Projects

  • Dr. Sepúlveda has been funded by local, state, and federal agencies to support her ecotoxicological research. Below is a summary of the current and past grants.  Click on the PubMed link for access to abstracts.
Current Projects
  • Project 1:**Fate of Hormones in Tile-Drained Fields and Impacts to Aquatic Organisms under Different Animal Waste Management Practices**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Assess the relative amount of hormones discharged from tile-drained agricultural fields under different manure and lagoon effluent applications; 2) Assess hormone persistence in fields under these application practices; and 3) Evaluate the impacts of these hormone loads on fish and aquatic turtles.  
    • Funding Sources: US EPA STAR # RD-83341701-0 (PI: Dr. Linda Lee) and Purdue University
    • Collaborators: Linda Lee (PI) and Chad Jafvert (Co-PI) (Purdue University), James Lazorchak, Denise Gordon (USEPA Cincinatti), Gary Ankley, Dan Villeneuve, Kathy Jensen (USEPA Duluth)
    • Graduate Student: Jessica Leet (PhD, 2012)
    • Undergraduate Students: Sara Rogers (BS, 2009), Aaron McAlexander (BS, 2009), Ed Culver (BS, 2009), Ryan Gott (BS, 2011), Lexis Butler (SURF Intern, BS 2012)
    • Laboratory Technican: Jennifer Meyer
    • Related Publications: Lee LS, Carmosini N, Sassman SA, Dion HM, and Sepúlveda MS.  (2007).  Agricultural contributions of antimicrobials and hormones on soil and water quality.  Advances in Agronomy 93:2-69
    • Related Presentations: 
      • 1) McAlexander A, Lee L, Goforth R, Sepúlveda MS.  (2009)  Impacts of concentrated animal feeding operations on fish communities.  Joint meeting of the Indiana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and the Indiana Lake Management Society, January 29-31, Indianapolis, IN.  AWARDED BEST STUDENT POSTER
      • 2) Culver E, Goforth R, Lee L, McAlexander A, Leet J, Stefanovage T, Sepúlveda M .  (2009)  Impacts of concentrated animal feeding operations on gonadal development of creek chubs, Semotilus atromaculatus.  Forestry and Natural Resources Research Symposium, April 17, and College of Agriculture Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 21, West Lafayette, IN
      • 3) Rogers S, Meyer J, Lee L, Sepúlveda M .  (2009)  Plasma vitellogenin levels in common snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) from concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) ponds versus a reference site.  Forestry and Natural Resources Research Symposium, April 17, and College of Agriculture Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 21, West Lafayette, IN
      • 4) Leet J, Amberg J, Sepúlveda M .  (2009)  Sex determination in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) larvae.  Forestry and Natural Resources Research Symposium, April 17, West Lafayette, IN
      • 5) Leet JK, Amberg JJ, Sepúlveda MS.  (2009)  Gene expression markers of sex determination in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) larvae.  SETAC North America 30th Annual Meeting, November 19 – 23, New Orleans, LA
      • 6) Rogers S, Meyer JL, Lee L, Villeneuve D, Ankley G, Sepulveda MS.  (2009)  Vitellogenin and hormone levels in common snapping turtles from concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) ponds versus a reference site.  SETAC North America 30th Annual Meeting, November 19 – 23, New Orleans, LA
      • 7) Leet JK, Lee LS, Goforth RR, McAlexander A, Sepúlveda MS.  (2009)  Impacts of land-applied wastes from concentrated animal feeding operations on fish communities.  70th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, December 6-9, Springfield, IL
