Harmful Algal Blooms
Of Wildfires and Oceans
Wildfires are all over the news, from California to Australia, but do these terrestrial events have any impact on ocean ecosystems? Is it possible that wildfires can cause massive coral die-off across reefs? A research paper from 2003 provides some insight into these questions, and points to a need for more studies on the links […]
Sailing Solo: An alternative way to monitor harmful algal blooms
Have you ever heard about a harmful algal bloom? Do you know what causes them? Or how scientists monitor them? Read on to learn about how a group of scientists from Mote Marine Lab in Florida paired up with Navocean, Inc to create the first autonomous small sailboat to monitor blooms in coastal, shallow water […]
Are dolphins losing their minds in blooming ocean waters?
Polluted water is a great source of food for harmful algal blooms, which release even more toxins into the water. And now scientists say that algal blooms may give dolphins Alzheimer’s disease-like brain damage. Anastasia YandulskayaI am a PhD candidate at Northeastern University in Boston. I study regeneration of the nervous system in water salamanders […]
Growing a Scientist: Undergraduate Research 2018, part 1
Check out these posts by guest authors Ellie Tan, Samantha Vaverka, Joseph Barnes, and Gibson Levitt about building water quality monitoring systems, toxic algae, and robot kayaks–these students were part of the SURFO program at URI-GSO over Summer 2018, and have some really exciting research to share! Anna RobuckI am a third year PhD student […]
Cyanobacteria invasions… from space?
They may not come from space, but they can be seen from up there! Learn how microscopic plants called cyanobacteria accumulate in the Baltic Sea, how they’re measured with satellites, and what it all means. Nyla HusainI’m a PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. I use models to study […]
Toxins in turds: learning about algal toxins with sea lion poop
What do you, a penguin, and an amoeba have in common? You all have to go #2! These researchers from Washington found a special purpose for sea lions and this basic bodily function. Read on to learn about how this team examined sea lion scat to learn about yearly exposure to harmful algal toxins along […]
Harmful Algal Blooms Find Homes Further North as Waters Warm
Before the late 20th century, reports of illness from toxin-producing algae had been absent from most northern coastlines. But in the past 30 years, the incidence of algae-related poisonings in humans have been increasing in areas such as the U.S. Pacific Northwest and the United Kingdom. By modeling harmful algae growth in the North Atlantic […]
Who benefits from more CO2? Harmful algae.
Climate change will produce both winners and losers, but we might not like who ends up winning! New research shows that toxic cyanobacteria can rapidly adapt to increasing CO2 concentrations and outcompete other more desirable types of algae. Michael PhilbenI recently completed a PhD in Marine Science at the University of South Carolina and am […]
Sewage pollution running amuck in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon
Harmful algal blooms are common events that occur in coastal waters. In Florida’s Indian River Lagoon, nutrient groundwater runoff initiates massive and highly toxic bloom events. Harmful blooms spell trouble for the environmental health and economic value of the lagoon. How bad has this issue become and what can be done to minimize the severity […]
Talk about hay fever: toxic algal blooms may cause one doozy of an allergic reaction
Since the late 1990s, human respiratory symptoms have been associated with seasonal blooms of the dinoflagellate Ostropsis cf. ovata along the Tuscan coastline. While inhalation is the suspected pathway of human exposure, it is unclear whether human illness is an allergic response to breathing in cells of the algae themselves, or if beach goers are […]
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