Tracking Ocean Toxins

From the deck of the Coastal Ocean Institute vessel Calanus, Linda Amaral-Zettler of the Marine Biological Laboratory and Erik Zettler of the Sea Education Association prepare to deploy an automated water sampler in Nauset Marsh. Through the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health, the researchers are conducting a molecular investigation of bacteria associated with toxic algae blooms in the Gulf of Maine. Blooms of the Alexandrium fundyense occur annually in the region during the spring and summer months. (Photo by Keith Bradley, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)