Evie Fachon
Postdoctoral Investigator
Biology Department
Anderson Lab
Contact Information:
Work: 508-289-2365
efachon@whoi.edu
Building: Redfield 332
About Me
I am a postdoctoral investigator in the Anderson Lab, where I am studying harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Pacific Arctic. My PhD thesis work focused on bloom dynamics, connectivity and toxicity of the harmful dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella. As a postdoctoral investigator, I am synthesizing observational datasets and algal physiology to evaluate patterns of bloom occurrence through space and time in this rapidly changing region. I am particularly interested in the role that HAB species occupy in relation to the broader planktonic community, and am using automated plankton imaging systems and machine learning classifiers to investigate this topic.
Although the HABs keep me busy, I also love "good" algae! My past research involved studies of macroalgal ecology and physiology in the Gulf of Maine, Estonia, and New Zealand. For the past 5 years, I have planned a kelp potluck at WHOI where community members come together to share seaweed recipes.
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. I also work with stakeholders in northwestern Alaska to design and implement place-specific HAB sampling strategies.
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, cooking elaborate dinners, or hunting for mushrooms.
Selected Publications
Fachon E, Pickart RS, Huang J, Lalande C, Anderson DM. 2026. Spatiotemporal patterns and implications of suspended Alexandrium catenella cysts in the Pacific Arctic region. Deep Sea Research Part II, 225:105567, doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2025.105567.
Fachon E, Schrage KR, Lago LS, Pathare M, Lim SM, Goethel C. 2025. A high-density multi-species bivalve spawning event in the southern Chukchi Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 773:43-59, doi:10.3354/meps14981
Lefebvre KA, Charapata P, Stimmelmayr R, Lin P, Pickart RS, Hubbard KA, Bill BD, Sheffield G, Bowers EK, Anderson DM, Fachon E, Thoman R. 2025. Bowhead whale faeces link increasing algal toxins in the Arctic to ocean warming. Nature, doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09230-5.
Fachon E, Pickart RS, Sheffield G, Pate E, Pathare M, Brosnahan ML, Muhlbach E, Horn K, Spada NN, Rajagopalan A, Lin P. Tracking a large‐scale and highly toxic Arctic algal bloom: Rapid detection and risk communication. Limnology and Oceanography Letters. 2024 Jul. https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10421
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.
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.
Education
B.S.: Biology and Environmental Science, marine science concentration. 2017. Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
Ph.D.: Biological Oceanography. 2025. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole, MA) Joint Program
Media
- WCAI Local Food Report 2026 - Cooking with kelp
- Science 2024 - Warming oceans are pushing harmful algal blooms into polar waters
- Ocean Encounters 2023 - The Arctic
- Nome Nugget 2023 - How will the Bering Strait respond to harmful algal blooms?
- Oceanus 2022 - Are warming Alaskan Arctic waters a new toxic algal hotspot?
- Hakai Magazine 2021 - In a first, Alaska's Arctic waters appear poised for dangerous algal blooms
