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Enhanced monitoring of harmful algal bloom dynamics and toxicity using real-time observations from co-deployed, automated biosensors

Enhanced monitoring of harmful algal bloom dynamics and toxicity using real-time observations from co-deployed, automated biosensors PIs: Donald M. Anderson, Michael L. Brosnahan, Juliette L. Smith, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543 and Gregory J. Doucette NOAA/NOS/NCCOS – Marine Biotoxins Program, Charleston, S.C., 29412 Blooms of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense cause annual shellfish closures along…

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Behind the Scenes: Day in the Life of a HAB Research Assistant

Behind the Scenes:  Day in the Life of a HAB Research Assistant   Anushka Rajagopalan  1/30/23 Studying Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) is becoming an increasingly well-known area of science. Various scientists are conducting experiments in algal trends, species interactions, general monitoring of blooms and more. People who are interested in studying HABs may also be curious…

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Surviving a Shrimp Cocktail: How to Spot Algae Shellfish Poisoning

Surviving a Shrimp Cocktail: Spotting Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Anushka Rajagopalan  6/27/23 Whenever I’m in a coastal town, I make it a priority to try their seafood – it feels illegal to not get some fresh fish in for dinner! In locations such as Alaska, shellfish are harvested at numerous beaches and are a major staple.…

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From Mud to Microscope: Sediment Processing Alexandrium catanella cysts

From Mud to Microscope: Sediment Processing Alexandrium catanella cysts   Anushka Rajagopalan  6/27/23 Alexandrium catenella is a neurotoxin-producing dinoflagellate that can proliferate into a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB). This species begins its life cycle as a resting cyst on the seafloor which then germinates into cells that can photosynthesize and create toxic blooms. Many researchers are…

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Nome Nugget article highlights 2022 research findings

An article in the 4/13/23 Nome Nugget summarized research findings on R/V Norseman II cruise in July-August 2022 when extremely high concentrations of Alexandrium were detected by the Imaging Flow Cytobot (IFCB).  Health officials in six major communities across the Bering Strait and Seward Peninsula issued advisories about consuming shellfish. Here is the full article.

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Training coordinator begins work in the Bering Strait region

Emma Pate, a new training coordinator and environmental planner in the Office of Environmental Health, is working with tribes in the Bering Strait region to establish a monitoring program to track harmful algae. When a massive algal bloom was detected in the region during the summer of 2023 by scientists aboard the R/V Norseman II,…

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Local news focuses on HABs in Cape Cod’s fresh and marine waters

A story in the Cape Cod Times on Feb. 2, 2022 covered harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Cape Cod waters. “What you are seeing on the Cape is decades of problems with septic systems,” said Anderson. Groundwater travels slowly and even if the entire Cape was sewered today and no more nitrogen or phosphorus entered…

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Researchers raise concerns about Arctic food web

Hakai Magazine interviewed research biologists Evie Fachon at WHOI and Kathi Lefebvre at the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington for an article focusing on the potential for a significant increase in Alexandrium catenella harmful algal blooms due to warming Arctic waters. Alexandrium catenella blooms produce saxitoxin, a neurotoxin that paralyzes the nervous system…

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