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Microalgae in Aquatic Ecosystems of Southeast Alaska

Project Details

Keywords: microalgae, ecosystem, freshwater, marine
Student Investigator:
Melissa Williams
Faculty Mentor: Christopher Donar, Ph.D.

Abstract

The area around Southeast Alaska has numerous complex freshwater and marine ecosystems. The biodiversity of many of these ecosystems have yet to be examined in great detail. We are focusing on microalgae because these organisms are very informative about the waters quality conditions. The goal of this project is to produce a digital image database and a taxonomic reference collection of diatoms and other microalgae collected from lakes and aquatic ecosystems in the vicinity of Ketchikan Alaska. Through this project we hope to develop a useful reference tool that can be used by many agencies in order to improve biomonitoring efforts and improve our understanding of these ecosystems.