The College at Brockport is getting a grant to study the diet of salmon, trout, and other Great Lakes fish in hopes of identifing the source of a vitamin deficiency that causes early mortality syndrome.
Jacques Rinchard is an associate professor at the College of Brockport. He says certain fish are suffering from low levels of thiamine, or vitamin B1, in their diet.
"They can have wiggling or uncoordinated behavior and it could lead to the death of the adult."
It can also prevent fish eggs from hatching.
Affected fish are higher up in the food chain, so researchers think the problem is related to diet. Specifically, they think an invasive species like alewife has interrupted the food chain in a critical way.
Thanks to a $14,000 grant, Rinchard and his team will have the opportunity to investigate further. The money comes from the Great Lakes Research Consortium, a collection of colleges and universities in New York.
Director Greg Boyer says they pick projects that foster collaboration, are of interest and importance to the region, and have the potential for future funding.
"This project scored very well on all three of those areas," he says.
Boyer says this money is like starter capital, and he thinks Rinchard's research will provide a good jumping off point to tackling the problem. Brockport will be working with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the US Geological Survey on the research.