      • 8) Leet JK, Lee LS, Goforth RR, McAlexander A, Sepúlveda MS.  (2009)  Impacts of land-applied wastes from concentrated animal feeding operations on fish communities.  70th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, December 6-9, Springfield, IL
      • 9) McAlexander A, Lee L, Goforth R, Sepúlveda M.  (2008)  Impacts of concentrated animal feeding operations on fish communities.  69th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, December 14-17, Columbus, OH
      • 10) Laessig SA, Ankley G, Durhan E, Gray LE, Hutchins S, Lazorchak J, Martinovic D, Mills M, Wilson V, Landy R, Fisher J, Kolodziej E, Lee L, Sedlak D, Snow D, Sepúlveda M, Yonkos L.  (2008)  Collaborative studies on occurrence and risk of estrogens and androgens in discharges from concentrated animal feeding operations.  USEPA STAR Endocrine Disruptor Program. Tampa, FL
      • 11) Durhan E, Wilson V,  Sepúlveda M,  Martinović D, Lee L,  Lazorchak J, Lambright C, Cavallin J, Blake L, Ankley G.  (2008)  Newer analytical and fractionation approaches for detecting endocrine-active chemicals in CAFOs. SETAC 29th Annual Meeting, November 16-20, Tampa, FL

  • Project 2: **Mapping the Condition of Diporeia: Insights to Mechanisms of Declines**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Undertake a large scale field survey to collect Diporeia from the Great Lakes region and map their physiological condition and genetic variation; 2) In the laboratory, use metabolomic techniques to characterize the metabolite profiles expressed by individual Diporeia when exposed to various environmental stressors; and 3) Integrate field survey and experimental results to conduct a focused assessment of metabolite profiles for natural populations to elucidate potential causes of population declines.
    • Funding Source: Great Lakes Fishery Trust Project # 886 (PIs: Maria Sepulveda and Tomas Hook)
    • Collaborators: Krista Nichols and Jiri Adamec (Purdue University), Tom Nalepa, David Fanslow, and Steven Pothoven (NOAA-GLERL), Jaques Rinchard (SUNY), Wendy Stott (USGS Ann Arbor and University of Michigan), David Jude, Tom Johengen, and Michael Wiley (University of Michigan)
    • Graduate Students: Kimberly Ralston-Hooper (PhD, 2009) and Suman Maity (PhD, 2011)
    • Related Publications:
      • 1) Ralston-Hooper K, Jannasch A, Oh C, Zhang X, Adamec J, *Sepúlveda MS.  (2008)  Development of GCxGC/TOF-MS metabolomics for use in invertebrate ecotoxicological studies.  Aquatic Toxicology 88:48-52. PubMed

    • Related Presentations:
      • 1) Maity S, Höök T, Sepúlveda M .  (2009)  Investigating the causes of Diporeia declines in the Great Lakes basin.  Forestry and Natural Resources Research Symposium, April 17, West Lafayette, IN
      • 2) McCalla S, Nichols K, Sepúlveda M, Höök T, Nalepa, T.  (2009)  Patterns of genetic diversity in Diporeia in the Laurentian Great Lakes. 139th AFS, August 30 – September 3, Nashville, TN
      • 3) Maity S, Höök T, Nalepa T, Adamec J, Jannash A, Gribskov M, Shultz K, Sepúlveda M.  (2009)  Investigating the causes of Diporeia declines in the Great Lakes basin using metabolomics.  26th Ohio Valley Chapter SETAC Meeting, September 17-18, Cincinnati, OH.  AWARDED BEST STUDENT POSTER
      • 4) Maity S, Höök T, Nalepa T, Adamec J, Jannash A, Gribskov M, Shultz K, Sepúlveda M.  (2009)  Investigating the causes of Diporeia declines in the Great Lakes basin using metabolomics.  Ecological Sciences and Engineering Symposium, September 25, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
