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

1230543(帕尔)。INSPIRE奖的部分资金来自工程局(ENG)化学、生物工程、环境和运输系统司(CBET)的环境可持续发展计划、生物科学局(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)。淡水中的营养物质浓缩(富营养化)促进了有害(有毒)蓝藻水华(CyanoHabs)的全球扩散，全球变暖加剧了这一问题。该奖项基于一种新的假设，该假设挑战了主流范式，即可以通过控制单一营养物质磷(P)来对抗氰化氢。新的挑战范式的假说是，大型湖泊中的氮(N)负荷控制着浮游植物群落结构，大型湖泊中氰基HAB的数量、空间范围和持续时间强烈依赖于N和P的输入。这一奖项适用于INSPIRE项目，因为拟议的转型范式转变以及拟议的以问题为导向的研究需要一种全面和综合的方法(生态系统科学和工程分析)来解决确保获得足够优质淡水资源的重大挑战问题。提出的基本问题是生物科学和工程研究的交界点。另一个挑战是在气候条件不断变化的背景下处理这一新模式。虽然了解N和P底物的输入减少如何有益地塑造浮游植物群落是至关重要的，但这需要在考虑到已知有利于氰化细菌的气候变化的情况下实现。管理营养物质需要一种工程解决方案，但只有在生态受限的情况下，实施才能成功，因此产生的生物物种是可取的(例如，无毒素产生的种类)。此外，考虑到传统的补救成功调查所需的时间框架(即年数)，需要制定更快速的指标，以便更快地显示生态系统是否走上了预期的可持续性轨道。未来的气候条件将如何有利于氰基HAB的形成，必须而且将会被考虑。随着要求水生系统提供生态系统服务的外部压力越来越大，需要作出跨学科(分子、毒理学、生物地球化学、地质水文学)的努力，以解决这一问题并确保长期可持续性。在这项研究中，将利用原位生物分析和基因表达的定量图谱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，以及在常温和高温下与大型湖盆变暖趋势相一致的蓝藻HAB势。这项以地点为基础的研究将针对中国的第三大湖太湖进行。太湖研究将利用中科院太湖环境研究野外站太湖实验室最近建造的流水塘系统中的中微体来完成。与中国研究人员合作，将收集来自太湖现场的数据，以将实验条件与季节性原位水华动力学进行比较。结果将用于校准和验证富营养化-氰化HAB模型。更广泛的社会产品将是中国各省/中央政府的一项以科学为基础的减少营养物质投入的战略，该战略将使太湖保持在氰基HAB阈值以下，并可转移到世界各地正在经历N和P过度富集化的浅水富营养化湖泊。学生记者和美国(北卡罗来纳大学/北卡罗来纳大学)-中国(河海，南京大学，NIGLAS，中国科学院)学生交流活动将向公众传播成功和新兴的科学成果。该项目将在与生态系统服务可持续性有关的社会经济政策问题的背景下，培训研究生、本科生和中学生进行跨学科、交叉的研究，将生态分析和环境补救结合起来。虽然美国的牵头机构是北卡罗来纳大学，但美国的伙伴机构(UTK)是EPSCoR机构，因此这项研究将支持那些历来缺乏支持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地-水界面研究在为学生发展STEM知识方面的作用，重点是在资源有限的情况下使项目易于处理。该项目将利用一个跨学科(生态学、分子生物学、毒理学、生态水文学、水资源管理)和国际研究小组(包括一名新的女教员)和学生来评估、控制和减轻氰基HAB。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.