Marine phytoplankton comprise the foundation of oceanic food webs and generate most of the Earth's oxygen. Of the many phytoplankton species in the ocean, a few dozen produce potent toxins, and at high concentrations can form what are called Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) or "red tides" that can discolor marine waters. Managers and scientists have been monitoring coastal waters and shellfish resources for HABs and their toxins to ensure seafood safety and understand why blooms occur. This educational activity focuses on a prominent HAB species that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Students will learn about the importance of HABs and PSP, as well as how scientists collect and use data to understand and predict blooms. Students will plot data on HAB species collected by scientists over multiple years of sampling. Students will also plot results over time and across regions, report on observed patterns, and complete grade-appropriate calculations. Lastly, group discussion will focus on determining whether geographic patterns exist that might influence where shellfish beds are closed. This activity is timely given the widespread wildlife mortalities and beach closures due to Florida red tide, as well as recent dog deaths attributed to exposure to freshwater cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms.

中文翻译：

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有害藻华 (HAB)：像科学家一样追踪它们。

海洋浮游植物构成海洋食物网的基础，并产生地球上大部分的氧气。在海洋中的许多浮游植物物种中，有几十种会产生强效毒素，在高浓度下会形成所谓的有害藻华 (HAB) 或“赤潮”，使海水变色。管理人员和科学家一直在监测沿海水域和贝类资源中的有害藻华及其毒素，以确保海产品安全并了解水华发生的原因。这项教育活动的重点是导致麻痹性贝类中毒 (PSP) 的主要 HAB 物种。学生将了解 HAB 和 PSP 的重要性，以及科学家如何收集和使用数据来理解和预测水华。学生将绘制科学家在多年采样中收集的 HAB 物种数据。学生还将随时间和跨地区绘制结果，报告观察到的模式，并完成适合年级的计算。最后，小组讨论将侧重于确定是否存在可能影响贝类海床关闭位置的地理模式。鉴于佛罗里达赤潮导致野生动物死亡和海滩关闭，以及最近因暴露于淡水蓝藻（蓝绿藻）大量繁殖而导致的狗死亡，这项活动是及时的。