Outreach Programs: South Carolina
South Carolina Phytoplankton Monitoring Network
- General Information
- Principal Investigators (*contact person): Steve L. Morton, Katherine A. Schaefer*, Heather L. Blankenstein, and Kimberly J. Nowocin
Address: NOAA/NOS/Marine Biotoxins Program, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412
Phone: (843) 762-8830
Email: Katherine.Schaefer@noaa.gov
- Program Summary
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Subject: Biological Oceanography
Audience: 6 – 8, 9 – 12, Undergraduate, Graduate or Professional, Informal Education
Program Type: Curriculum Development through Monitoring
Funding Agency: NOAA
URL: http://www.chbr.noaa.gov/CoastalResearch/SCPMN/index.htm - Program Description
The South Carolina Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (SCPMN), initiated in January 2001, is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sponsored community outreach program that increases awareness of harmful algae to the general public. The purpose of SCPMN is to educate the public, particularly students, on harmful algal blooms (HABs) while expanding the knowledge of phytoplankton that exist in South Carolina.
SCPMN volunteer groups include middle and high school science classes, state parks, and environmental citizen groups. Volunteer groups are trained on basic phytoplankton identification methods and sampling techniques by NOAA scientists. An additional benefit to schools involved with SCPMN is the ability to achieve South Carolina science curriculum standards. Currently there are 40 volunteer groups that monitor approximately 50 sampling sites along the South Carolina coast in search of potentially harmful algae.
SCPMN volunteers discovered three species of potentially harmful algae in South Carolina waters during the first year of monitoring. These species include Pseudo-nitzschia, Dinophysis caudata, and Prorocentrum lima. Though the abundance of these species was low, volunteer groups will continue to monitor sampling locations for these species as well as other potentially harmful algae.
- SCPMN Volunteers performing plankton tows and identifying samples.
