#217 August 2021
INCOMING GRADUATE STUDENTS AT AWRI
Graduate students are a vital and critical part of our mission at the Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI). We welcome the 4 new graduate students joining us this fall.
Davis Fray grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Michigan to earn his B.S. in Environmental Biology at Ferris State University. While completing his undergraduate degree, he worked for an environmental consulting company gaining experience in fisheries surveys, macroinvertebrate identification, wetland delineation, and more. Now he is starting his M.S. in Biology with aquatic sciences concentration at GVSU's AWRI. He is working with Dr. Sarah Hamsher on a research project exploring species of algae and cyanobacteria of a unique sinkhole ecosystem found in Lake Huron.
John Hart is from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He received a B.S. in Environmental Science with a specialization in Environmental Health from Oakland University (OU). At OU, he was working as an undergraduate researcher in an Environmental Chemistry Lab specializing in water chemistry. In that lab, he managed the Beach Monitoring and OU's Pilot Wastewater Monitoring Program for SARS-CoV-2 for municipalities in Southeastern Michigan. He is currently pursuing a M.S. in Biology with a concentration in Aquatic Sciences from GVSU and is working in Rick Rediske's Lab. His thesis work will focus on assessing stream health in watersheds in Ottawa and Kent Counties through a combination of E. coli testing via Microbial Source Tracking and Geospatial Analysis; his results will assess the effectiveness of installed BMPs and highlight future areas for remediation.
Matthew Silverhart is from Maumee, Ohio. He received a B.S. in Natural Resources Management with a minor in Biology from Grand Valley State University (GVSU). At GVSU, he was a Field Crew Leader for the Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program and was an undergraduate researcher working on Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute. He is currently working on his M.S. in Biology with an emphasis on aquatic sciences, at GVSU, and is working in Carl Ruetz’s lab. His thesis work will focus on assessing the population dynamics of native and invasive species across Great Lakes coastal wetlands across various vegetation types. This work will aid in the development of more informed wetland management plans.
Paris Velasquez is from El Paso, Texas. She received a B.S. in Environmental Science with a concentration in Biology from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). At UTEP, she was an undergraduate researcher working in an Aquatic Ecology lab as part of the Research Opportunities in the Arctic for Minorities program. There she did undergraduate research regarding nutrient limitation of marine and freshwater Arctic algal communities. She is currently working on her M.S. in Biology with an emphasis in aquatic sciences and is working in Al Steinman’s lab. Her thesis work may focus on incorporating spatial modeling with current concerns of eutrophication in Lake Macatawa.
Faculty and Staff Activities
Bopi Biddanda will be teaching Environmental Studies 310, How the Biosphere Works, this fall.
Christina Catanese taught an online course through Brown University’s Pre-college program titled, “You can’t spell ‘Earth’ without ‘Art’: Art & environmental leadership.” The two-week asynchronous course explored the connections between environmental science and art, and how these disciplines can collaborate to creatively respond to pressing environmental challenges. The course enrolled 18 high school students from across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Sarah Hamsher will be teaching Biology 121, General Biology II, and Biology 376, Genetics Laboratory, this fall.
Jim McNair participated in weekly Zoom meetings with Molly Lane, Rick Rediske, and scientists from US EPA, Michigan EGLE, Michigan State University, and several other Michigan universities regarding a new project dealing with statistical analysis and interpretation of qPCR beach-monitoring data.
Charlyn Partridge will be teaching Biology 120, General Biology I lab, this fall.
Rick Rediske was recently interviewed for news articles on the SARS-CoV-2 wastewater testing project by MLive, Fox 17, and Wood TV-8.
Carl Ruetz will be teaching Biology 362, Biology and Diversity of Fishes, this fall.
Carl Ruetz attended a virtual meeting announcing the new undergraduate majors in Wildlife Biology and in Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences, and to answer student questions on August 9th.
Al Steinman recently participated in a series of virtual meetings hosted by the National Academy of Sciences; Al is on their committee to review the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
Al Steinman met with local and state agency representatives as they continue to work toward getting Muskegon Lake and other drown river mouths along the west side of the state declared a National Estuary Research Reserve.
Al Steinman is working on responses to charge questions in his role on the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) and Nutrient work groups for the Great Lakes Advisory Board. The next public meeting is August 30th and 31st. Al will be presenting the AIS report.
Al Steinman continues to meet virtually with organizers of the AOC conference scheduled for Sept 28-30th (now postponed until May 24-26th, 2022) in Muskegon and the JASM22 conference scheduled for May 14-20th (2022) in Grand Rapids. He attended the site visit on August 9th; Mark Luttenton attended on August 10th.
Al Steinman gave a brief presentation on AWRI at the GVSU President’s Council Retreat on August 20th.
Kevin Strychar will be teaching Biology 105, Environmental Science, this fall semester
Janet Vail and Amanda Syers virtually attended the Project WET USA annual conference on August 17th – 19th. They gave a presentation titled “Connecting the NAAEE K-12 environmental education guidelines to Project WET”. Christina Catanese was also in attendance.
