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In: Adam Hinterthuer, Alison Mikulyuk, aquatic invasive species, banded mystery snail, BioScience journal, Center for Limnology, Chinese mystery snail, Eurasian watermilfoil, Jake Vander Zanden, Madelyn Anderson, National Science Foundation, rusty crayfish, Spiny Waterflea, University of Wisconsin-Madison, zebra mussels

A rock covered with invasive zebra mussels taken from Lake Mendota. Photo: Adam Hinterthuer, University of Wisconsin-Madison

By Adam Hinterthuer and Madelyn Anderson, University of Wisconsin-Madison

A report on more than 40 years of research on Wisconsin lakes highlights lessons scientists have learned about aquatic invasive species. For example, far more ecosystems are playing host to non-native species than were previously thought. However, the authors write, those species aren’t necessarily detrimental to their new habitat and, in some cases, the negative “impacts of invasive species control [efforts] may be greater than the impacts of the invasive species” themselves.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be concerned about different species moving into new ecosystems, said Jake Vander Zanden, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Limnology and lead author on the report. “There are many examples where an invasive species has remarkable ecosystem impacts. They can result in fisheries decline, water quality decrease, and more which negatively impacts humans and the environment,” he said. But ecological destruction is far from a foregone conclusion in invasive species stories. 

In the article, published recently in the journal “BioScience,” Vander Zanden and his team, which includes Alison Mikulyuk, Sea Grant’s Water@UW Madison Research Program coordinator, highlight nine lessons learned through four decades of data collection, research and experiments conducted by the North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Housed at the Center for Limnology, the NTL-LTER is one of 27 long-term research sites funded by the National Science Foundation.

Research grants are typically funded for three years, Vander Zanden explains, “But that would never allow you to detect these types of changes. It’s only through long-term research that we can get insights into these big questions like where invasive species are, how they are changing our ecosystems and how it all connects to things like climate change.” 

One such insight is that the presence of non-native aquatic species in Wisconsin lakes is more widespread than scientists and resource managers initially thought. The NTL-LTER has helped inform Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources maps and datasets on six target species – Eurasian watermilfoil, zebra mussels, spiny waterfleas, rusty crayfish, Chinese mystery snail and the banded mystery snail – since the 1990s. 

Combining long-term monitoring records on its 11 core study lakes with field-based research and community-based science on dozens of other water bodies, researchers revealed that existing estimates of about 8% of Wisconsin lakes containing one or more of the six species was way off. In fact, the number is closer to 39%.  

The post Study offers key takeaways from long-term research on aquatic invasive species first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/study-offers-key-takeaways-from-long-term-research-on-aquatic-invasive-species/

Wisconsin Sea Grant

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In: cancer, Central Sands, Chris Zahasky, e.coli water pollution, Kewaunee County, National Science Foundation, PET, positron emission tomography, University of Wisconsin Cylclotron Lab, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Groundwater pollution project is first to use cancer imaging technology in novel way

A Wisconsin Water Resources Institute project is exploring how bacteria and other water contaminants flow through soil by applying a medical technology widely used for cancer imaging.

Chris Zahasky, submitted photo

Chris Zahasky, assistant professor in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, received two years of funding to study soil types in the two most vulnerable geologic settings in Wisconsin for groundwater pollution. Those are the Central Sands district, which features sandy soil, and Kewaunee County along Lake Michigan, which features fractured bedrock. Zahasky is investigating how E. coli bacteria – one of the main water contaminants in Wisconsin – percolates through the soil and ends up polluting groundwater and people’s private wells.

His research team hypothesizes that flow of contaminated water though soil that’s highly permeable leads to bacterial contamination of groundwater at greater distances from the pollution source than what was thought possible based on previous laboratory measurements in more stable, homogeneous geologic materials.

“With a better understanding of these transport and travel pathways, we can build better models to understand and manage the risks associated with these contaminants,” Zahasky said. “We all know the source of bacteria and nitrate. In Wisconsin, it’s largely from certain agricultural activities. Ideally, we can make better decisions about the times of the year that you might do manure spreading or certain geologic setting that shouldn’t have manure spread on them because of the ability for these bacteria to travel through this material and get down to the groundwater.”

Zahasky and his team are conducting their research in the lab with soil samples they’ve gathered from the Central Sands area and Kewaunee County. They measure the soil’s properties, then pack it into large tubular columns and inject water through the material in a controlled manner. Then they add bacteria they’ve grown and pump them into the columns.

This is where the cancer imaging technology comes in. It’s called positron emission tomography (PET). In medical situations, doctors use PET with radio tracers to identify tumors in the body. It’s also used in some cases for cancer therapy treatment. The radio tracers are basically a radioactive sugar molecule. Cancer tumor cells have a high metabolism and so they uptake (eat) these sugar molecules at a higher rate than other cells in the body, which is what the PET ends up imaging.

Zahasky’s graduate students (Vy Le on the left and Collin Sutton right) work in the imaging lab. Submitted photo.

Zahasky explained how this works for his purposes. “We leverage that imaging technique by radio labelling these bacteria, which means that we attach these radioactive isotopes to the bacteria that are emitted as they travel through these columns. As we’re imaging them, we can essentially track where these bacteria are going, how fast they’re getting there and where they’re getting stuck.

“We’re the first people in the world to radio label bacteria for environmental and geologic purposes. We’re pretty excited about this,” Zahasky said.

How do they attach radioactive isotopes to tiny bacteria? Zahasky said it’s not complicated. “We grow the bacteria until just the right point – where they’re starting to get hungry. Then we add this radio-labeled sugar and they just gobble it up. The bacteria eat the sugars just like tumor cells do.”

Zahasky developed this approach during his Ph.D. work at Stanford University. However, many of the isotopes required for this imaging are produced at the University of Wisconsin Cyclotron Lab. So, it made sense for him to continue his research at UW-Madison, where he has built capability with support from a National Science Foundation grant.

“It allowed my research group to leverage this type of imaging in lots of new ways that just weren’t possible without having access to these facilities here on campus,” he said.

Zahasky plans to apply this technique to future studies involving the movement of microplastics and other contaminants such as heavy metals.

The post Percolating pollution first appeared on WRI.

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News Release | WRI

News Release | WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/percolating-pollution/

Marie Zhuikov

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In: Dedire Peroff, National Science Foundation, Ryan Holifield, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WaterMarks project

Deidre Peroff, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s social scientist outreach specialist, is part of a new project designed to foster community-engaged learning and environmental stewardship in Milwaukee. The $2.8-million undertaking, funded by the National Science Foundation, is led by Ryan Holifield, associate professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The project will integrate art with STEM experiences (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), along with geography, water management and social science. The goal is to develop collaborations among artists, scientists and communities to bring informal sustainability science learning to Milwaukee.

Named “WaterMarks,” the four-year effort will include activities such as neighborhood walks led by artists, scientists or community members where participants are encouraged to consider the characteristics, histories and ecosystems in their neighborhoods. The walks will be expanded upon through workshops that will explore water-related environmental challenges and proposed solutions. Art projects and a website are other ways learning will be encouraged.

An artist’s redition of what one of the “WaterMarks” public art installations would look like. Image credit: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Peroff will serve as a researcher, collecting and analyzing data, writing reports – and she will also facilitate public engagement in the project.

Collaborators include City as Living Laboratory and the COSI Center for Research and Evaluation. Contact Peroff for more information.

The post Sea Grant staffer is part of a $2.8 million NSF project first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/sea-grant-staffer-is-part-of-a-2-8-million-nsf-project/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sea-grant-staffer-is-part-of-a-2-8-million-nsf-project

Marie Zhuikov