Algae Blooms / Runoff
See also Ocean, Marine Mammals, [ Water]
Red Tide in Santa Cruz 11/13.
Climate and Algal Blooms audio 10/13.
Annual nitrogen flush affects Great Lakes. 3/13
Manatee Deaths From Red Tide: Algae Blamed For Killing 174 Of The Endangered Species In 2013
NOAA Algae research; Algae blooms info from NOAA (Wayback archive), ECOHAB including work by UCSC
Dead Zone in Gulf of Mexico from fertilizer.
Nitrogen cycle. To Save Our Ecosystems, Stop Overloading Them: Left alone, natural systems keep nitrogen, carbon, and other key ingredients of life balanced. (Infographic).
Interactive map of marine dead zones and more on eutrophication
Microbe that can clean up dead zones includes map.
Excellent article on plastic in the Pacific Gyre
Sharks off Santa Cruz City on a Hill.
Dolphin Attack from City on a Hill
Stormwater pollution in SF Bay (good overview)
Maps and Infographics
Nitrogen cycle. To Save Our Ecosystems, Stop Overloading Them: Left alone, natural systems keep nitrogen, carbon, and other key ingredients of life balanced. (Infographic).
Interactive map of marine dead zones and more on eutrophication.
UCSC / Local People
Peter Cook et al. find Sea lions exposed to algal toxin show impaired spatial memory: Permanent neurological and behavioral changes caused by the neurotoxin domoic acid may affect sea lions' ability to survive in the wild 12/15.
Brent Hughes, now a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California, Santa Cruz, began studying water quality in Elkhorn Slough as a UCSC graduate student. His earlier research showed that virtually every portion of the estuary is adversely affected by high nutrient levels, which stimulate the growth of algae, leading to low oxygen levels when the algae die and decompose, aka Dead Zones. 6/15. see Ocean.
Sajin Sison-Mangus got a grant from the Dean's Fund for Undergraduate Research, to study to determine whether certain bacteria influence production of domoic acid during algal blooms, which affects sea otters. 6/15.
Raphael Kudela, professor of ocean sciences, participated in a study that links seabird deaths to soap-like foam produced by red-tide algae. His team is trying to predict when toxin-producing algae will strike again with computer models. 9/10 update. 11/11: UCSC leads $4 million NOAA project to monitor harmful algal blooms. NASA award 7.12. Congressional testimony 10/13.
Adina Paytan does research on how dust affects algae in oceans. Her recent work looks at ocean acidification which affects coral.
Colleen Reichmuth has worked with marine mammals since 1990, conducting research in the areas of comparative cognition, bioacoustics, and behavioral ecology. Male elephant seals use 'voice recognition' to identify rivals, study by graduate student Caroline Casey and research biologist Colleen Reichmuth finds (video) 8/15. Sea lions exposed to algal toxin show impaired spatial memory see Marine Mammals. 11/16 update: sea otter hunting.
Mary Silver researches algae blooms. 2008 emerita.
Jonathan Trent is working on a plan to grow new biofuel by farming micro-algae in floating offshore pods that eat wastewater from cities. He has done prototypes in Santa Cruz. Energy from floating algae pods Call it "fuel without fossils": (TEDtalk 9/12). TEDxSC talk (video). TEDxSan Jose.
Kerstin Wasson is adjunct professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and research coordinator for the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve. In the 1920s, San Francisco oystermen harvested Olympia oysters from Elkhorn Slough by the bushel. Overharvesting, however, soon decimated the population of these tasty little oysters, the only native oyster on the Pacific coast. They are now rare in Elkhorn Slough and in danger of going locally extinct. Kerstin Wasson, research coordinator for the reserve and an adjunct associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz. UPDATE: According to a paper by Wasson and grad student Brent Hughes, excessive nutrient levels in Elkhorn Slough cause algal blooms and degrade the habitat for fish and wildlife in many parts of the slough. 10/11 4/18 update award : Wetlands Hero. Wetlands.
