MTS Member Webinar | Using FlowCam to Track Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics in a Coastal Georgia Estuary 

In coastal Georgia, harmful algal blooms (HABs) are poorly characterized despite potential impacts on coastal ecosystem health. In the Skidaway River Estuary of Savannah, elevated abundances of Akashiwo sanguinea, a cosmopolitan harmful algal bloom-forming species, have been observed seasonally. These blooms have coincided with multiple larval oyster stock failures at the adjacent UGA Marine Extension & GA Sea Grant Shellfish Research Laboratory, which sources seawater from the Skidaway River.  

To better understand bloom dynamics and inform hatchery decision-making, a high-resolution monitoring initiative using FlowCam was launched at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography in January 2023. Weekly measurements of phytoplankton assemblages, physicochemical parameters, and nutrient levels are conducted year-round, with increased sampling during historic bloom periods (May through September). These efforts complement a multi-year qualitative dataset from NOAA’s Phytoplankton Monitoring Network and ongoing metatranscriptomic analyses aimed at characterizing the molecular drivers of blooms and ecological consequences. 

Join us to hear from UGA's Skidaway Institute of Oceanography about their results from two years of seasonal sampling and summer spatial surveys in the context of historical observations.  The presenters will highlight how FlowCam supports proactive HAB monitoring and how it complements other techniques to characterize bloom dynamics. 

The presenters will also introduce other ways FlowCam is used at a multidisciplinary research institute like Skidaway, including a new continental shelf ecosystem field study in which FlowCam is being taken out to sea to collect information on phytoplankton, heterotrophs, and mixotrophs.