Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Toro Farmer, Gerardo

Area of Concentration

Marine Biology

Abstract

These projects span a two-year time period in which phytoplankton was sampled from Sarasota Bay. Samples were examined in order to find potential harmful algal bloom (HAB) contributors in addition to the commonly reported Karenia brevis. It was identified that both Gonyaulax and Pseudo-nitzschia genera found in The Bay could also be contributing to HAB events in Sarasota Bay. The first study (Chapter 1) spanned a year (2021) and looked at differences in the three groups' distribution at three different sites. This study found that Gonyaulax is an abundant organism and could be contributing to the HABs in the area. The second study (Chapter 2) spanned from March to August (2022) and looked at the three groups spanning two transects across the width of The Bay. This showed that the three genera were abundant at background levels, under 1,000 cells/Liter. The geostatistical interpolation method of Bayesian Kriging showed that there was a heavier bloom of all three genera during June 2022. Future studies should continue expanding upon these two studies by continuing the time series monitoring of Sarasota Bay’s phytoplankton populations.

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