Credit Courtesy of Elizabeth Mears
Paralytic shellfish poisoning, caused by eating seafood contaminated with toxins from harmful algal blooms, can be deadly to humans. Now, using marine samples from Unalaska, scientists are trying to understand if those harmful algal blooms could also be responsible for seabird die-offs.
There s not much data on how saxitoxin a harmful compound produced by algal blooms that cause PSP spreads through the larger food web. But in July, a group of biologists with the United States Geological Survey visited Unalaska to collect samples of plants and animals in hopes of learning more about how saxitoxin levels magnify and diminish as they move through the food chain, from phytoplankton to mussels and up to seabirds.
MONDAY, JAN. 18Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. DayRev. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration6 p.m. NCTV-18 and its YouTube page. The island s interfaith leaders will explore Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. s goal of social justice from a spiritual and philosophical perspective. TUESDAY, JAN. 19Music in the Morning9:45 a.m. Click here to watch via Zoom. Lizza Obremski leads a half-hour of fun and engaging songs, singing games and movement activities for ages 1-7.Trivia with