IRES Track II: Advanced studies institute on water quality and harmful algal blooms in Lake Victoria

北美和非洲的五大湖是至关重要的全球淡水资源。这些湖泊含有世界上近一半的可用地表淡水，因此这些湖泊的安全和健康至关重要，特别是在全球淡水供应继续减少的情况下。 最普遍的问题之一是人类影响的营养物质（氮和磷）污染，导致一种被称为有害藻华的现象。 有害藻华是藻类的过度生长，由于可能产生的有毒化合物，可能对环境和/或人类，宠物或牛的健康产生负面影响。 在过去几十年中，淡水有害藻华在全世界范围内变得更加普遍。 它们出现在所有50个州的湖泊，池塘，河流和水库以及世界上许多社会经济最重要的水体中。维多利亚湖（非洲大湖）和伊利湖（北美大湖）是第3和第11大湖泊的表面积，都有地区受到有毒有害藻类水华的困扰。 西部伊利湖和基苏穆湾、尼扬扎湾、维多利亚湖的相似之处在于，它们都是经历严重营养物污染的浅水系统，这导致每年以微囊藻为主的有毒有害藻华。 然而，它们是不同的，伊利湖是一个温带系统为主的农业营养盐污染，而基苏穆湾是一个热带系统，接受混合城市和农业营养盐污染。 虽然对伊利湖西部微囊藻优势水华的生态学了解很多，但对基苏穆湾微囊藻优势有害水华的生态学、空间分布和毒性模式知之甚少。高级研究所将为美国研究生提供机会，扩大他们对伊利湖到维多利亚湖水质和有害藻华的研究。他们的研究将有助于填补关键的知识差距之间的相似性和差异，发生在每个湖泊，以帮助我们更好地了解微囊藻使用的生态策略，能够形成水华在新鲜的沃茨在地球仪。 此外，研究生将有机会了解肯尼亚文化，并通过与肯尼亚同行和导师开展联合研究项目，开始发展国际合作。 地球表面的淡水沃茨，包括劳伦特湖和非洲五大湖，正受到多重压力的袭击。 最普遍的问题之一是这些沃茨的人为营养污染增加，导致许多负面影响，包括有害藻类大量繁殖。在这些条件下，蓝藻，通常被称为蓝绿藻，可以在地球仪的新鲜沃茨中生长到密集的浓度，形成所谓的蓝藻有害藻华。 许多氰基有害生物可以产生毒素，可以杀死或杀死人类，牛和其他家畜。 事实上，在过去的十年中，中国、美国、非洲和地球仪其他地区的主要城市都因氰基有害生物而受到饮用水损害。 值得注意的是，这些事件中有许多是由一个单一的氰赤潮形成属，微囊藻属。 这一点很重要，因为以微囊藻为主的氰基有害藻在温带至热带纬度的湖泊中形成。 因此，微囊藻必须能够调整其生态策略，以保持在湖泊中的优势超越主要纬度边界。 维多利亚湖（非洲大湖）和伊利湖（劳伦特大湖）是两个具有重要社会经济意义的湖泊系统，其中一些区域（分别是肯尼亚的尼扬扎湾和西部的伊利湖）每年都会发生以微囊藻为主的有毒氰有害生物。 因此，他们是理想的比较网站，以研究微囊藻在热带和温带系统中所采用的生态策略的差异。 拟议的高级研究所（ASI）将每年为10名美国研究生（总共30名美国研究生）提供参与的机会;每个ASI将持续三周。 每个ASI将包括美国和肯尼亚科学家的讲座，两次为期5天的研究航行，然后是样品的实验室分析。每个美国学生都将与一名有共同研究兴趣的肯尼亚研究生合作。 学生团队将与他们的美国和肯尼亚导师合作制定实验计划，并在ASI期间进行联合演讲。 每个团队将共同撰写一份科学报告，该报告将由美国学生在ASI后的国际会议上发表。通过为STEM教育做出创新贡献，包括培训STEM教育工作者，将扩大ASIs的影响。 参加ASIs的学生将帮助开发一个案例研究，探讨尼扬扎海湾氰基有害生物的自上而下和自下而上的控制。 这将包括讨论与文化相关的主题，如点源和非点源营养源的影响，同时纳入所有来自ASI项目的结果。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The North American and African Great Lakes are vital global freshwater resources. These lakes contain nearly half of the world’s available surface fresh water and therefore the security and health of these lakes is critically important especially as freshwater supplies continue to dwindle globally. One of the most prevalent concerns is human-influenced nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) pollution that causes a phenomenon known as a harmful algal bloom. Harmful algal blooms are overgrowths of algae that can have negative impacts to the environment and/or the health of humans, pets or cattle due to the toxic compounds that can be produced. Freshwater harmful algal blooms have become more prevalent worldwide over the past few decades. They occur in lakes, ponds, rivers and reservoirs across all 50 states and in many of the world’s most socioeconomically-important waterbodies. Lakes Victoria (African Great Lake) and Erie (North American Great Lake) are the 3rd and 11th largest lakes by surface area and both have regions that are plagued by toxic harmful algal blooms. Western Lake Erie and Kisumu Bay, Nyanza Gulf, Lake Victoria are similar in that they are both shallow systems that experience heavy nutrient pollution, which results in annual Microcystis-dominated toxic harmful algal blooms. However, they are different in that Lake Erie is a temperate system dominated by agricultural nutrient pollution, whereas Kisumu Bay is a tropical system that receives a mixture urban and agricultural nutrient pollution. While much is known about the ecology of the Microcystis-dominated blooms in western Lake Erie, little is known about the ecology, spatial distribution and toxicity patterns of the Microcystis-dominated harmful algal blooms in Kisumu Bay. The Advanced Studies Institutes will