprehensive and integrative approach (ecosystem science as well as engineering analysis) to the grand challenge issue of ensuring availability of adequate quality freshwater resources. The fundamental questions raised are at the interface of biological science and engineering research. An additional challenge is addressing this new paradigm in the context of evolving climatic conditions. While it is crucial to understand how input reductions of N and P substrates can beneficially shape phytoplankton communities, this needs to be accomplished while accounting for climatic variations that are known to favor CyanoHABs. Managing nutrients requires an engineering solution, but implementation can only be successful if it is ecologically-constrained, so that the resulting biological species are desirable (e.g., non-toxin producing genera). Moreover, given the time frame required for traditional surveys of remediation success (i.e., years), the development of more rapid indicators is needed that will show more quickly whether an ecosystem is on a trajectory towards desired sustainability. How future climatic conditions will favor CyanoHAB formation must and will be considered. As more external pressure is placed on aquatic systems to provide ecosystems services, interdisciplinary (molecular, toxicological, biogeochemical, geohydrologic) efforts are needed to address the problem and ensure long term sustainability. In this research, in situ bioassays will be employed as well as quantitative mapping of gene expression to determine how various amounts of anthropogenic N (including ammonium and nitrate) and P (as phosphate) shape phytoplankton community structure and function and also CyanoHAB potential under ambient and elevated temperatures consistent with warming trends in a large lake basin. The particular place-based study will done on Lake Taihu, the third largest lake in China. The Lake Taihu study will be accomplished using mesocosms in a recently constructed flow-thru pond system, located at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Taihu Lake Laboratory for Environmental Research field station. In collaboration with Chinese researchers, data from sites in Taihu will be collected to compare experimental conditions to seasonal in situ bloom dynamics. Results will be used to calibrate and verify eutrophication-CyanoHAB modeling. BROADER IMPACTSAn immediate societal product will be a science-based nutrient input reduction strategy for Chinese provincial/central governments that will bring and maintain Taihu below the CyanoHAB threshold and be transferrable to shallow hypereutrophic lakes worldwide that are experiencing both N and P over-enrichment. Student journalists and a U.S. (UNC/UTK) - China (Hohai, Nanjing Universities, NIGLAS, Chinese Academy of Sciences) student exchange will disseminate successes and the emerging scientific results to the general public. This project will train graduate, undergraduate, and secondary school students in interdisciplinary, cross-cutting research combining ecological analysis and environmental remediation within the context of socioeconomic policy issues concerning the sustainability of ecosystem services. While the lead U.S. institution is UNC-CH, the U.S. partner institution (UTK) is an EPSCoR institution, so this study will support students that are historically under-supported and typically limited with hands-on research experience. Teacher-training workshops will demonstrate the utility of land-water interface research in developing STEM knowledge for students, with a focus on making projects tractable with limited resources. This project will employ an interdisciplinary (ecology, molecular biology, toxicology, ecohydrology, water management) and international team of researchers (including a new female faculty member) and students to assess, control and mitigate CyanoHABs. This will enhance conceptual and technical understanding of interactive environmental drivers of long-term change in large lake ecosystems, information that will help ensure their sustainability in a warming world.