Algal Toxins and Microbial Communities

My research project for my masters thesis revolves around the question of how algal toxins affect communities of algae-associated bacteria. I'm investigating this question with the neurotoxin-producing algae, Pseudo-nitzschia, in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.

My research combines culture studies and field observations in order to directly test my results from laboratory tests in the environment. By using both methods, I was able to study the relationship between Pseudo-nitzschia and bacteria in understudied east coast ecosystems in a new way.