Cary Lopez & Sugandha Shankar
Pyrodinium bahamense: coming this summer to a water body near you…Tampa Bay? - Phytoplankton are important and critical to life, but a small percentage of species can be harmful. Most Floridians know the harmful red tide alga well, but this talk will focus on a toxic, bioluminescent species called Pyrodinium bahamense, and why blooms of this species are a recurring summer feature in Tampa Bay.
About Cary Lopez: Cary is a phytoplankton ecologist by training, and her research focuses on a toxic alga that blooms in Tampa Bay most summers.
About Sugandha Shankar: Sugandha is a phytoplankton ecologist and her current projects focus on harmful algal bloom ecology and physiology. She is interested in understanding environmental factors that favor bloom maintenance and toxin production.