Townsend to talk about red tides, changes in Gulf of Maine

David Townsend will present “Red Tides, Unusual Plankton Blooms, and Recent Changes in the Oceanography in the Gulf of Maine” at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 2, in Brooke Hall at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center in Walpole. 

His talk will focus on red tides, which are algal blooms that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), and why they occur in the context of Maine’s changing oceanography. For more than 35 years, Townsend has examined biological and physical relationships of phytoplankton, zooplankton and larval fish in the Gulf of Maine region. 

Townsend also is director of UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences (SMS). With more than 85 faculty and professional research staff, SMS has the largest concentration of marine experts in Maine and is one of the strongest programs in the United States. 

The free, public talk is part of the DMC’s science seminar series that features SMS faculty, students and alumni. Talks, which are held Fridays through Aug. 16, provide opportunities to discuss current marine research that advances understanding of marine ecosystems and the human communities that are part of them. 

For a list of featured speakers and topics, visit the DMC website. For more information, or to request a reasonable accommodation, call 563.8135.