Wild Rice 3 Superbugs Examining Its Genetic Makeup May Reveal Critical& Evidence to Aid Restoration
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Winter 2009 Aquatic Sciences Chronicle ASCwww.aqua.wisc.edu/chronicle UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SEA GRANT INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN WATER RESOURCES INSTITUTE INSIDE: SEA GRANT RESEARCH “fingerprinting” Wild rice 3 SUPERBUGS EXAMINING ITS GENETIC MAKEUP MAY REVEAL CRITICAL& EVIDENCE TO AID RESTORATION 4 AQUALOG 5 TEACHERS AND THE GUARDIAN photo by Tim Tynan Tim photo by Tribal members from Wild rice was once so abundant in Wisconsin that it gave its name to the Bad River Band many bodies of water throughout the state. One or more “Rice Lakes” of Lake Superior are located in 21 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, but today many of them are Chippewa (Ojibwe) rice lakes in name only. Since the settlement of Europeans, people have harvest wild rice on altered the landscape and made it diffi cult for the plant to succeed. the Kakagon Sloughs Along the shores of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, wild rice has near Ashland, the only large, pristine coastal suffered a similar fate. Today, just one large population remains—on population of wild rice the Lake Superior shore of Ashland County—along with a few other remaining in the entire small, remnant populations scattered around the Wisconsin coastline. A Great Lakes region. Sea Grant-funded researcher is examining the genetic makeup of these remaining populations to fi nd out how to preserve the identity of wild rice while expanding its distribution along the Lake Superior and Lake Michigan coastlines. Anthony Kern is a plant geneticist at Northland College in Ashland, Wis. He said that in coastal habitats, wild rice (Zizania palustris) thrives in shallow water with a current and silty bottom—typically at the mouths of river estuaries. Over the years, channelization, sedimentation, continued on page 7 >> University of Wisconsin Aquatic Sciences Chronicle FEATURED VIDEO All Washed Up: University of Wisconsin Aquatic Sciences Center Lake Michigan’s Algae 1975 Willow Drive Challenge Madison, WI 53706-1177 Telephone: (608) 263-3259 What’s green and slimy, smells like sewage, Email: [email protected] and ruins vacations? Excessive algae piling up on Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shores, that’s The Aquatic Sciences Center is the administrative what. It’s called Cladophora, and it blunts home of the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant tourism spending, lowers property values, and Institute & University of Wisconsin Water Resources clogs industrial water intake pipes. The costs Institute. add up to millions of dollars each year. Find out more in a new video from Wisconsin Sea Grant. The 18-minute Managing Editor video features interviews with beachgoers, lakeshore property owners Stephen Wittman and coastal residents about the problem, and it turns to biologist Harvey Bootsma of the UW Great Lakes WATER Institute for an explanation of the Editor science behind the stink. Also included is a eight-minute version, for those Elizabeth A. White in a hurry. “All Washed Up” can be viewed online at www.seagrant.wisc.edu/algae. Writers Free DVDs of the video can be ordered at the UW Aquatic Sciences Center’s Carolyn Rumery Betz, Jennifer Champoux, online publication store, http://aqua.wisc.edu/publications. John Karl, Anne Moser, Kathleen Schmitt Kline Art Director Tina Yao Layout and Production Artist Amy Kittleson programpeoplenews Circulation Manager Linda Campbell ASC Mourns Death of Bob Rashid University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute is part of a national network of 32 university-based Staff at the Aquatic Sciences Center (ASC) programs funded through the National Sea were saddened by the sudden death of Grant College Program, National Oceanic & Bob Rashid in October at the age of 59. A Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department freelance photographer/writer whose work of Commerce, and through matching contribu- appeared in Time, Newsweek, and The tions from participating states and the private New York Times, Rashid worked with many sector. www.seagrant.wisc.edu departments on the UW–Madison campus, including the ASC. University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute is He published three books: Wisconsin’s one of 54 Water Resources Research Institutes photo by Jeff Kline Rustic Roads, Backroads of Wisconsin, nationwide authorized by the federal Water Rashid wading and Gone Fishing. A fourth, People of the Sturgeon, is scheduled to be Photo by Jeff Kline Resources Research Act and administered in the Wolf River published in October 2009 by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. through the U.S. Geological Survey. during sturgeon ASC Science Writer Kathleen Schmitt Kline coauthored the book with www.wri.wisc.edu spawning season. Ron Bruch of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and ASC Aquaculture Advisory Services Specialist Fred Binkowski. Rashid spent two years chronicling the cultures surrounding lake sturgeon in the Lake Winnebago region, and the book will feature more than 150 of his best Sea Grant WRI