Award: OCE-1840715

Project Outcomes, Great Lakes Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health Overview. The research projects of the Great Lakes Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health examined the following: understanding the environmental drivers of promoting the success and toxicity of different cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom (cHAB) taxa (Project 1), identification of emergent toxins and secondary metabolites from cHABs (Project 2), and development of detection systems and sensors for toxins and cHABs (Project 3). The Community Engagement Core (CEC) acted to train scientists so that research results can be effectively communicated to stakeholders, and the Facilities Core provided research platforms as well as analytical tools on water chemistry and cyanotoxin detection that supported both research and stakeholder interests. Productive research and community engagement opened new areas of investigation and policy outcomes that promoted both healthy waters and healthy end users. Intellectual Merit. With respect to the Research Projects, the team has made several discoveries during the five years of the reward, and the most salient highlights are presented below. Research Project 1 identified cyanophage (virus) and fungal pathogens of cHABs, demonstrating that viral lysis of bloom biomass affords exposure threats to the public through release of dissolved toxin into water supplies. This project also revealed that mitigation of blooms will require reduction of both nitrogen and phosphorus loads into receiving waters, and that management of phosphorus alone may contribute to increased toxin production in cHABs. Research Project 2 identified novel bioactive secondary metabolites associated with cHABs, identifying novel potential cyanotoxins. Such metabolites may ultimately be recruited as new pharmaceuticals. Research Project 2 also developed a searchable publicly available database (GLAMR) providing access to environmental and genomic, metatranscriptomic and metabolomic data from the Great Lakes. Research Project 3 deployed cyanotoxin detection robots on both fixed and uncrewed mobile environmental samplers that reported toxin levels in real time, allowing for rapid response to the presence of cyanotoxins. Project 3 also curated and posted a comprehensive searchable environmental public database on Lake Erie, affording easy access to all metadata from 2002-2024 (see https://leclakedata.org). The Research Projects were supported throughout the award period by the Facilities Core, which measured nutrient and cyanotoxins in samples obtained from Lake Erie and other sites affected by cHABs. To date, over 60 publications are publicly available at par.nsf.gov/search/term:1840715 that provide detailed descriptions of Center research and outreach activities. Broader Impacts. The Community Engagement Core (CEC) effectively communicated research findings and policy recommendations on bloom mitigation to stakeholders (NGOs, municipalities, general public), while training the Center scientists on best practices for educating citizens on cHAB causes and threats. Specifically, the CEC developed a dashboard revealing the vulnerability of different populations to cHAB exposure so that decision makers can adapt to the spread of cHAB events. Environmental sampling of lake sites affected by cHABs was supported throughout the years by an active community science team of charter boat captains and US Coast Guard enlisted men and women, the latter group charged with sampling Lake Erie in wintertime. Winter sampling provided an important perspective on nutrient availability to cHABs during the summertime bloom season. These community science partners served to both aid research, as well as serve as liaisons educating the public on cHAB threats and mitigation plans. Please see www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/translational/peph/podcasts/2022/july13_algal-blooms for a podcast on Center Community science efforts. Last Modified: 11/14/2024 Submitted by: GeorgeSBullerjahn