A blooming interesting evening

Algal blooms have been increasing in both frequency and the public’s awareness. Learn more about one Newport-based project to better understand harmful algal blooms at the next Cape Perpetua Young Scientist and Wave Makers webinar on Tuesday, March 14.

Raquel Gilliland will describe the project, which aims to gain more knowledge on the spatial and environmental factors affecting the abundance of certain phytoplankton species that are known to cause harmful algal blooms. Collaborating with charter and commercial fishermen based in Newport helped to gain a broad spatial snapshot of phytoplankton abundance and environmental factors such as temperature and salinity. Fishermen equipped with water-sampling kits and data sheets collected surface water samples and environmental data at their regular fishing locations. These samples were then run through an Imaging Flow Cytobot and the data was shared with project fishermen and state managers.

Gilliland graduated from Stetson University in Florida, with a BS in Aquatic and Marine Biology. She then spent two years interning in the Florida Keys, working on coral restoration projects, and then two years in Hawaii, working on more coral restoration projects and wastewater management on Oahu. Currently, she is working on a master’s degree in Marine Resource Management from Oregon State University. In her free time, she enjoys camping, hiking, snowboarding and surfing.

The virtual presentation will begin at 6 pm. For more information, go to capeperpetuacollaborative.org