provide US graduate students the opportunity to expand their research on water quality and harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie to Lake Victoria. Their research will help fill critical knowledge gaps on the similarities and differences between the blooms that occur in each lake to help us better understand the ecological strategies that Microcystis uses to be able to form blooms in fresh waters across the globe. Furthermore, the graduate students will have the opportunity to learn about Kenyan culture and begin to develop their international collaborations by conducting joint research projects with their Kenyan peers and mentors. Earth’s surface fresh waters, including the Laurentian and African Great Lakes, are under assault from multiple stressors. One of the most prevalent concerns is increased anthropogenic nutrient pollution into these waters leading to many negative effects including harmful algal blooms. Under these conditions, cyanobacteria, commonly referred to as blue-green algae, can grow to dense concentrations in fresh waters across the globe forming what are known as cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). Many cyanoHABs can produce toxins that can sicken or kill humans, cattle and other domestic animals. Indeed, in the last decade major cities in China, the United States, Africa and other parts of the globe have suffered from impaired drinking water due to cyanoHABs. Notably, many of these events are dominated by a single cyanoHAB-forming genus, Microcystis spp. This is important since Microcystis–dominated cyanoHABs form in lakes in temperate to tropical latitudes. Therefore, Microcystis must be able to adjust its ecological strategies to maintain dominance in lakes transcending major latitudinal boundaries. Lake Victoria (Africian Great Lake) and Lake Erie (Laurentian Great Lake) are two socioeconomically-important systems that have regions (Nyanza Gulf, Kenya and western Lake Erie, respectively) that experience annual toxic cyanoHABs dominated by Microcystis. As such, they are ideal comparative sites to study the differences in ecological strategies employed by Microcystis in a tropical and temperate system. The proposed Advanced Study Institutes (ASIs) will provide the opportunity for 10 US graduate students per year (30 US graduate students total) to participate; each ASI will have the duration of three weeks. Each ASI will include lectures by US and Kenyan scientists, two 5-day research cruises, followed by laboratory analysis of samples. Every US student will be teamed with a Kenyan graduate student who has a mutual research interest. The student teams will collaborate with their US and Kenyan mentors to develop experimental plans and the teams will give joint presentations during the ASI. Each team will co-author a scientific presentation that will be given by the US student at an international conference post-ASI. The impact of the ASIs will be broadened by developing innovative contributions to STEM education including training STEM educators. Students participating in the ASIs will help develop a case study that explores the top-down and bottom-up controls of cyanoHABs in Nyanza Gulf. This will include discussing culturally-relevant topics such as the influence of point- and non-point nutrient sources, while incorporating all results from the ASI projects.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.