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

1230543（帕尔）。 该INSPIRE奖部分由工程理事会（ENG）化学，生物工程，环境和运输系统部（CBET）的环境可持续性计划，生物科学理事会（BIO）环境生物学部（DEB）的生态系统研究计划，和国际科学与工程办公室（OISE）。淡水中的富营养化（富营养化）促进了有害（有毒）蓝藻水华（Cyanohabs）在全球的扩散，而全球变暖加剧了这一问题。该奖项基于一个新的假设，该假设挑战了当前的范式，即CyanoHABs可以通过控制单一营养素磷（P）来对抗。新的范式挑战性的假设是，氮（N）负载在大型湖泊控制浮游植物群落结构，和大小，空间范围，并在大型湖泊中的氰赤潮的持续时间强烈依赖于N和P的输入。 该奖项适用于INSPIRE计划，因为拟议的转型范式转变以及拟议的问题驱动研究需要全面和综合的方法（生态系统科学以及工程分析）来解决确保充足优质淡水资源可用性的重大挑战问题。提出的基本问题是在生物科学和工程研究的界面。 另一个挑战是在不断变化的气候条件下处理这一新的模式。虽然这是至关重要的，以了解如何输入减少氮和磷基板可以有益地塑造浮游植物群落，这需要完成，同时考虑到气候变化，是已知的有利于氰杂环丁烷。 管理营养素需要工程解决方案，但只有在生态约束下才能成功实施，因此所产生的生物物种是理想的（例如，非产毒素属）。 此外，鉴于补救成功的传统调查所需的时间框架（即，由于生态系统的可持续性已持续多年，因此需要制定更快速的指标，以更快地显示生态系统是否正在朝着预期的可持续性方向发展。 未来的气候条件将如何有利于CyanoHAB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，需要进行跨学科（分子、毒理学、地球化学、地质水文学）努力，以解决问题并确保长期可持续性。 在这项研究中，将采用原位生物测定以及基因表达的定量映射，以确定如何不同数量的人为N（包括铵和硝酸盐）和P（作为磷酸盐）形状浮游植物群落结构和功能，以及CyanoHAB的潜力在环境温度和升高的温度下与变暖的趋势一致，在一个大的湖泊盆地。 特别是基于地点的研究将在中国第三大湖泊太湖进行。太湖的研究将在最近建造的流通池塘系统，位于中国科学院太湖环境研究实验室的野外站使用中生态系统完成。与中国研究人员合作，将收集太湖地区的数据，以比较实验条件与季节性原位水华动态。结果将被用来校准和验证富营养化氰赤潮建模。更广泛的影响一个直接的社会产品将是中国省级/中央政府基于科学的营养物输入减少战略，将使太湖保持在CyanoHAB阈值以下，并可转移到世界各地的浅水过度富营养化湖泊，这些湖泊正在经历N和P的过度富集。学生记者和美国（U.S./UTK）-中国（河海，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。该项目将培训研究生、本科生和中学生进行跨学科、交叉研究，在有关生态系统服务可持续性的社会经济政策问题的背景下，将生态分析和环境补救结合起来。虽然领先的美国机构是UNC-CH，但美国合作机构（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。教师培训研讨会将展示水陆界面研究在为学生发展STEM知识方面的实用性，重点是利用有限的资源使项目易于处理。该项目将雇用一个跨学科（生态学，分子生物学，毒理学，生态水文学，水管理）和国际研究人员团队（包括一名新的女教师）和学生，以评估，控制和减轻氰有害生物。这将加强对大型湖泊生态系统长期变化的互动环境驱动因素的概念和技术理解，这些信息将有助于确保其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.