NOAA Phytoplankton Monitoring Program: Understanding Ecosystem Conditions for Phytoplankton in Kachemak Bay

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dc.contributorAndras, Jason
dc.contributorRobinson, Michael
dc.contributor.advisorBrodie, Renae
dc.contributor.authorRosenberg, Lily
dc.date.accessioned2016-07-01T13:12:34Z
dc.date.available2016-07-01T13:12:34Z
dc.date.gradyear2016en_US
dc.date.issued2016-07-01
dc.description.abstractMy research focuses on the two most common and harmful phytoplankton genera in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, Chaetoceros spp. and Pseudo-nitzschia spp. Chaetoceros spp. can be deadly to fish in high concentrations because they clog and destroy fish’s gills. Pseudo-nitzschia spp. are more dangerous because they produce a deadly toxin, domoic acid, which causes amnesic shellfish poisoning to mammals. I compared these genera to environmental variables to see which parameters affected them the most. The environmental parameters that I focused on were photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), water temperature, salinity, and nutrients because they have been found to influence the presence of harmful phytoplankton species. I found that PAR, orthophosphate, and nitrite+nitrate were significantly correlated with the presence of Chaetoceros, which was also correlated with water temperature in certain instances. Pseudo-nitzschia spp. are significantly correlated to water temperature, PAR, and nitrite+nitrate. Over time, we have seen more and more Pseudo-nitzschia in the bay, possibly caused by temperature change regimes. Increasing temperatures from climate change will lead to changes in species dynamics and competition, which we found, and is expected to lead to more harmful algal blooms, which we saw.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipBiological Sciencesen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10166/3913
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.rights.restrictedpublicen_US
dc.subjectphytoplanktonen_US
dc.subjectKachemak Bayen_US
dc.subjectAlaskaen_US
dc.subjectPseudo-nitzschiaen_US
dc.subjectChaetocerosen_US
dc.subjectenvironmental conditionsen_US
dc.subjecttemperatureen_US
dc.subjectPARen_US
dc.subjectsalinityen_US
dc.subjectnutrientsen_US
dc.subjectnitriteen_US
dc.subjectnitrateen_US
dc.subjectphosphateen_US
dc.subjectclimate changeen_US
dc.subjectPacific Bloben_US
dc.subjectEl Ninoen_US
dc.subjectharmful algal bloomsen_US
dc.subjectHABen_US
dc.subjectPacificen_US
dc.subjectdomoic aciden_US
dc.subjectamnesic shellfish poisoningen_US
dc.subjectphytoplankton monitoringen_US
dc.subjectlife cycleen_US
dc.subjectCook Inleten_US
dc.subjectsub-arcticen_US
dc.titleNOAA Phytoplankton Monitoring Program: Understanding Ecosystem Conditions for Phytoplankton in Kachemak Bayen_US
dc.typeThesis
mhc.degreeUndergraduateen_US
mhc.institutionMount Holyoke College

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Lily Rosenberg Completed Thesis on phytoplankton in Alaska
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