Demonstrating new applications of MBARI's probe technology
Project Manager: Mary Silver
Lead Scientist: Mary Silver/Chris Scholin

Volunteers from Mary Silver’s lab at University of California, Santa Cruz and collaborators in the California Department of Health Services will continue to use MBARI-designed probes to measure populations of paralytic shellfish poison- (PSP) and domoic acid- (DA) producing species. The measurements will provide:

• A 12-month record of  the abundance of the two most prominent algal sources of phycotoxins in Monterey Bay—Alexandrium catanella (PSP) and Pseudo-nitzschia australis and P. multiseries (DA)
• A 12-month record of PSP and DA levels in mussels and fish from Monterey Bay.
• A correlation analysis of cell abundances of toxic species with toxins in mussels and fish.

The results of the studies will be presented in papers, at major meetings, and in journals.