      • 5) Ralston-Hooper KJ, Adamec J, Hopf A, Mollenhauer R, Ochoa-Acuna H, Sepúlveda MS.  (2009)  Use of GCXGC/TOF-MS and LC/TOF-MS for metabolomic analysis of Hyalella azteca chronically exposed to atrazine and its metabolite desethylatrazine. SETAC North America 30th Annual Meeting, November 19 – 23, New Orleans, LA
      • 6) Maity S, Höök T, Nalepa T, Adamec J, Jannash A, Gribskov M, Shultz K, Sepúlveda MS.  (2009)  Investigating the causes of Diporeia declines in the Great Lakes basin using metabolomics.  SETAC North America 30th Annual Meeting, November 19 – 23, New Orleans, LA
      • 7) Ryan D, Hook T, Sepúlveda M, Fanslow D, Nalepa T.  (2008)  A comparison of short-term condition among Diporeia spp. populations in the Great Lakes region.  69th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, December 14-17, Columbus, OH
      • 8) Ralston-Hooper KJ, Ochoa-Acuna HG, Adamec J, Sepúlveda MS.  (2008)  Potential biomarkers of endocrine disruption due to chronic atrazine and DEA exposure in the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca.  SETAC 29th Annual Meeting, November 16-20, Tampa, FL
      • 9) Ralston-Hooper K, Hopf A, Oh C, Zhang X, Adamec J, Sepúlveda MS.  (2008)   Development of GCxGC/TOF-MS metabolomics for use in ecotoxicological studies with invertebrates.  Forestry and Natural Resources Research Symposium, April 11, West Lafayette, IN
      • 10) Ralston-Hooper KJ, Baker S, Hopf A, Oh C, Zhang X, Adamec J, Sepúlveda MS.  (2007)  The development of GCxGC/MS-TOF metabolomics for biomarker identification in vertebrate and invertebrate species exposed to environmental stressors.  55th Annual American Society of Mass Spectrometry Conference, June 3-7, Indianapolis, IN
      • 11) Ralston-Hooper KJ, Sanchez BC, Ochoa-Acuña H, Hof A, Kowalski K, Adamec J, Oh C,  Zhang X,  Sepúlveda MS.  (2007)  The use of proteomics and metabolomics for biomarker determination of two freshwater amphipods, Hyalella azteca and Diporeia spp.  SETAC 28th Annual Meeting, November 11-15, Milwaukee, WI
      • 12) Ralston-Hooper KJ, Sepúlveda MS, Ochoa- Acuña HG.  (2006)  A species sensitivity comparison of the toxicity of atrazine and its metabolites deethylatrazine (DEA) and deisopropylatrazine (DIA).  SETAC North America 27th Annual Meeting, 5-9 November, Montréal, Québec, Canada
      • 13) Ralston-Hooper KJ, *Sanchez BC, Sepúlveda MS, Ochoa-Acuna HG, Porterfield DM.  (2006)  Physiologically coupled biosensing:  A new approach for environmental monitoring.  Discovery Park, Center for the Environment Seminar and Graduate Student Showcase, April 4, and Forestry and Natural Resources Research Symposium, April 7, West Lafayette, IN
      • 14) Ralston-Hooper K, Sepúlveda MS, Ochoa-Acuña H, Nalepa T.  (2005)  New approaches for measuring the effects of multiple stressors on Diporeia survival.  1st Diporeia Workshop, October 20-21, Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, NOAA, Ann Arbor, MI
  • Project 3:**Physiologically-Coupled Biosensing Approaches for Real-Time Monitoring of Environmental Contaminants (2009-2012)**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Develop a high-throughput, multichannel monitoring system for the detection of contaminants by transducing physiological responses of individual fish (Pimephales promelas) and aquatic invertebrates (Daphnia magna) embryos in real-time; 2) Validate this high-throughput monitoring system and iteratively optimize its performance using a wide array of water contaminants; and 3) Integrate interdisciplinary education programs within Discovery Park at Purdue University.    
