Wayne State School of Medicine physiology professor Jeffrey Ram was awarded a $500,000 federal grant to develop a system in the Toledo Harbor and Maumee River to check if new water treatment systems work to kill dangerous organisms before they damage the upper Great Lakes.

This award follows a 2010 two-year Environmental Protection Agency grant of $520,000.

“I feel like I’m accomplishing environmental justice if I can stop invasive species from destroying the Great Lakes,” Ram said. “Zebra and quagga mussels, the spiny water flea and other invaders destroy the natural environment. Invasive species rob people of value in the same way outlaws in the Old West robbed banks.”

Organisms like zebra mussels clog water intake valves at manufacturing facilities and drinking water treatment plants, cause problems for recreational boaters and contribute to nutrient depletion due to algae bloom. The last issue causes problems in the Great Lakes food chain.

Ram said his biggest concern is how organisms hitchhike across the Great Lakes in the water ballast tanks contained in Great Lakes freighters. Ballast tanks must be filled with water to balance ships when fully loaded with thousands of tons of freight. The balancing act is also done to stabilize empty ships in transit.

“When foreign ships dump ballast water in places like Lake Erie to unload and re-load, organisms flourish in the hospitable environment,” Ram said. “Ships continually transport water ‘contaminated’ with invasive organisms from the lower to upper Great Lakes.”

Ram said he hopes to find a way to neutralize ‘contaminated’ ballast water without further damaging the environment in the process.

“My team is looking at different methods to destroy the organisms, such as using industrial-size filter systems, high-intensity sound waves or chlorine,” Ram said. “The problem is some chemicals we’re looking at won’t neutralize after accomplishing the primary objective, so we can only dilute them in water. Without the grant money, the cost of this research would limit our ability to work on the project.”

WSU biological sciences professor Donna Kashian, Ram’s co-investigator, said she believes federal grants are important because students benefit from the educational opportunities provided to perform research that benefits society.

“The goal of this research is to develop tools for the early detection of invasive species, which is a fundamental need to help protect the integrity of the Great Lakes,” Kashian said via email. “Research is explicitly performed to help resolve an issue that the government feels is important. When students have this opportunity to participate, I think it gives them a sense of pride.”

Students have the opportunity to develop grant-writing skills, learn to develop independent research questions and go through the scientific method to solve problems.

“The unique learning experience that comes from a federal research grant like this is also the ability to see the tangibility of the research (and) understand why it is important and how the research can make a difference,” Kashian said. “I encourage my directed study students to apply for university-funded fellowships that build their directed study work from grants such as these.”

One of Kashian’s graduate students, Carly Collins, a third-year Ph.D. student studying eco-toxicology, is involved in the invasive species research project and benefits from the federal grant process.

Collins is in the early process of submitting her own federal grant proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency to study “oxidative stress response” in zebra and quagga mussels, which is caused by exposure to toxins such as polychlorinated biphenyls – also called PCBs.

“I’m trying to discover what advantages zebra and quagga mussels have when it comes to surviving in toxic environments,” Collins said. “They have a high tolerance to dangerous PCBs and heavy metals found in the Great Lakes. If I figure out what makes them so tolerant, it could lead to a way to eradicate them.”

Collins said the mussels could be used to find dangerous toxins in the environment, but that their benefits don’t outweigh the consequential damage to the natural environment.

Kashian said other WSU students concerned about the environment could help in many ways. Some examples of student volunteer efforts include putting signs containing fishing advisory information along the Detroit River and cleaning up the river.

“There are a ton of opportunities for students to support and volunteer to make a difference in Great Lakes water quality,” she said.

Ram said she is trying to organize an internship opportunity for microbiology students next summer, which involves ballast water research around Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park.

Other important measures can be taken to help with the invasive species problem, according to Ram.

“If you go fishing, don’t forget to report any unusual fish you catch. Public involvement is crucial to identify and stop the invasive species threat to the Great Lakes.”