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October 2002
Excellence Award winners recognized at Convocation
Professor awarded prestigious fellowship, grant to study Black Power Movement
Boss Arena dedicated
Kudos
Football, festivities, fireworks highlight Homecoming 2002
$2 million, ten-state study targets young adults’ nutrition, eating habits
Oceanographers studying the effects of algal blooms on Narragansett Bay ecology
Nurse-Midwifery Program awarded $810,839 federal grant
URI partners with Nature Conservancy to protect land, wildlife
Management, labor scholar named to head Schmidt Labor Research Center
Coastal Institute teams with NUWC for environmental research, education
Tunes from the deep resurface
Diversity Week celebration Oct. 7-11
Serial murder, bioterrorism, maggots among topics of Forensic Science Series
Tres Vidas, St. Petersburg Quartet highlight Great Performances
Art exhibition to focus on genetic revolution
URI Theatre examines hate crimes with The Laramie Project
Honors Colloquium update
Fall focus
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Oceanographers studying the effects of algal blooms on Narragansett Bay ecology
Graduate School of Oceanography biological oceanographers Ted Smayda and David Borkman have received a $131,800 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to analyze the dynamics, variability, and patterns of harmful algal blooms and red tides in Narragansett Bay. The study will include analysis of data from weekly measurements in lower Narragansett Bay conducted between 1959 and 1996, as well as field observations, laboratory analysis, and detailed information on key species.
The incidence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) is on the rise. They are now appearing in regions previously free from such events, and toxic outbreaks of species once considered benign are threatening marine life, shellfish, and humans. Research on algal blooms is difficult to conduct because the blooms are unpredictable and swift, often disappearing so fast that meaningful field studies are impossible.
Smayda’s analysis will help to fill in the knowledge gaps in the ecology of harmful algal blooms and enhance scientists’ ability to predict blooms and develop effective control strategies. He and his colleagues will address how different blooms coexist in a given area, how they are maintained through time, and what mechanisms control their behavior.
The research project will evaluate how climate and the physical, chemical, and biological factors in the Bay interact with each other to create the conditions that cause the different types of HABs and benign red tides to occur.
“This EPA grant for data analysis will benefit the citizens of Rhode Island by providing greater understanding of bay ecology needed for effective management and use of bay resources,” said Smayda.
“At least eighteen HAB and red tide species bloom within Narragansett Bay,” he added, “and they represent potential threats to local aquaculture initiatives under consideration. This study is relevant to those initiatives, and I hope it can jumpstart some discussions among the affected individuals, businesses, and organizations.”
By Lisa Cugini
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