The GCC WEEKLY | 31 May 2022

2022-23 GCC Rural & Environmental Health Fellows Will Tackle Wildlife Disease and Environmental Contaminants

Rural and Environmental Health Fellows work at the nexus of multiple labs and with external partners with a rural focus, further solidifying current collaborations between environment and health focused faculty and external partners and becoming catalysts encouraging new collaborations. Please join us in congratulating the 2022-23 GCC Rural and Environmental Health Fellowship recipients and welcoming them to the Global Change Center community!

Dr. Shariful Islam aims to assess global change impacts on infectious disease in wildlife and subsequent consequences at the wildlife-human health interface, working with Dr. Luis Escobar in the department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation.

Amina Tithi will study the fate and impact of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceutical and personal care products on aquatic and agricultural ecosystems. Amina is advised by Dr. Kang Xia in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences.

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Caetano Franco

Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation

Caetano Franco's PhD work is part of an integrated research project focusing on socio-ecological systems and dynamics of artisanal fishing in the Brazilian Amazon. This project is examining the sustainability of community management of the giant Arapaima (Arapaima gigas), one of the most important fisheries in the Amazon. Specifically, Caetano is investigating how cultural, economic, and institutional factors influence the way fishermen cooperate with the Arapaima fishing rules.

As part of a writing assignment for the Interfaces of Global Change 1st Seminar course this past spring, Caetano dives in to the complex relationship between Amazon deforestation and One Health impacts. To support his exploration of the topic, Caetano interviewed Lucas Ferrante for his expertise and insights as a PhD candidate in Biology/Ecology at the National Institute for Research in the Amazon.

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"Repurposing Former Coal Mines: A New Opportunity for Utility-Scale Solar in Central Appalachia"

This webinar will feature Director of the Clinch Valley Program for The Nature Conservancy, Brad Kreps, who will explain the innovative collaboration underway between TNC and solar companies to pursue the development of utility-scale solar projects on former mined lands within the 250,000 acre Cumberland Forest Project of VA, KY, and TN.

Southwest Virginia and Central Appalachia has a long history of energy production. Historically, this has meant coal and natural gas. In the future, we hope to support the region's efforts to diversify its energy production and economy by developing solar on former mined lands and brownfields.

Thursday June 9, 12 PM ET

GCC Affiliates Co-Present Webinar About "Forever Chemicals" in Drinking Water

Join GCC faculty members Drs. Leigh-Anne Krometis (BSE) and Kang Xia (SPES) to learn more about perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and and a new collaborative research effort to characterize them in Virginia private drinking water supplies.

This webinar is part of the Virginia Household Water Quality Program series hosted by the Virginia Cooperative Extension program and the department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech.

Tuesday June 21, 10 AM ET

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New Study Led by GCC Affiliate Dr. Cayelan Carey Demonstrates How Oxygen Depletion is Impacting Water Quality in Lakes Worldwide

In a seven-year field experiment that manipulated oxygen levels in the bottom waters of a nearby reservoir, Carey’s team found that with anoxic conditions came effects they had expected: the sediments release a lot of nutrients and carbon. But they weren’t as prepared for the extent of the changes. They observed the lake going from a sink — which retains more nutrients and carbon than it exports — to a source of nutrients downstream, starting a cycle in which anoxia in one lake could beget anoxia in another. Co-authors of the study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, includes GCC affiliate Dr. Quinn Thomas, IGC Fellows Abby Lewis and Heather Wander, and IGC Alumni Drs. Mary Lofton and Ryan McClure.

Header image source: Twitter @CareyLab

Do you have an opportunity or announcement you'd like to share with the GCC community? Send us an email!

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