Tales of fish—and other adventures—in Zanzibar, East Africa

Mary Silver, Ph.D.
University of California, Santa Cruz

Friday, February 20, 1998
12:00 noon—Pacific Forum

For six months last year, Mary Silver spent her sabbatical in the tourist mecca of the Zanzibar Islands, Tanzania. Her scientific mission was to learn whether toxic marine microalgae occur in island waters, as they do along the California Coast and in most maritime regions around the world. Because there had never been reports of such microorganisms in east Africa, she quickly resorted to interviews with local medical practitioners and fishermen.

In this seminar, Mary will describe her travels on the Zanzibar Islands, the many helpful encounters that led to a totally new way (for a marine scientist!) of researching marine organisms, some of her scientific discoveries, and the adventures and tribulations (not many) that made this a memorable, and possibly life-changing adventure for an oceanographer.

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