Evie Fachon
she/her
PhD Candidate
MIT-WHOI Joint Program
Biology
Contact Information:
Work: 508-289-2365
efachon@whoi.edu
Building: Redfield 332
About Me
I am a PhD candidate in the Anderson Lab, where I am studying harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Alaskan Arctic. My thesis work will focus on bloom dynamics, connectivity and toxicity of the harmful dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella. I also work with other HAB species, including Pseudo-nitzschia and Gambierdiscus, and my past research involved studies of macroalgal ecology and physiology in the Gulf of Maine, Estonia, and New Zealand.
Education and outreach is hugely important to the work we do! In 2022, we partnered with the PolarTREC program to host an educator during our summer field season, and since then I have continued to work on developing HAB and phytoplankton-focused lesson plans for middle/high school and college-level classrooms.
Even though we study toxins in seafood, I love eating fish and shellfish. When I'm not out on a research vessel or posted at the microscope, you might find me clamming in the marsh, planning seaweed-themed potlucks, or hunting for mushrooms.
Selected Publications
Anderson DM, Fachon E, Pickart RS, Lin P, Fischer AD, Richlen ML, Uva V, Brosnahan ML, McRaven L, Bahr F, Lefebvre K. Evidence for massive and recurrent toxic blooms of Alexandrium catenella in the Alaskan Arctic. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2021 Oct 12;118(41):e2107387118.
Lefebvre KA, Fachon E, Bowers EK, Kimmel DG, Snyder JA, Stimmelmayr R, Grebmeier JM, Kibler S, Hardison DR, Anderson DM, Kulis D. Paralytic shellfish toxins in Alaskan Arctic food webs during the anomalously warm ocean conditions of 2019 and estimated toxin doses to Pacific walruses and bowhead whales. Harmful Algae. 2022 May 1;114:102205.
Hubbard KA, Villac MC, Chadwick C, DeSmidt AA, Flewelling L, Granholm A, Joseph M, Wood T, Fachon E, Brosnahan ML, Richlen M. Spatiotemporal transitions in Pseudo-nitzschia species assemblages and domoic acid along the Alaska coast. Plos one. 2023 Mar 22;18(3):e0282794.
Anderson D, Fachon E, Hubbard K, Lefebvre K, Lin P, Pickart R, Richlen M, Sheffield G, Van Hemert C. Harmful algal blooms in the Alaskan Arctic: an emerging threat as the ocean warms. Oceanography. 2022 Jan.
Pajusalu L, Albert G, Fachon E, Hepburn CD, Kotta J, Liversage K, Paalme T, Peterson A, Pritchard DW, Põllumäe A, Torn K. Ocean acidification may threaten a unique seaweed community and associated industry in the Baltic Sea. Journal of Applied Phycology. 2020 Aug;32:2469-78.
Fukai Y, Matsuno K, Fujiwara A, Suzuki K, Richlen ML, Fachon E, Anderson DM. Impact of Sea‐Ice Dynamics on the Spatial Distribution of Diatom Resting Stages in Sediments of the Pacific Arctic Region. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 2021 Jul;126(7):e2021JC017223.
Education
B.S.: Biology and Environmental Science, marine science concentration. 2017. Northeastern University, Boston, MA.
