Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2021GA003G

Monitoring and Modeling Expanding Risk of Hydrilla, Neurotoxic Aetokthonos Hydrillicola, and Vacuolar Myelinopathy.

Institute: Georgia
USGS Grant Number:
Year Established: 2021 Start Date: 2021-09-01 End Date: 2023-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $242,136 Total Non-Federal Funds: $242,136

Principal Investigators: Susan Wilde

Project Summary: This proposal seeks to optimize detection and mitigation of the recently described neurotoxin aetokthonotoxin (AETX). Our goal is to determine where and when AETX is found within our freshwater resources and then focus mitigation on sites identified with highest current and future risk of this novel cyanotoxin. We propose monitoring for AETX seasonally across the United States using all potential detection strategies. We also have field and laboratory data documenting vacuolar myelinopathy (VM) in birds of prey, waterfowl, fish, amphibian, and reptiles. Given the challenge of documenting animals dying from VM, and still unknown risk to human consumers, our current map of disease locations is probably underestimating the prevalence of AETX and the true risk to fish, wildlife, and freshwater resources.