    • Funding Source: NSF # 0854036-CBET (PI: Dr. Marshall Porterfield)
    • Collaborators: Eric McLamore (University of Florida) and Hugo Ochoa-Acuña (DuPont)
    • Graduate Student: Matthew Stensberg (PhD, 2014)
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1)    Sanchez BC, Ochoa-Acuña H, Porterfield M, Sepúlveda MS.  (2008).  Oxygen flux as an indicator of physiological stress in fathead minnow embryos: a real-time biomonitoring system of water quality.  Environmental Science and Technology 42:7070-7017. PubMed
      • 2)  Sanchez BC, Yale G, Chatni R, Ochoa-Acuña HG, Porterfield DM, McLamore ES, Sepúlveda MS.  (2009).  Oxygen flux as an indicator of physiological stress in aquatic organisms: A real-time biomonitoring system of water quality.  Chemical, Biological, Radiologica, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) Sensing X, edited by Augustus W. Fountain III, Patrick J. Gardner, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 7304, 730405-1-730405-8
    • Related Presentations: 
      • 1) Sanchez BC, Yale G, Chatni R, Ochoa-Acuña HG, Porterfield DM, Sepúlveda MS.  (2009)  Oxygen flux as an indicator of physiological stress in aquatic organisms: A real-time biomonitoring system of water quality.  SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing, 13 - 17 April, Orlando, FL
      • 2) Sanchez BC, Yale G, Chatni R, Ochoa-Acuña H, Porterfield DM, Sepúlveda MS.  (2008)  Oxygen flux as an indicator of physiological stress in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) embryos: a real-time biomonitoring system of water quality.  Purdue University IBE Student Regional Conference, October 17-18 and Ecological Science Engineering Symposium, December 5, West Lafayette, IN. WON FIRST PRICE AT THE ESE SYMPOSIUM.
      • 3) Sanchez BC, Sepúlveda MS, Ochoa-Acuña H, Porterfield DM.  (2007)  Incorporating oxygen flux and proteomics into the development of real-time biomarkers of fish egg contaminant exposure.  1st Annual Physiological Sensing Symposium, January 11th, West Lafayette, IN
      • 4) Sanchez BC, Ochoa-Acuña H, Porterfield DM, Adamec J, Kane M, Sepúlveda MS.  (2007)  Integrating oxygen flux and genomics into the development of real-time biomarkers of fish egg contaminant exposure.  SETAC 28th Annual Meeting, November 11-15, Milwaukee, WI
      • 5) Sanchez BC, Sepúlveda MS, Ochoa-Acuña H, Porterfield DM.  (2006)   Incorporating oxygen flux and protein expression into the development of real-time biomarkers of fish egg contaminant exposure.  SETAC North America 27th Annual Meeting, 5-9 November, Montréal, Québec, Canada
      • 6) Sanchez BC, Ralston-Hooper KJ, Sepúlveda MS, Ochoa-Acuna HG, Porterfield DM.  (2006)  Physiologically coupled biosensing:  A new approach for environmental monitoring.  23rd Annual Meeting Ohio Valley Chapter SETAC, April 20-21, Fort Wayne, IN
      • 7) Ralston-Hooper KJ, Sanchez BC, Sepúlveda MS, Ochoa-Acuna HG, Porterfield DM.  (2006)  Physiologically coupled biosensing:  A new approach for environmental monitoring.  Discovery Park, Center for the Environment Seminar and Graduate Student Showcase, April 4, and Forestry and Natural Resources Research Symposium, April 7, West Lafayette, IN
  • Project 4:**Effects of Lampricides on Target and Non-Target Species: From Protein Expression to Ecological Consequences (2010-2012)**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Elucidate the modes of toxic action of TFM and niclosamide in lamprey through characterization of protein expression; 2) Compare lampricide-induced protein expression in lampreys to those observed in non-target fish species (smallmouth bass and rainbow trout); 3) Evaluate if lampricide exposure of young non-target fish has ecologically meaningful sub-lethal effects; and 4) Explore potential population level consequences of non-target species exposed to lampricides.    
    • Funding Source: Great Lakes Fishery Commission 
    • Laboratory Technicians: Dan Ryan and Kevin Leet
    • Related Presentations: 
      • 1) None
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1)   None
  • Project 5:**Bioenergetic Approaches to Evaluate Potential Positive and Negative Impacts of Thermal Discharge on Ohio River Fishes (2010-2013)**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Develop and apply spatially-explicit growth rate potential models for three species of fish in the vicinity of two Ohio River power plants; 2) Conduct laboratory experiments to evaluate the effects of rapid changes in ambient temperature on survival, consumption, growth and gonadal development of various species of fish; and 3) Develop a spatially-explicit individual-based bioenergetics model for smallmouth bass and apply this model to consider the potential population level consequences of various thermal discharge scenarios.
