Session Lead: Emily Brownlee (Saint Mary’s College of Maryland)

Co-Lead(s): Greg Silsbe (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science), Catherine Wazniak (Maryland Department of Natural Resources)

Session Format: Oral presentations

Session Description: 

In coastal and estuarine environments, the rapid turnover of phytoplankton is a function of both short division times and tightly coupled consumer-prey interactions. Phytoplankton in these dynamic environments are quick to respond to stochastic events, and at times community assemblages become dominated by so-called harmful algal blooms (HABs) that present significant risks to the economy and human health. Yet fundamental knowledge gaps in our understanding of phytoplankton and protist ecology remain, in part to the scarcity of routine monitoring. Consequently, advancements in the prediction, detection, and monitoring of phytoplankton in general and HAB events in particular continue to be high-priority objectives for state agencies and other stakeholders. This session aims to bring together researchers interested in phytoplankton dynamics in coastal and estuarine environments. We specifically invite research that span a range of approaches, including statistical and machine-learning, ecological and habitat modeling, and observational platforms including satellite remote sensing and high-throughput imaging systems.

Presentations (Session 24 Abstracts)

  1. Michelle C. Tomlinson, Kirstin Wakefield: From lab to space: Co-developing a regional prototype for a National HAB Observation Network (NHABON) in Chesapeake Bay
  2. Isabella Chandler, Victoria Hill: Using Planet Labs Satellite Imagery to Track Winter Harmful Algal Bloom Events
  3. Khari Crommarty: Mapping the Risk of High Chlorophyll & HAB events in the Chesapeake Bay
  4. Xin Yu, Michelle C. Tomlinson: A short-term harmful algal bloom (HAB) forecasting system for the lower Chesapeake Bay
  5. Dante M. L. Horemans, Pierre St-Laurent, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, and Margaret R. Mulholland: Environmental controls on interannual Margalefidinium polykrikoides blooms in the Lafayette River
  6. Allen R. Place: Karlodinium veneficum – The little dinoflagellate with a big bite is missing? 
  7. Danyang Zhai, Jian Shen: Primary production in Chesapeake Bay: Spatial and Temporal Patterns Using Open Water Method
  8. Margaret R. Mulholland, Eileen Hofmann, Peter Bernhardt, Megan Ladds, Jessica Kellner, Chyna Laws, Marjy Friederichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Dante Horemans, Savannah Mapes, Kimberly Reece, Willy Reay, Susanna Musick, Mary Ford, and Shelly Tomlinson: Enhanced surveillance to improve HAB monitoring and detection: toward an early warning system for HABs in the lower Chesapeake Bay
  9. Kami Lentzsch, Amy Hamilton, Catherine Wazniak and Beth Larson: Evaluating FlowCam Precision for Reliable Phytoplankton Assessment in the Chesapeake Bay
  10. Catherine Wazniak, Jeremy Testa: Benthic Microalgae in the Chesapeake Bay