Phytoplankton monitoring within the Morro Bay estuary

We recently partnered with the Morro Bay National Estuary Program to expand upon our phytoplankton monitoring within the estuary. We will be tracking the abundance of over 200 phytoplankton species from two sites in Morro Bay - one located in the Front Bay near the Coast Guard T-Pier and another located in the Back Bay at Pasadena Point. Check out the recent blog post on our monitoring program.

Light microscopy images of phytoplankton under the microscope during plankton counts. Photo credit: Nicholas Soares

Microbial Image Analysis

Our lab recently published a paper on the open-source program we built for analyzing epifluorescence microscopy images of microorganisms. The Microbial Image Analysis (MiA) program aims to provide flexibility for the selection, identification, and quantification of cells that vary in size and fluorescence intensity (natural or probe-conferred) within natural microbial communities or cultures. The development of the graphical user interfaces (GUIs) was built in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of undergraduate students in Biology, Physics and Computer Science. This work was primarily supported by the Cal Poly Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities Grant Program and the Bill and Linda Frost Fund.

Download and use the program from Github.

Epifluorescent microscopy image of phytoplankton from the Central Coast of CA. Photo Credit: A. Pasulka

Methodological ‘lenses’ influence the characterization of phytoplankton dynamics in a coastal upwelling ecosystem

Undergraduate students Will Hammond and Laura Lodolo published a paper demonstrating that different methodological approaches, or “lenses”, influence our interpretation of phytoplankton ecology is important. This work highlights the notion that in a natural environment, the discrepancies between methods influence the perceived phytoplankton community composition. This work was supported the Bill and Linda Frost Fund, COAST and the CCE LTER.

Cal Poly Pier Ocean Observing: Acidification and Hypoxia in the Environment of California and Beyond

Cal Poly’s Strategic Research Initiative supported the purchasing and deployment of a SeapHOx pH and O2 sensor at the Cal Poly Pier. The data will monitor seasonal and long-term ocean acidification and climate change associated oxygen depletion, and will be available to the entire Cal Poly community and the public for use. Image from left to right: Alexis Pasulka (Biological Oceanographer), Ryan Walter (Physical Oceanographer), and Emily Bockmon (Chemical Oceanographer