Whats Growing On: Harmful Algal Blooms

More than 500 people from around the state of Florida attended the 2020 University of Florida Water Institute Symposium.

One of the main topics this year was toxic algae.

Researchers along with others in the water industry from around the state came to UF for the 2-day symposium. The level of attention algal blooms have been receiving recently is the reason organizers decided to make it one of the highlights.

Sherry Larkin, UF/IFAS Associate Dean of Research, says, “certainly the governor’s executive order last January spearheaded a lot of efforts and allowed us to focus on this particular issue. So with the water institute in general and this symposium in particular, the fact that HABS is a highlighted session is new and allows us to showcase all of the research that not only is going on in the state but is going on at the University of Florida across colleges.”

Experts also say harmful algal blooms have been on a steady rise for quite some time now and have increased due to human actions.

In addition to harmful algal blooms, the symposium also focused on other topics such as climate change, water usage, and water equality throughout the state of Florida.