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In 2018, a team of academics and community groups came together with a lofty goal: reduce microplastics in the Great Lakes. With few proven technologies for detecting or measuring microplastics, let alone controlling them, and a lack of public awareness about microplastics and their health and environmental effects, the "SMART Management of Microplastics Pollution in the Great Lakes" team forged a public engagement and communication strategy. Starting with an advisory board extending across 7 states and Canada with diverse representation from local, regional, state and federal government, community organizations, utilities, industry and academia, the team developed pilot community engagement projects and communication feedback loops that helped refine programming and scientific investigations. Through the teamwork of this network of scientists and practitioners, the methods, materials and tools were developed to advance public and scientific understanding of and engagement in microplastics measurement, mitigation and control. Funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund, with partners from Wayne State University, University of Alabama, Ingham Conservation District, Clinton River Watershed Council, Reroot Pontiac and others, the products of this work advance interdisciplinary approaches to reducing microplastics pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Lakes are faced with environmental challenges that threaten their sustainability. Such complex issues require strong interdisciplinary collaborations. To create successful partnerships, one must go through the process of building relationships and establishing trust, a significant step that is often mistakenly overlooked and detrimental to productive and successful outcomes. Traditional graduate programs often overlook the need to train students to engage with the community and be versed across disciplines. No one discipline, organization, or sector can move the needle on the climate crisis, but many working together can shift the narrative. Through a graduate training program, we address human-ecosystem challenges using a transdisciplinary approach to address climate hazards in partnership with local communities, businesses, industries, scientists, and policymakers, while providing a mechanism to understand and overcome contemporary societal and ecological challenges. Specifically, we outline the design and implementation of an integrated, adaptable graduate training program, with the goals of science leadership, curriculum relevance, community impact, broader applicability, establishing a career development pathway in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, to authentically engage Great Lake communities to meet environmental challenges. This interdisciplinary approach engages likely and unlikely collaborators that can help bridge the gap between science and community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive dreissenid mussels have profoundly affected Great Lakes ecosystems that support lake fish and fisheries. The mussel populations' exponential growth, high biomass and filtration of plankton and organic material have altered nutrient cycling and flow from nearshore to offshore, and reduced pelagic plankton biomass. Mussel veliger production also has affected community structure of microzooplankton available to first-feeding larval fish. Field studies have documented that some larval fish will consume mussel veligers, but veliger effects on their growth and survival are unknown. In 2021 and 2022, we conducted laboratory experiments to examine effects of veliger consumption on survival, and growth of larval Yellow Perch (Percaflavescens). From 5-20 days post-hatch, larvae in each of 5 replicate tanks were offered prey concentrations (250 prey/L) in treatments that varied in their relative proportions of veligers to Artemia nauplii. After 20 days, larvae survival and growth were measured, and gut contents recorded. Results indicated that larvae eating a diet high in veligers had reduced survival and lower growth compared to larvae that ate mostly Artemia nauplii. Our results suggest that veliger production by invasive mussels lower larvae growth, survival and potential recruitment to older life stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse effects of cyanotoxins to humans, fish and aquatic macroinvertebrates are well documented. However, few studies have examined the effects of cyanotoxins on amphibians potentially vulnerable species in Great Lakes coastal marshes. To address this gap, I designed a series of laboratory microcystin-LR (MCLR) exposure experiments measuring hatch success, growth, and survival from green frogs (Rana clamitans) eggs collected from the wild. In the first experiment, eggs were randomly assigned in groups of six (n = 35) to seven treatments containing 0-100 pg MCLR/L and monitored daily until hatch. In a second experiment, hatched tadpoles exposed to MCLR as eggs (n = 130) were individually randomly assigned treatments of one of six MCLR concentrations and monitored for changes in growth and survival for 18 days. Across both experiments, hatch success (97%) and tadpole survivorship (99%) did not differ among treatments. In secondarily exposed tadpoles, we found that total length and hind limb bud length were greatest in the toxin exposed groups (p<0.05). The apparent accelerated rate of development of embryonic and larval R clamitans suggests high levels of physiological stress, which may implicate harmful algae blooms as another threat to already struggling amphibian populations in Great Lakes coastal marshes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutrient pollution in Great Lakes streams negatively impacts biota, water quality, and aquatic industries such as tourism and water treatment. We examined long-term median concentrations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) constituents, and relationships among land use and benthic macroinvertebrate diversity. Records between 2022-2021 for Michigan (USA) were retrieved from multiple agencies in the Water Quality Portal, synthesized, and partitioned by undeveloped, developed, and agricultural (>45% dominance), mixed (<45%), and percent of developed/agricultural land-cover (0-10%, 10-20%, 20-30%, 30-40%, >40%). Statewide, median concentrations of TN ranged between 0.53-1.44 mg/L, with no marked differences among land use, and TP ranged between 0.03-0.09 mg/L from developed/agricultural sites. The median concentrations of inorganic nitrogen and ammonia were two to ten times higher in developed/agricultural areas compared to undeveloped areas. Collector-gatherers were the dominant macroinvertebrates overall, but highly polluted sites had fewer collector-filterers and more predators. Identifying impaired streams could focus and improve management efforts and shed light on how macroinvertebrate composition and resilience play in nutrient cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stormwater effluent may be a major pathway of microplastic (MPs) contamination in Great Lake tributaries. However, it is still unclear the role of drainage infrastructure (e.g. surface drains and pipes) on the transport of MPs in freshwater systems. In this study, we measured MP concentrations at surface drains (pervious) and pipe (impervious) stormwater outfalls in the Clinton and Rouge River Watersheds in Michigan. The Clinton River watershed has more agricultural and forested areas and the Rouge River watershed has more residential and commercial developments. We also sampled upstream and downstream of the stormwater outfalls to determine the influence of outfalls on microplastic accumulation. At each sampling location, water and sediment samples were collected, as well as water quality parameters. Microplastics were extracted from samples and concentrations and morphology (sphere, fragment, fiber, or film). Results showed that fragments had the highest concentration in both water and sediment, followed by fibers. The highest MP concentrations were found mostly near pipe outfalls in both water and sediment. This study suggests that land use characteristics and the type of drainage infrastructure are useful for understanding MPs transport and may provide ecosystem managers the information required to design monitoring and remediation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]