Janet Vail will be teaching the following GVSU courses this fall: Science 225, Integrating life science for K-8 teachers; Environmental Studies 201, Introduction to environmental and sustainability studies; and Environmental Studies 183, Sustainability as a Lifestyle.
Sean Woznicki will be teaching Geography 100, Physical and Environmental Geography, this fall semester.
Sean Woznicki served on a panel for the New Faculty Research Orientation, “Scholarship at GVSU” hosted by the Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence on August 13th.
Presentations and Publications
AWRI staff are bolded, undergraduate students are denoted with a single asterisk*, graduate students are denoted with two asterisks**, and post-doc researchers are donated with three asterisks ***.
PRESENTATIONS
Janet Vail presented a teacher workshop for Groundswell’s Summer Institute at Palmer Park in Grand Rapids on August 3rd. The Institute was a 3-day event. Christina Catanese was also in attendance.
Sean Woznicki presented an update on the “Connecting cities and citizens: Assessing community perspectives on lakeshore use and restoration” project (His Muskegon Lake survey) to the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership Public Access to Natural Resources Subcommittee on August 11th.
PUBLICATIONS
Bopi Biddanda was a co-author of an article published in Nature Geoscience:
Klatt, J.M., A. Chennu, B.K. Arbic, B.A. Biddanda, and D.J. Dick. Possible link between Earth’s rotation rate and oxygenation. Nature Geoscience 14, 564–570 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00784-3 This article has received extensive citations online and coverage in the world media.
Bopi Biddanda was lead author of a “Postcards from the field” in the journal Eos:
Biddanda, B. and S. Kendall. 2021. Hidden life of giant microbialites in Laguna bacalar, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Postcards from the Field, Eos, American Geophysical Union. https://americangeophysicalunion.tumblr.com/tagged/postcards+from+the+field
Kevin Strychar is a co-author of an article published in a special issue of the journal Water:
Haslun, J.A., B. Hauff Salas, K.B. Strychar, M. Cervino, and N. Ostrom. 2021. Variation in immune-related gene expression provides evidence of local adaptation in Porites astreoides (Lamarck, 1816) between inshore and offshore meta-populations inhabiting the Lower Florida Reef Tract, USA. Water 13, 2107, https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152107
Kevin Strychar is a co-author of an article accepted to International Journal of Biology:
Squires A., and K.B. Strychar. The important role of sea-whip coral (Leptogorgia sp.) as a habitat of temperate near-shore fish of Gulf of Mexico jetties. International Journal of Biology.
Grants, Contracts, Awards, and Recognition
GRANTS & CONTRACTS
Al Steinman has received an extension for the Great Lakes Long-term Ecological Research Program, extending it to June 30, 2022, with an increase of $71,657.00.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
No awards or recognitions this month.
AWRI News and Events
“GVSU researchers partner with health departments to test for COVID-19 in wastewater”
Fox17, July 29, 2021
Rick Rediske was quoted regarding the new 2-year grant to test for COVID-19 in wastewater.
“Grand Valley State working with health officials to test, detect genetic markers of COVID-19 in wastewater”
MLive, August 1, 2021
AWRI, along with GVSU’s Cell and Molecular Biology Department have been working with local municipalities to test wastewater for COVID-19 for months, and a new grant will extend this work for another two years.
“Rick Haglund: Can Michigan grow its ‘blue economy’ while facing fallout from climate change?” (commentary)
Michigan Advance, August 2, 2021
Al Steinman was mentioned as a co-author of the Blue Economy study published in 2015.
“GVSU expands COVID-19 wastewater testing to catch outbreaks early”
WOODTV-8, August 2, 2021
Alexis Porter and Rick Rediske are both quoted in this article regarding the new 2-year grant to test wastewater for COVID.
“Lake Huron sinkhole surprise: The rise of oxygen on early Earth linked to changing planetary rotation rate”
Science News, August 2, 2021
Bopi Biddanda and his research with microbial mats in the sinkholes in Lake Huron are mentioned.
This article was also carried by:
Science Daily, August 2, 2021
Forbes, August 2, 2021
EurekAlert (AAAS), August 2, 2021
Canada News Media, August 2, 2021
Deutsche Welle/German save, August 3, 2021
Nature World News, August 3, 2021
“Slow rotation of Earth paved way for life to flourish by increasing oxygen levels: Study”
The Weather Channel, Science, August 3, 2021
Bopi Biddanda is quoted regarding his research on microbial mats in the sinkholes of Lake Huron.
“GVSU research helps find possible link in oxygenation of young Earth”
GVnext, August 17, 2021
Bopi Biddanda was interviewed about his microbial mat research.
LMC EVENTS
GVSU President, Philomena Mantella, held a President's Council Leadership Retreat at the Lake Michigan Center on Friday, August 20th.