Smithsonian NMNH Plant Press Vol. 26 - No. 4

Contributions from Gary Krupnick, Laurence Dorr, Erika Gardner, Rose Gulledge, Alice Tangerini,

Jun Wen, Kenneth Wurdack, and Robert Costello

Savannah Mapes, a fourth year PhD

student at the Virginia Institute of Marine

Science (VIMS), worked this summer on

dinoflagellate and harmful algal bloom

(HAB) research. Under the mentorship of

Rose Gulledge, she worked on Maria

Faust’s legacy material, perusing her lab

notes, SEM micrographs, and publications.

Much of Faust’s work applies to Mapes’ re-

search in HABs; her taxonomic reviews

and guides are heavily in use in the class-

room as well as in the lab. Mapes also

shared research on HABs and phytoplank-

ton at an Expert Is In session in the mu-

seum’s Ocean Hall on June 16. She talked

about the important role these tiny organ-

isms play in our everyday lives and show-

cased the ecological and financial impact

of HABs. As a graduate student, she is ex-

amining the dynamics of HAB species in

the lower Chesapeake Bay, collecting data

that can be used in the development of en-

hanced monitoring and mitigation

strategies. Some of her work is focused

specifically on characterizing a local toxin-

producing and bioluminescent HAB

species, Alexandrium monilatum. She

hopes to uncover clues in the life stages to

determine why this species creates harmful

blooms.

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