On October 6, 2022, Dr. Christopher Gobler presented the first lecture of the fall 2022 STEM Speaker Series at the University Libraries.
Dr. Christopher Gobler talked about many harmful algal blooms containing toxic compounds that impact all levels of marine food web. For instance, the brown tides that originally occurred on both the south shore and east end of Long Island from 1985 through 1995 gradually ended the bay scallop harvesting on Long Island.
To understand why brown tides occurred, Dr. Gobler and his research team sequenced the genome of the harmful Aureococcus anophagefferens. As quoted from the lecture slides:
- Aureococcus has a larger genome and more genes than competing phytoplankton.
- Aureococcus is enriched in genes that allow it to adapt to low light, high organic matter environments.
- Aureococcus is enriched in genes potentially involved in predator defense.
The lecture was well-attended. Dr. Gobbler answered students’ interesting questions after the lecture.
Clara Tran
Head, Science and Engineering at Stony Brook University Libraries
Clara is the member of the Library STEM Team.
Email: clara.tran@stonybrook.edu
Email: clara.tran@stonybrook.edu
