About Me
Welcome! I am a
marine scientist and currently a Ph.D. student with Dr.
Christopher
Gobler in the Gobler Lab.
The motivation behind my work is determining:
What factors cause the formation and decline of harmful algal blooms?
More specifically, how does the availability of dissolved nutrients affect the physiology, metabolism, growth, and location of harmful algae?
Harmful Algal Blooms
Phytoplankton (microscopic photosynthesizing cells, or algae) are the base of most marine food webs and are generally beneficial to the environment. However, harmful algal blooms occur when phytoplankton either produce a toxin or negatively affect the environment. There are a number of reasons to care about harmful algal blooms:
- They can make
people sick.
Some phytoplankton produce toxins that accumulate in shellfish during harmful algal blooms. When contaminated shellfish are eaten, the toxins can cause a variety of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, seizures, disorientation, short-term memory loss, trouble breathing, reversal of temperature sensation, muscular aches, anxiety, sweating, numbness and tingling of the mouth and digits, coma, paralysis and death. Although death is rare, debilitating reactions are common. See the Harmful Algae Page: Human Health for more information about the effects of different toxins. - They hurt the
environment.
Harmful algal blooms can kill shellfish and fish, loss of habitat and seagrass beds, and altered food webs that decrease commercial and recreational fish stocks. In addition to toxins that affect people, phytoplankton may produce toxins that hurt aquatic animals. Known long-term effects of these toxins on aquatic animals include increased susceptibility to disease, tumors, impaired feeding, and reduced growth and reproduction. - They depress
local and regional economies.
Harmful algal blooms can hurt the livelihood of commercial shellfishermen, owners of restaurants, seafood markets, the tourism industry, and recreational fishermen and clammers. Revenue losses for local communities can occur when recreational water bodies are closed to protect human health during harmful algal blooms, especially during holiday weekends or planned events. The average nationwide cost of harmful algal blooms is at least $50 million per year. However, one large bloom can cost a state $12-20 million. - They are
getting more frequent, widespread,
and toxic.
Over the last several decades, the number of problems associated with harmful algal blooms in the United States has increased dramatically. Virtually every coastal state is threatened by more than one type of harmful algae and over large geographic areas. In addition, freshwater harmful algal blooms have increased in the Great Lakes region. This trend is also evident globally. The increase in harmful algal bloom effects and frequency may be due to widespread pollution, globalization (resulting in the transfer of species to new regions), and climate change.