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We Get the Basics on Oscillatoria Algae

Oscillatoria Filaments
Wikimedia Commons
Oscillatoria Filaments

Southwest Florida has been facing two harmful algal blooms: the red tide bloom, which stretches from Naples to Sarasota, has been impacting coastal waters since last fall. And, the toxic blue-green algae bloom that started in July in Lake Okeechobee and has worked its way down the Caloosahatchee River and into the estuary. Now, marine scientists say a third kind of algae calledOscillatoria showing up around where the two meet, being fueled by nutrients provided by decomposing marine life. And, while apparently not toxic to humans, it is not good news for the environment. We're joined byDr. Michael Parsons, FGCU Professor of Marine Science and Director of theCoastal Watershed InstituteandVester Field Station.

Copyright 2018 WGCU

Julie Glenn is the host of Gulf Coast Live. She has been working in southwest Florida as a freelance writer since 2007, most recently as a regular columnist for the Naples Daily News. She began her broadcasting career in 1993 as a reporter/anchor/producer for a local CBS affiliate in Quincy, Illinois. After also working for the NBC affiliate, she decided to move to Parma, Italy where she earned her Master’s degree in communication from the University of Gastronomic Sciences. Her undergraduate degree in Mass Communication is from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
Mike Kiniry is producer of Gulf Coast Live, and co-creator and host of the WGCU podcast Three Song Stories: Biography Through Music. He first joined the WGCU team in the summer of 2003 as an intern while studying Communication at Florida Gulf Coast University.