Research Initiation Award: Integrated Approach Toward Examining Fecal Indicator Bacteria Trends in a Coastal Watershed

Miles College, Fairfield AL

Investigators

Abstract

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) through Research Initiation Awards provide support for junior and mid-career faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building new research programs or redirecting and rebuilding existing research programs. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness and improve research and teaching at the home institution. This award to Miles College supports faculty and undergraduate research experiences examining potential sources and environmental factors that regulate fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) patterns in surface water. Specifically, using a combination of innovative approaches, this proposal aims to monitor fecal pollution inputs to surface waters and study the efficacy of integrating fecal markers from Microbial Source Tracking (MST) into current and machine learning-based watershed models, to predict trends of FIB in surface water. The overall project goal is to predict the occurrence of FIB exceeding total maximum daily load (TMDL) in shellfish growing waters. Toward this goal, this project aims to integrate MST data, 16S rRNA sequences, and environmental parameters into existing and next generation watershed models. Tools and data generated from this project will: (i) contribute to water quality knowledge and baseline data on sources of FIB in a coastal Alabama watershed, (ii) validate use of alternative indicator methods, such as MST tracking and amplicon sequencing, for water quality monitoring in existing watershed models, and (iii) identify scalable watershed modelling framework(s) conducive for MST data to predict source-specific FIB in different environmental conditions. Outcomes from this project will provide improvements in predicting patterns of FIB, a valued water quality index. Implementation of this project would extend the STEM education and research capacity of the PI and institution, increase on-campus research training opportunities for enrolled students, and cultivate a partnership with the United States Geological Survey Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center. 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.