Project Number: 6408-13660-007-11
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 01, 2012
End Date: Jul 31, 2017

Objective:
The objective of this cooperative research project is to conduct research on the assessment of aquatic microbial communities to improve water quality and mitigate agricultural contaminants that contribute to non-point source pollution of aquatic ecosystems.

Approach:
Watershed monitoring along with field and laboratory experimentation will be used to evaluate the extent of impairment and, conversely, recovery from specific agricultural contaminants that are of national and international concern, i.e. sediments, nutrients, and pesticides. Microbial communities will be assessed to understand the impacts of agricultural pollutants on their structural and functional roles in aquatic ecosystems, and link microbial processes to changes in water quality.