Identifying microcystin toxins at the land-sea interface in Lummi Bay and Bellingham Bay, Washington

部落学院和大学计划旨在支持为美国大量土著学生提供服务的学院和大学提高科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教育和研究能力。加强这些教育机会有助于增加获得STEM学位的原住民人数，从而使美国的STEM劳动力多样化。该项目名为“识别华盛顿州Lummi湾和贝灵汉湾陆海界面的微囊藻毒素”，通过对Lummi印第安人保留区周围海湾水质的调查，与这些结果保持一致。开展该研究项目的团队由来自西北印度学院（NWIC）的高素质教师和STEM学生组成。微囊藻毒素由一组被称为微囊藻的蓝藻产生，是美国西北部沿海水域公认的水污染威胁，对食用受污染贝类的人类和其他动物的健康构成相当大的风险。通过这项研究，NWIC的研究小组系统地监测了海湾中17个确定地点的水质，以1)描绘导致Lummi和Bellingham湾微系统毒素污染的途径，2)在流入海湾的淡水支流中检测微囊藻的局部“热点”，以及3)确定可能影响毒素产生的环境条件。本地学生实习生将参与这项工作的各个方面，通过课程作业和实地考察，他们将作为发展中的研究人员建立自己的知识和技能。将建立一个严格的监测系统，以便定期全面研究卢米保护区周围的水域。海洋生态系统的潜在污染对Lummi人和生活在西北沿海地区的更大社区来说是一个具有健康、经济和文化意义的问题。研究结果将与科学界和地区公民广泛分享。研究结果将为资源管理决策和安全贝类消费指南提供有价值的信息。美国西部沿海水域有害藻华（HABs）污染海洋食物网的现象日益增加，预示着与贝类中蓝藻毒素生物积累有关的严重健康和经济问题的上升。尽管近年来华盛顿内陆水域的微囊藻毒素水平反复出现，但仍缺乏对该地区的积极监测。该项目通过开发一个综合监测系统来解决这一新出现的威胁，该系统针对流入华盛顿西海岸Lummi湾和Bellingham湾的流域，以确定这些水域中微囊藻毒素从淡水环境转移到海洋环境的来源和环境驱动因素。教职员工将与西北印度学院（NWIC）的土著学生一起开展这项研究。每周将在预计涉及污染或有污染风险的17个地点使用固相吸附毒素追踪（SPATT）袋收集水样。将使用液相色谱-质谱法（LCMS）分析样品以测量毒素水平。温度，细胞计数和营养测量也将被记录。研究结果将有助于开发西岸淡水和海洋环境的水质预测模型和资源管理计划。研究结果将通过在同行评议的期刊和社区论坛上发表而广泛分享，研究人员和公民将能够获得数据。NWIC学生将通过参与该项目的课程、实地工作和实验工作获得进行研究的知识和技能，而学院将建立研究和课程能力。

The Tribal Colleges and University Program is designed to support improvements in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and research capacities of colleges and universities that serve significant numbers of Native students in the United States. Strengthening these educational opportunities serves to increase the number of Indigenous people attaining STEM degrees and thereby diversify the STEM workforce in the United States. The project titled "Identifying Microcystin Toxins at the Land-Sea Interface in Lummi Bay and Bellingham Bay, Washington", aligns with these outcomes through its investigation of the water quality in the bays surrounding the Lummi Indian Reservation. The team conducting the research project is comprised of highly qualified faculty members and STEM students from Northwest Indian College (NWIC). Microcystin toxins, produced by a group of cyanobacteria known as Microcysts spp., are a recognized water contamination threat in the coastal waters of the northwestern United States that pose considerable risks to the health of humans and other animals who eat contaminated shellfish. Through this research study, the research team from NWIC systematically monitor water quality at seventeen identified sites in the bays to 1) delineate the pathways leading to microsystin contamination in Lummi and Bellingham Bays, 2) detect local "hot spots" for Microcystis spp. in freshwater tributaries that feed into the bays, and 3) identify environmental conditions that may be influencing toxin production. Native student interns will be engaged in every aspect of this work and through coursework and fieldwork will build their knowledge and skills as developing researchers. A rigorous monitoring system will be developed to enable regular comprehensive study of the waters around the Lummi Reservation. The potential contamination of the marine ecosystem is an issue of health, economic, and cultural significance to the Lummi people and the larger community living in the northwest coastal region. Results of the study will be shared widely with the scientific community and area citizenry. Findings will be valuable in informing resource management decisions and guidelines for safe shellfish consumption.The increasing occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) contaminating the marine food web in the coastal waters of the western United States portends the rise of serious health and economic issues related to cyanotoxin bioaccumulation in shellfish. Active monitoring of Washington's inland waters is lacking even as this area has experienced repeated events of unacceptable microcystin toxin levels in recent years. This emerging threat is addressed in the project through the development of a comprehensive monitoring system for the watersheds that feed into Lummi and Bellingham Bays on Washington's western coast to identify the sources of and environmental drivers associated with microcystin transfer from freshwater to marine environments in those waters. Faculty members will work with Native students from Northwest Indian College (NWIC) in conducting the study. Weekly water samples will be collected using Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) bags at seventeen sites predicted to be involved in or at risk for contamination. Samples will be analyzed to measure toxin levels using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS). Temperature, cell count, and nutrient measurements will also be recorded. Findings will be valuable in developing water quality forecasting models and resource management plans for west coast freshwater and marine environments. Results will be shared widely through publication in peer-reviewed journals and community forums, and data will be accessible to researchers and citizens. NWIC students will gain knowledge and skills in conducting research through the courses, field work, and bench work they complete while engaged in this project, while the college will build research and curricular capacity.