    • Funding Source: Ohio River Ecological Research Program (EPRI) (PIs: Tomas Hook and Maria Sepulveda)
    • Graduate Student: David Coulter (co-chairing with Tomas Hook)
    • Related Presentations: 
      • 1) None
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1)   None
  • Project 6:**Effects of Long-term Low Salinity Exposure on Physiological Parameters and Transcriptome of the Florida Pompano (2010)**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Establish transcriptome libraries for gill, liver, kidney and gastrointestinal tract of Florida pompano reared in high and low salinities; 2) Identify gene transcripts for osmoregulatory genes, key metabolic enzymes and stress response; 3) Compare gene transcript abundance between Florida pompano reared in high and low salinities; 4) Discover unique sequences that may play key roles in the adaptability of marine fish to low salinity; and 5) Correlate gene expression with phenotypic responses at the whole animal level.
    • Funding Source: USDA, Collaborative Agreemnt with Marty Riche, ARS, Sustainable Marine Aquatic Systems, Fort Pierce, FL  
    • Collaborators: Jon Amberg (USGS LaCrosse), Paul Wills (Florida Atlantic University), and Timothy Pfeiffer (USDA Fort Pierce)
    • Undergraduate Student: Ryan Gott
    • Related Presentations: 
      • 1) None
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1)   None
  • Project 7:**Development of Biomarkers of Exposure and Biological Response to Endocrine Disrupting Herbicides (2010-2012)**
    • Goals of the Project: To test the hypotheses that: 1) Exposure to the endcorine disrupting herbicide atrazine will result in a unique genomic signature dependent on dose that can be related to phenotypic change; and 2) exposure to atrazine during early developmental will result in epigenetic effects at the molecular level in multiple generations
    • Funding Source: NIH R15 and NIH Clinical and Translational Sciences Intitute (CTSI) (Jennifer Freeman, PI Purdue University)  
    • Graduate Student: Greg Weber, PLUS Program (co-chairing with Jennifer Freeman)
    • Post-doctoral Researcher: Solange Lewis
    • Related Presentations: 
      • 1) None
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1)   None
  • Project 8:**Construction of cDNA Libraries for the Development of Genomic Signatures  of Sediment Toxicity (2006-2008) and Utilization of Genomic Signatures from Hyalella azteca as a way to Quickly Evaluate Toxicity and Need of Sediment Remediation in the Great Lakes Basin (2010-2011)**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Test our newly developed H. azteca microarray after exposure to three major classes of contaminants: heavy metals (cadmium), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and ptehir mixture;  2) Compare gene responses from above experiments to standard ecological endpoints (growth and reproduction); and 3) Test our microarray with Great Lakes contaminated sediments and compare our results with previous toxicity studies that have evaluated them with standard toxicity tests using H. azteca.
    • Funding Source: Indiana University/Purdue University Collaboration in Life Sciences and Informatics Research (John Colbourne PI, Indiana University) and Sea Grant   
    • Collaborators: Helen Poynton, Jim Lazorchak, Marke Smith (USEPA Cincinanti)
    • Related Presentations: 
      • 1) None
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1)   None
  • Project 9:**Development of a High Throughput Metabolomic Screening of Biomarkers in Zebrafish and Mouse for the Translational Evaluation of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (2010-2011)**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Utilize the high-throughput zebrafish (Danio rerio) model to determine alcohol-induced changes in cellular metabolism by application of high throughput global metabolomic techniques; and 2) apply these findings to ongoing studies with mouse embryos as a first step for clinical application of these biomarkers.
