The Water Resources Research Institutes National Competitive Grants program for Aquatic Invasive Species is now accepting proposals

The Water Resources Research Institutes National Competitive Grants program for Aquatic Invasive Species is now accepting proposals

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources, requests proposals for research projects to address aquatic invasive species. For the 2023 National Competitive Grants Program, proposals must address one of three priority areas:

  • Effects: Research that improves our understanding of the effects of aquatic invasive species on lakes, rivers, and associated tributaries in the upper Mississippi River basin, including changes to water quantity, water quality, and ecosystem dynamics.
  • Characteristics: Research that identifies physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of water bodies that infer resistance and resilience to the distribution, establishment, and effects of aquatic invasive species in the upper Mississippi River basin. Research is needed to better understand these interactions to guide management decisions that will improve invasive species management and result in positive effects on aquatic ecosystems.
  • Management: Research on assessment of the detection, spread, and management of aquatic invasive species in the upper Mississippi River basin and the connections to human dimensions, both socially and economically. Note that this does not include physical control of AIS.

Any investigator at an accredited institution of higher learning in the United States is eligible to apply for a grant through a Water Research Institute or Center established under the provisions of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended (http://water.usgs.gov/wrri/index.php).

Proposals involving substantial collaboration between the USGS and university scientists are encouraged. Proposals may be for projects of 1 to 3 years with discrete 12-month budget periods, and may request up to $279,000 in federal funds. Investigators much match one non-federal dollar to each federal dollar requested.

The deadline for submissions to the Iowa Water Center is April 15, 2023 5:00 p.m. Central Time. Investigators are encouraged to read through the Iowa Submission Guidelines prior to reviewing the FY2023 announcement.

104(G) SUBMISSION GUIDELINES_IA 2023 – AIS

2023 104g AIS RFP

The Water Resources Research Institutes National Competitive Grants Program Accepting Proposals for Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) Substances

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources, requests proposals for research projects to address the challenges and opportunities of understanding the effects of per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances on water resources, which are poorly understood, despite the real and growing effect of this group of man-made substances on water quality and the resultant exposure to humans, other organisms, and ecosystems.

Research is needed to better understand these interactions and guide management decisions that will improve water resources at the regional or national scale.

For the 2023 National Competitive Grants Program, proposals are sought on the following specific areas of inquiry:

  • Media-specific methods: Enhanced methods for detection on specific media, with a clear indication of new or different compounds, new or different methodological approaches, lower detection levels for specific media or compounds, especially with respect to EPA health guidelines for PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid) and PFOS (Perfluorooctane Sulfonate).

Media of interest include (in ranked order) (1) Tissues/plasma, (2) sediment, (3) air or interfaces, (4) water.

  • Atmospheric sources: Improved understanding of atmospheric exchange in PFAS distribution and fate. This may include methods to determine transport of PFAS to the atmosphere and to subsequent receiving waters, such as a water method that determines “new” compounds based on their likelihood to occur in the atmosphere.
  • Processes oriented at molecular level: Process-oriented research of PFAS fate, transport, and effects, with emphasis on molecular-level understanding of PFAS precursor transformation, sorption dynamics, or mechanisms of bioaccumulation and(or) biological/ecological effects.

Any investigator at an accredited institution of higher learning in the United States is eligible to apply for a grant through a Water Research Institute or Center established under the provisions of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended (http://water.usgs.gov/wrri/index.php).

Proposals involving substantial collaboration between the USGS and university scientists are encouraged. Proposals may be for projects of 1 to 3 years in duration with discrete 12-month budget periods, and may request up to $279,000 in federal funds. Investigators much match one non-federal dollar to each federal dollar requested.

The deadline for submissions to the Iowa Water Center is April 15, 2023, 5: 00 p.m. Central Time. Investigators are encouraged to read through the Iowa Submission Guidelines prior to reviewing the FY2023 announcement.

104(g) Iowa Submission Guidelines

PFAS FY2023 announcement

Ask a Scientist – GHOST

We ask Marcela Politano, University of Iowa, the question: How does GHOST impact Iowans’ daily lives?

The Impacts of Pharmaceuticals in a Temperate Stream Dominated By Wastewater Effluent

Each year, the Iowa Water Center (IWC) offers two grant research competitions for the water community, with one being restricted to Iowa while the other is open to nationwide projects.

One of the national projects that we [IWC] have funded is centered around the ecological impacts of pharmaceuticals in effluent-dominated streams. The primary investigator of this project is Gregory LeFevre, with assistance from graduate student Hui Zhi.

This has been an ongoing project for multiple years, with the first year of earning the grant being 2017. You can read their initial abstract from 2017 here. This research project was also recently published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, which you can read here.

Over two years, the team measured and monitored the spatiotemporal, or the dynamic of changes in space and time, of the levels of different pharmaceutical compounds in the wastewater treatment plant that is nearby North Liberty, Iowa. After gathering the necessary data, they then analyzed the information to figure out exactly what occurred when the pharmaceuticals entered the effluent-dominated stream.

“Most of the time, people think about effluent dominated streams being in a dry region,” explained LeFevre, “but they’re actually much more common than people would expect in temperate regions.”

North Liberty is considered a medium sized community, with relatively small streams, which is quite common to find in temperate regions of the United States. LeFevre explained that this can change the dynamic of the chemicals in the stream, which is what inspired the goal behind this project.

The main objective when this project was initially coming to life was to understand how chemical mixtures occur, but then also how they change throughout time and space along the stream. The idea is to understand specifically what these mixtures are, how they evolve, and then connect those patterns with biological effects.

After collecting water samples from the stream, the team sent these samples to the School of Freshwater Sciences at UW-Milwaukee, where a co-investigator of this project, Rebecca Klaper, is the Director of the Great Lakes Genomics Center. Klaper and her team, consisting of Dana Kolpin and Luke Iwanowicz, added these water samples to laboratory raised fish in order to test the effects that the water had, or didn’t have, on the fish at the genetic level.

In addition to this investigation portion of the project, Klaper and her team also raised native fish in a laboratory, then caged and added them to the same stream for four days. After the four days, the fish were then dissected and are currently undergoing genetic analysis.

“Chronic exposures can have long-term biological effects to fish,” said LeFevre. “What we’re interested in is how these potential mixtures might accidentally change through the aquatic environment for the fish, as well as how the mixtures themselves might change because of other variables.”

Even though they have gathered everything necessary for this particular study, the team is not finished yet. Along with assessing the data that they have collected; the team is planning on utilizing this stream site to its maximum potential for future projects relating to fish habitats non-target analysis.

Gregory LeFevre is an assistant professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa, as well as an assistant faculty research engineer at IIHR – Hydroscience & Engineering. If you would like to learn more about his work, you can visit his laboratory website here, and his Google Scholar page here.

 

By: Meghan Hanley, Outreach and Engagement Assistant