Grantee Research Project Results
Modeling Alexandrium Fundyense Blooms in the Western Gulf of Maine
EPA Grant Number: U915749Title: Modeling Alexandrium Fundyense Blooms in the Western Gulf of Maine
Investigators: Stock, Charles A.
Institution: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
EPA Project Officer: Lee, Sonja
Project Period: August 1, 2000 through August 1, 2003
Project Amount: $102,000
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (2000) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Fellowship - Oceanography , Fellowship - Aquatic Ecology and Ecosystems , Academic Fellowships
Objective:
The objective of this work is to use a coupled physical/biological model to explore the initiation and development of blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense in the Gulf of Maine.
Approach:
A basic parameterization of the germination and growth of A. fundyense was formulated using data collected in the ECOHAB Gulf of Maine program. This parameterization was coupled with a 3D hydrodynamic simulation of the western Gulf of Maine, which was developed as part of an earlier study. The coupled model allows the simulation of blooms with realistic physical forcing. The model?s ability to recreate observed blooms will be evaluated quantitatively against field data. Various additional biological factors will be imposed on the basic model and their effect will be measured within the same quantitative framework. Robust improvement in model performance under a particular set of factors will be identified and further diagnosed. This will hopefully give further insight into the factors that control the severity, timing, and spatial distribution of A. fundyense blooms in the Western Gulf of Maine.
Expected Results:
The hypotheses include: (1) germination of benthic A. fundyense cysts in off-shore sediments is the primary source of new cells leading to blooms in the western Gulf of Maine; and (2) bloom development is heavily dependent on nutrient input from the Kennebec and Androscoggin rivers.
Supplemental Keywords:
harmful algal blooms, Gulf of Maine, Northeast, modeling., RFA, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Water, algal blooms, Ecological Risk Assessment, State, Ecology, Oceanography, Monitoring/Modeling, Environmental Microbiology, Ecology and Ecosystems, Environmental Monitoring, ecosystem health, Maine (ME), Gulf of Maine, aquatic ecosystem, ecological models, Alexandrium Blooms, bloom dynamics, algal growthProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.