DV-06-003 A Pilot Study to Determine the Use of Three Tools to Monitor Toxicity in Bloom Dynamics in Harpswell, Maine

Alison Sirois
Maine Department of Marine Resources
P.O. Box 8
West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575
207-633-2430
alison.sirois@maine.gov

The volunteer phytoplankton monitoring program in Maine works as an early warning system for Maine Department of Marine Resources’ Biotoxin Program in detecting harmful algal blooms. Learning to correctly identify Alexandrium cells, the cause of paralytic shellfish poisoning, takes significant time and training. Sirois and her team will assess the accuracy of using the Jellet rapid response test to determine the presence of PSP in the water column in Maine. If proven to be successful, the JRT would be a secondary check for volunteers to reaffirm what they are seeing in their microscopes. This would increase the reliability of the monitoring network for managers responsible for public health.

1-year: $3500