    • Funding Source: NIH Clinical and Translational Sciences Intitute (CTSI)   
    • Collaborators: Feng Zhou (PI, Indiana University) and Jiri Adamec and Paul Brown (Purdue University)
    • International Exchange Scholar: Ae Polsuwan (Mahidol University, Thailand)
    • Related Presentations: 
      • 1) None
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1)   None
  • Project 10:**A First Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Upper Wabash River, Indiana (2010-2011)**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Quantify water concentrations of a range of environmentally relevant Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in three Upper Wabash River sites that represent different degrees of Waste Water Treatment Plant effluent contamination; (2) Based on this data, choose up to two PPCPs that have a high likelihood of being present in fish and quantify their presence in fish tissues (fillet); and (3) Educate local communities about the human and ecological health implications of our findings.
    • Funding Source: Indiana Water Resources Research Center (IWRRC)
    • Collaborators: Reuben Goforth (Purdue University) and Sarah Peel (Wabash River Enhancement Corporation)
    • Related Presentations: 
    • 1) None
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1)   None
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Past Projects
  • Project 1:**Ecological Impacts of Remediation at the Grand Calumet River: A preliminary Assessement of Reproductive Success in Great Blue Herons (2005-2007)**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Evaluate the exposure and potential impacts of persistent environmental pollutants on the reproductive success of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) in Indiana; and 2) Provide the first available data on reproductive success of Great Blue heron populations in Indiana.
    • Funding Sources: US EPA (CROP II), IDEM, and Purdue University
    • Graduate Student: Stephanie Baker (MS 2007)
    • Undergraduate Students: Zachary Bagley (BS, 2008)
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1)  Baker S, Sepúlveda MS.  (2009).  An evaluation of the effects of persistent environmental contaminants on the reproductive success of great blue herons (Ardea herodias) in Indiana.  Ecotoxicology 18:271-280.  PubMed
      • 2)  Sepúlveda MS, Ralston-Hooper K, Sanchez BC, Hopf –Jannash A, Baker SD, Diaz N, Adamec J (2010).  Use of Proteomics and Metabolomics Techniques in Ecotoxicology.  In: Handbook of Systems Toxicology: From Omics Technology to Nanotechnology.  Sahu SC and Casciano DA (eds.).  John Wiley & Sons Ltd.  
                   
  • Project 2:**Ecotoxicology of Brominated Flame Retardants in Great Lakes Biota (2005-2007)**
    • Goals of the Project: 1) Calculate biomagnification factors for Polybrominated Flame Retardants (PBDEs) using stable istope and PBDE concetration data from Great Lakes fishes and invertebrates; and 2) Elucidate biotransformation pathways of BDE-209 in laboratory cultivated lake whitefish.
    • Funding Sources: US EPA Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO)
    • Collaborators: Inez Hua (PI)  and Hugo Ochoa-Acuña (Purdue University) and TRent Sutton (University of Alaska at Fairbanks)
    • Undergraduate Students: Ben Miller (BS, 2011)
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1) Yin-Ming K, Sepúlveda MS, Hua I, Ochoa-Acuña HG, SuttonTM.  (2009).  Biomagnification and trophic transfer of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in a food web of Lake Michigan.  Ecotoxicology 19:623-634.  PubMed
      • 2) Yin-Ming K, Sepúlveda MS, Sutton TM, Ochoa-Acuña HG, Muir AM, Miller B, Hua I.  (2009).  Bioaccumulation and biotransformation of decabromodiphenyl ether in juvenile lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis).  Ecotoxicology 19:751-760. PubMed
    • Related Presentations: 
      • 1)  Kuo Yin-Ming, Sepúlveda MS, Sutton T, Ochoa-Acuña H, Hua I.  (2008)  Congener distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in chinook salmon, lake trout, and lake whitefish from Lake Michigan.  47th Annual Society of Toxicology Meeting, March 16 - 20, Seattle, WA.  
                          
  • Project 3:**USEPA Biomarkers**
    • Goals of the Project: 
    • Funding Sources: 
    • Collaborators: 
    • Undergraduate Students: 
    • Related Publications: 
      • 1)
    • Related Presentations: 
      • 1)