The phytoplankton in Kachemak Bay continue to be abundant in many areas over the past two weeks. In the Inner Bay there was an abundance of mixed diatoms, while the Outer Bay had Chaetoceros spp. dominating consistently over the past two weeks (Chaetoceros spp. also are diatoms).
As summer gets kicked off this weekend we want to take a moment to highlight the main goal of the program, which is to look for groups of phytoplankton that are known to carry toxins that can result in shellfish poisoning in humans and other animals.
For more information on this Phytoplankton Update and the Qualitative Analysis of Phytoplankton Data, click here.