Renovation of the Aquaculture Laboratory to Increase Infrastructure Capacity for Biological Research

Eastern hellbenders, North America’s largest salamander, are an aquatic species that lives in fast-moving streams throughout Kentucky and the Ohio River Basin. As an apex predator and one that requires high quality habitat, they are an indicator species for the health of the ecosystems in which they live and are crucial to population control. Hellbender populations have declined significantly throughout its range, such that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal in 2024 to list the Eastern hellbender as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Long-term studies of hellbender populations have indicated declines of 77% on average primarily due to sedimentation and water quality issues. In Kentucky, the Eastern hellbender is currently considered to be of "highest priority" for conservation action. To address population declines, headstart programs – that collect eggs from the wild and then raise juveniles in captivity, eventually reintroducing them back to the wild – aim to restore and preserve hellbenders across the species range. However, headstart programs experience considerable variability in mortality and hatch rates, resulting in unpredictable outcomes that limit and impair conservation efforts. To replenish hellbender populations, husbandry research on hellbenders reared in captivity needs to be performed in the laboratory and disseminated to the hellbender community of practice. Currently few facilities have the capacity to perform this critical research. The proposed renovation will enable Thomas More University’s Biology Field Station to advance the science of conservation biology and support education across the hellbender community of practice that includes academic institutions, zoos and aquariums, and governmental agencies across the species range. Through this renovation project, the expanded laboratory space at the Thomas More University Biology Field Station will have five systems for holding hellbenders enabling the facility to house up to 570 hellbenders at various life stages in large raceways, smaller ancillary tanks, a quarantine tank, a display tank, and two hatcheries. Other features include tanks for holding live food sources and equipment for life support. Upon completion of the renovations, the revamped facility will be used to conduct lab research on best practices in the managed care of hellbenders to improve the survivability of eggs and recently hatched juveniles until they can be released into their native habitats. Experiments will closely monitor, in real time, physicochemical parameters, including conductivity, dissolved oxygen, water flow, temperature, and pH, with conventional probes and novel sensors to determine optimal conditions for growth and survival. Research findings will be used to develop and disseminate recommendations for implementation by the hellbender community of practice that spans thirteen U.S. states. Further, the Biology Field Station will establish a research action group of scientists that collaborates and presents findings at quarterly meetings and a Kentucky hellbender working group of practitioners to address state-wide issues including propagation, conservation, habitat restoration, and recovery plans. Both network groups will serve as venues for developing and directing research studies and disseminating research findings. This project aligns with the NSF’s biotechnology priority area and it enhances the research competitiveness of an Estab­lished Program to Stim­u­late Com­pet­i­tive Research (EPSCoR) jurisdiction. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2611127 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Christopher Lorentz | Institution: Thomas More University, CRESTVIEW HILLS, KY | Award Amount: $193,649 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2611127 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2611127.html