What is happening in our pond? Is this a new art installation?

The museum and the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences are partnering to explore the best ways to control harmful algal blooms, which can negatively affect aquatic ecosystems and organisms by producing poisonous toxins. Even pets can become sick if they enter or drink the water!

The graduate student team, led by Professor Alan Wilson, will apply several chemical and biological methods to the floating greenhouse plastic enclosures to determine which one is most effective. They’ll use the results to identify the right ongoing treatment to manage the blooms in our pond and other water bodies to ensure they remain safe for all to enjoy.

Graduate students Angelea Belfiore, Riley Buley, Edna Fenandez-Figueroa and Matt Gladfelter prepare the experiment along with professor Alan Wilson.