Summary
Presentations at this year’s Alaska Marine Science Symposium and the Alaska Forum on the Environment focused on the Reserve's 20+ years of monitoring data, marine invasive species and harmful algal bloom monitoring, and a panel discussion on the Coastal Zone Management Program.
Photo: Jasmine Maurer, KBNERR Harmful Species Coordinator, shares outreach material at our display booth on invasive European green crab and tunicates at the Alaska Forum on the Environment in early February.
The annual Alaska Marine Science Symposium was held January 27th – 31st and the Alaska Forum on the Environment was held Feb. 3rd – 7th in Anchorage. KBNERR’s Research staff worked with Research Coordinator, Dr. Lauren Sutton, to preliminarily compare 20+ years of synthesized phytoplankton monitoring data paired with our System Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) water quality data. KBNERR’s scientific poster showcasing the results was shared by Lauren at the AMSS evening poster session.
During an AMSS lunch session, Lauren and Katherine Schake, KBNERR’s Manager, participated in a panel discussion on Alaska’s Coastal Zone Management Program (CZMP). Alaska is the only coastal state that does not have an active CZMP, leaving federal dollars for coastal management projects on the table. The 1-hr panel discussion was facilitated by The Nature Conservancy and additional panelists included Derek Brockbank, Executive Director of Coastal States Organization – the nonprofit that supports other states with CZMPs, and Pat Galvin, the former Director of AK Div. of Governmental Coordination when the AK CZMP was dissolved in 2011. It was an informative session and a way to retain institutional knowledge regarding the history of Alaska’s CZMP.
The Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom (AHAB) Network, sponsored by the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS), hosted sessions at both AMSS and Alaska Forum on the Environment (AFE). Rosie Masui, KBNERR’s Coastal Training Program Specialist, has stepped into a new role and partnership supporting the AHAB Network Coordinator, Thomas Farrugia, with statewide initiatives. We are excited about this new partnership between KBNERR and AOOS, as it is well aligned with our Kachemak Bay Phytoplankton Community Monitoring Program and supports statewide conversations about data and research to support safe shellfish consumption.
During AFE, KBNERR collaboratively hosted booths during the AHAB session, sharing about the Reserve’s monitoring program, plankton identification guides/educational materials, and methods for sampling mussels for toxins when harmful algal blooms are detected. In colalboration with AOOS and NOAA Kasitsna Bay Lab, a new Imaging FlowCytobot will be introduced into Kachemak Bay, thanks to an Alaska EPSCoR seed grant that KBNERR’s Research staff received. This instrument will provide continuous monitoring of phytoplankton populations early this spring (March/April), supporting a gap in data during a critical time for oyster farmers. Interested in being a phytoplankton community volunteer? Learn more here.
KBNERR’s Harmful Species Coordinator, Jasmine Maurer, also presented at AFE during the Alaska Invasive Species “See it & ID it” session, co-hosted display booths on KBNERR’s Marine Invasive Species Monitoring Program, and shared the new Statewide Invasive European Green Crab Monitoring Protocols, which KBNERR coauthored with AK Department of Fish and Game Invasive Species Coordinator, Tammy Davis. Protocols are being finalized this month with committees of the Alaska Invasive Species Partnership.