WHOI Scientists Use Nauset Marsh to Study Harmful Alagal Blooms

HABs in Nauset are caused by the phytoplankton Alexandrium, which produces a toxin that causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) in humans.

EASTHAM – The Nauset Marsh in Eastham functions as a “natural laboratory” for local researchers working to study harmful algal blooms, or HABs, and red tide.

HABs in Nauset are caused by the phytoplankton Alexandrium, which produces a toxin that causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning in humans.

Using funding from Woods Hole Sea Grant, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution biologist Mike Brosnahan field-tested a novel sampling system that continuously records microscope images of phytoplankton and identifies them in real time.

The high throughput Imaging Flow Cytobot enables scientists to detect the presence of harmful algal bloom species in the water.

Brosnahan says the blooms in Nauset develop extremely fast and the images can show how the size of the cells change throughout the day and allows scientists to estimate how fast the cells are growing.

The high throughput system analyzes 2.5 liters of water in a day, which is 10 times more than the regular Imaging Flow Cytobot.

The instrument records many more photos of rare cell types which have short-lived life cycle stages that are difficult to observe.

The new system will provide a window into the mechanisms that govern HAB outbreaks and ultimately assist in management efforts.

The datasets collected at Nauset will help scientists to better understand the larger coastal blooms that occur in the Gulf of Maine and can affect shellfish throughout the Northeast.

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