UF water researchers develop prediction system for harmful algae

The slimy algae topping Florida’s waterways are more than just unsightly. They are often toxic to humans, animals and the environment.

To mitigate those risks, University of Florida researchers are collaborating with North Carolina State University and University of South Florida scientists on a next-day prediction model to warn and inform water managers about harmful algal blooms.

The research is funded by two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grants for two phases, totaling $4.4 million. The project is led by David Kaplan, Ph.D., a professor with the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and director of the Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands, and Mauricio Arias, Ph.D., an associate professor at USF.

In a paper published recently in the Journal of Environmental Management, Kaplan, UF assistant professor Elise Morrison, Ph.D., and NCSU’s Maria Menchu Maldonado, Ph.D., chronicled their work with harmful algal blooms in the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary, the environmentally sensitive link between Lake Okeechobee and Florida’s southwestern coast. Maldonado performed the work under the guidance of NCSU collaborator Natalie Nelson.