color photographs. University of Wisconsin University of Wisconsin “Bob was a gifted artist and a wonderful human being,” said Kline. “We were so fortunate to have him as a partner on this project. It was always a pleasure to spend time with him, whether driving out on frozen Lake GET ASC NEWS ALERTS BY EMAIL Winnebago, wading in the Wolf River, or attending a pow-wow. I feel You can receive email notices about new post- lucky to have known him, and we all miss him.” ings to the Chronicle Online. Just sign up at www.aqua.wisc.edu/chronicle. We’ll send Rashid’s portfolio can be viewed at rashidphoto.com. you occasional links to announcements and For more information about People of the Sturgeon, see winnebago news from the Aquatic Sciences Center. sturgeon.org. 2 University of Wisconsin WATER RESOURCES AND SEA GRANT RESEARCH STUDYING THE BUGS THAT FIGHT BACK Antibiotics fight dangerous bacteria in what concentrations. The objective was to humans, farm animals, and farm-raised fi sh, determine if the nearby septic tanks and but their use—and overuse—has led to bacte- drain fi elds could contaminate the drinking ria that fi ght back—by the billions. The more water with the resistant bacteria. antibiotics the bacteria encounter, the faster The analysis showed no human health their rapidly evolving populations develop risks from antibiotic-resistant bacteria in resistance, making the drugs potentially inef- the drinking water systems in this partic- fective when they are most needed. ular subdivision. More antibiotic-resistance The bodily waste of antibiotic users contain genes were found in the septic tanks and both drug residue and resistant bacteria, and monitoring wells than in the drinking water THE MORE ANTIBIOTICS even after they pass through waste treatment supplies. The sources of the genes could be processes, they are still found in the environ- the ubiquitous presence of bacteria in the THE BACTERIA ment in high enough concentrations to be human gut, the use of antibiotics by home- ENCOUNTER, THE FASTER considered pollutants. owners, past agricultural activity, or natural Katherine “Trina” McMahon, associate background levels. THEIR RAPIDLY EVOLVING professor of civil and environmental engi- With Sea Grant funding, McMahon applied neering at UW–Madison, is trying to deter- the same genetic testing in four trout hatch- POPULATIONS DEVELOP mine whether these pollutants could fi nd eries; two of the facilities had at one time RESISTANCE, MAKING their way into our water supply. She and her treated their fi sh with the antibiotic oxytet- students are using cutting-edge technology racycline, and the other two had not. The THE DRUGS POTENTIALLY to examine the genetic make-up of bacteria unexpected fi nding was that water in all four that are known to be resistant to the antibi- facilities tested positive for the tetracycline- ineffective… otic tetracycline. If the resistance genes are resistance genes. McMahon determined that mobile, they could move from one bacterium the likely source was the fi sh food, even if to another, allowing their rapid reproduc- it was labeled as nonmedicated feed. Fish tion rates to spread their drug-resistant traits food is made up of processed fi sh mostly of even faster. unknown origin, so McMahon theorizes that In contrast to traditional methods of cul- at least some of the fi sh that made up the feed turing bacteria in the lab, McMahon used must have been exposed to antibiotics during molecular techniques to extract DNA from some phase of their lives. tetracycline-resistant bacteria found in two Hatchery managers in Wisconsin use anti- completely different settings—a new subdivi- biotics sparingly and need to know that the sion and four aquaculture facilities, all located medicine will be effective when most needed. in Wisconsin. McMahon feels confi dent that her fi ndings With funding from the Water Resources will be put to good use in the hatcheries. Institute, McMahon tested water samples “If the source was the atmosphere, there from a subdivision’s individual on-site septic wouldn’t be much we could do. But when the tanks, groundwater monitoring wells, and source of the gene is as obvious as the feed,” the homes’ water taps to see if tetracycline- said McMahon, “that is something that we resistance genes were present and, if so, at can control.” — CRB 3 University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute & Water Resources Institute wisconsin’swaterlibrary Water Library Launches ‘aqualog’ blog Looking for an online source of up-to-date, water- related news, publications and resources for Annual AWRA Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region? Check out Wisconsin’s Water Library’s “AquaLog” at aqualog2. Meeting in Point blogspot.com! The Water Library chose to incorporate blog technology into its new Web site (aqua. wisc.edu/waterlibrary) as a way to connect with library patrons, water researchers, “Wisconsin’s Changing Water Resources” and Great Lakes residents on a daily basis. In this era of information overload, the is the theme of this year’s annual meeting library staff hopes AquaLog can provide an organized way to share information on of the Wisconsin section of the American current trends in the water field and new, useful, and reliable resources.