March- Lecture Series, Harmful Algae Blooms, Dr. Jennifer Cherrier

Conservation Lecture Series Thursday, March 13, 2014 -7 p.m.  FSUCML Auditorium Harmful Algal Blooms:  Land Use Linkages, Impacts, and an Activated Green Infrastructure Solution As storm and irrigation related waters flow over the landscape, they mobilize a variety of pollutants that then flow downstream into adjacent inland and coastal waters.  This has gotten worse with changes in land use practices that result in increased nutrient loading and the development of harmful algal blooms (HAB). HABs have increased in frequency in the Gulf of Mexico since the 1990s, with half of the documented red tides occurring within the last decade.      Recently, low-impact 'green'  infrastructure and vegetated buffer systems such as rain gardens and bioretention cells have gained wide attention as a cost-effective alternative to the "grey" infrastructure approaches traditionally used for stormwater management.  However, their passive design limits the environmental and economic benefits and their potential to adequately address water management needs is compromised.   Dr. Cherrier and her colleagues at FAMU developed an ecosystem-based technology (eco-WEIR, patent pending) that holds some promise.  She will discuss how this system augments the passive vegetated buffer system and 'activates' them to control soil conditions, water retention, and the proximity of water to the plant roots, all of which serve to maximize contaminant removal efficiency.                                                                         Bio: Dr. Jennifer Cherrier  Associate Professor Florida A&M University  Jennifer Cherrier is an Associate Professor in the School of the Environment at Florida A&M University,Tallahassee, where she teaches and conducts research in the area of aquatic biogeochemistry and coastal zone management Recently, her research has focused more closely on solution-based approaches to offset the impact of human stressors on the environment, particularly as it pertains to protecting water resources. She received the honor of becoming a  Leopold Leadership Fellow (Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment) in 2013. The Leopold Leadership Program trains scientists to step out of the Ivory Tower to become leaders in sustainability by providing skills and approaches for communicating and networking with NGOs, business, government, and communities to help insure that science is integrated into decision making to help inform policy related to natural resources.

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