{"id":71,"date":"2018-02-16T12:46:53","date_gmt":"2018-02-16T16:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpdev.whoi.edu\/lab-migration1\/research\/research-2003-2011\/research-2003-2011-projects\/hydrodynamic-forcing-of-alexandrium-population-biology\/"},"modified":"2018-02-19T11:36:57","modified_gmt":"2018-02-19T15:36:57","slug":"hydrodynamic-forcing-of-alexandrium-population-biology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/whcohh\/research\/research-2003-2011\/research-2003-2011-projects\/hydrodynamic-forcing-of-alexandrium-population-biology\/","title":{"rendered":"Hydrodynamic forcing of Alexandrium<\/em> population biology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hydrodynamic forcing of Alexandrium<\/em> population biology<\/h2>\n

Abstract<\/h3>\n

D.J. McGillicuddy, Jr.<\/p>\n

Blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense<\/em> are annually recurrent phenomena in the Gulf of Maine during the spring and summer months. Toxins produced by A. fundyense<\/em> accumulate in the tissues of filter-feeding shellfish such as mussels and clams. Human ingestion of these contaminated shellfish can lead to Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP), a potentially fatal illness. Understanding the factors that determine the distribution and abundance of A. fundyense<\/em> is therefore of considerable economic and public health interest.<\/p>\n

Existing data and models demonstrate strong interconnections between A. fundyense<\/em> populations and the Gulf of Maine coastal current system. Indeed, coupled physical-biological models of population dynamics and hydrodynamic transport are able to simulate some of the general features of the observed A. fundyense<\/em> distribution. However, such models are sensitive to the choices of the input parameters (e.g., growth rate, swimming speed, germination rate, etc). Curiously, the ability of the models to match the observations occurs in a range of this parameter space that is relatively narrow with respect to the envelope of reasonable values defined by laboratory measurements. One possible explanation for this apparent inconsistency is genetic heterogeneity in the natural populations.<\/p>\n

We hypothesize that the aggregate distribution of A. fundyense<\/em> is composed of a mosaic of genetically distinct subpopulations, each with different physiological and\/or behavioral responses to environmental conditions.<\/p>\n

The goal of this project is to understand the hydrodynamic and biological controls on these populations, their toxin production, and how these factors ultimately determine fluctuations in shellfish toxicity. Our specific aims are to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Formulate a suite of population dynamics models for the various genotypes of A. fundyense<\/em>. Model formulation will be guided by existing observations, as well as laboratory experiments to be conducted in Project 1 (Anderson).<\/li>\n
  2. Incorporate the ensemble of population models into existing models of Gulf of Maine coastal hydrodynamics.<\/li>\n
  3. Use the coupled physical-biological models to construct hindcast simulations of A. fundyense<\/em> survey observations to be collected jointly with Project 1 (Anderson).<\/li>\n
  4. Diagnose the simulations to determine the processes regulating the space\/time expression of the different genotypes in terms of A. fundyense<\/em> abundance.<\/li>\n
  5. Utilize toxigenicity data for the various genotypes (provided by Project 1 (Anderson)) together with the coupled physical-biological models (Aim 3) to make predictions of shellfish toxicity along the coast. Toxicity predictions will be tested with observations from ongoing shellfish monitoring programs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Participants<\/h3>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Dr. Dennis J. McGillicuddy, Jr, Principal Investigator<\/h3>\n

    Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MS 11
    \nApplied Ocean Physics & Engineering
    \nWoods Hole, MA 02543
    \nPh: 508-289-2683
    \nFax: 508-457-2194
    \ndmcgillicuddy@whoi.edu<\/a>
    \n    Research Web Site<\/a><\/p>\n

    Education:<\/strong>
    \nB.A. Harvard University, 1987, Engineering Sciences
    \nM.S. Harvard University, 1989, Applied Physics
    \nPh.D. Harvard University, 1993, Earth and Planetary Sciences<\/p>\n

    Research Interests:<\/strong>
    \nInfluence of physical forcing on planktonic ecosystems and elemental
    \ncycling; mesoscale ocean dynamics; primary production; coastal
    \ncirculation; zooplankton population dynamics; harmful algal blooms;
    \nnumerical modeling and data assimilation.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Dr. Valery Kosnyrev, Research Associate III<\/h3>\n

    Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MS 9
    \nApplied Ocean Physics & Engineering
    \nWoods Hole, MA 02543
    \nPh: 508-289-3513
    \nFax: 508-457-2194
    \n    vkosnyrev@whoi.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Education:<\/strong>
    \nM.S. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 1968, Aerodynamics\/Thermodynamics
    \nPh.D. Marine Hydrophysical Institute, Ukraine, 1976<\/p>\n

    Research Interests:<\/strong>
    \nOpen ocean variability, Rossby wave dynamics, numerical modeling of the general ocean circulation, remote sensing data processing and applications, coupled physical\/biological modeling.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Dr. Laurence Anderson, Research Associate III<\/h3>\n

    Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MS 9
    \nApplied Ocean Physics & Engineering
    \nWoods Hole, MA 02543
    \nPh: 508-289-3742
    \nFax: 508-457-2194
    \n    landerson@whoi.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Education:<\/strong>
    \nB.S. University of Notre Dame, 1988, Physics
    \nM.A. Princeton University, 1990, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
    \nPh.D. Princeton University, 1993, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences<\/p>\n

    Research Interests:<\/strong>
    \nNutrient cycling and coupling between different nutrient cycles; Redfield ratios; physical-biogeochemical interactions; numerical modeling; mesoscale ocean dynamics and variability.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Sue Stasiowski, Sr. Admin Assistant II<\/h3>\n

    Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MS 9
    \nApplied Ocean Physics & Engineering
    \nWoods Hole, MA 02543
    \nPh: 508-289-2318
    \nFax: 508-457-2194
    \n    sstasiowski@whoi.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Olga Kosnyreva, Research Assistant II<\/h3>\n

    Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MS 9
    \nApplied Ocean Physics & Engineering
    \nWoods Hole, MA 02543
    \nPh: 508-289-2611
    \nFax: 508-457-2194
    \n    okosnyreva@whoi.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Research Interests:<\/strong>
    \nPhysical and biogeochemical data analysis; data processing and visualization; satellite data processing; web page development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hydrodynamic forcing of Alexandrium population biology Abstract D.J. McGillicuddy, Jr. Blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense are annually recurrent phenomena in the Gulf of Maine during the spring and summer months. Toxins produced by A. fundyense accumulate in the tissues of filter-feeding shellfish such as mussels and clams. Human ingestion of these contaminated shellfish…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":67,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/whcohh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/whcohh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/whcohh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/whcohh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/whcohh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/whcohh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":197,"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/whcohh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71\/revisions\/197"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/whcohh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/67"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.whoi.edu\/site\/whcohh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}