Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science<\/a> called in area experts to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That request went to First Flight High School<\/a> in Kill Devil Hills. In response, students waded in, literally and figuratively. They collected water samples, attempted to isolate what was changing the water\u2019s color and sent their analysis to NOAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the students\u2019 help, NOAA scientists determined that the October red tide event was caused by a bloom of Mesodinium rubrum<\/em>, an organism that typically is nontoxic to humans and marine life. Barnacle was released a few days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Andrew Kiousis, a high-school senior, and Advanced Placement science teacher Katie Neller recall that event. Science, they imply, is not for the faint hearted \u2014 or, in this case, for those who are averse to adverse weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was cold,\u201d Neller remembers. \u201cA scientist has got to do what a scientist has got to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kiousis is part of the Phytoplankton Research Team \u2014 commonly called Phytofinders \u2014 that Neller directs and advises. Founded in 2005, this group has helped detect and confirm algal blooms along the Outer Banks for the past decade. The team is part of NOAA\u2019s Phytoplankton Monitoring Network<\/a>, or PMN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe network uses citizen volunteers to monitor marine phytoplankton in coastal waters, with special attention to species that cause harmful algal blooms that can cause human health problems,\u201d explains Terri Kirby Hathaway<\/a>, North Carolina Sea Grant marine education specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sea Grant has been involved with Phytofinders since its inception, through Hathaway\u2019s work with the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence SouthEast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn 2005, Sea Grant hosted and assisted with three workshops \u2014 in Manteo, Beaufort and Wilmington \u2014 to introduce the SouthEast Phytoplankton Monitoring Network to North Carolina teachers,\u201d Hathaway adds. \u201cIn the beginning, North Carolina had roughly 10 sampling sites.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phytofinders was one of the groups that emerged from those meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey were our first group in North Carolina,\u201d says Steve Morton, who leads PMN. \u201cThey\u2019ve been the most consistent.\u201d He notes that there currently are seven groups in the state, joining a nationwide volunteer effort that samples at 190 sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phytofinders quickly made contributions to the monitoring work. Within a year \u2014 in late 2006 \u2014 the students identified the sources of a harmful algal bloom in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey were actually the very first group to find this toxic diatom called Pseudonitzschia<\/em> in the southeast,\u201d Morton recalls. That was the farthest north this organism had been identified in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This identification of Pseudo-nitzschia<\/em> helped scientists determine the cause of death when some marine mammals washed up around the same time and location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe would not have tested them for domoic acid if the group didn\u2019t see it in the water first,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Domoic acid, produced by Pseudonitzschia<\/em> species, accumulates harmlessly in fish and shellfish. However, the toxin can cause brain damage, or even death, in mammals, including marine mammals. The Phytofinders\u2019 analysis changed how researchers analyzed the dead animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The team also maintains a lot of information \u2014 about a decade\u2019s worth of continuous monitoring data from the Outer Banks. All their data are available at products.coastalscience.noaa.gov\/pmn\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neller, a veteran science teacher, started Phytofinders to get her students more involved in what they learned in class. She wanted to take science beyond the walls of her lab. \u201cI began to think students weren\u2019t curious or interested,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Very soon, she found her students linking what they saw at the piers with their lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe work connects science to them even when they are sitting at a desk with a textbook,\u201d Neller says. \u201cDissolved oxygen, climate change \u2014 every time I can bring in phytoplankton, I do. Kids can identify with what they\u2019re learning in their books because they\u2019ve seen the connection with the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was true for former student Katlin Allsbrook. \u201cIn the classroom we learned about scientific techniques and discoveries, but we didn\u2019t always get to see them in action. The Phytofinders allowed me to have real-life experiences of collecting data in the field and then analyzing it,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI think all of the information that I had learned about in my science classes really clicked and was more meaningful to me when we discovered the bloom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Phytofinders meet twice a week. After school on Mondays, they divide into two teams to sample the water at Jennette\u2019s Pier<\/a> in Nags Head and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility<\/a> at Duck. The next day, the high schoolers return to Neller\u2019s lab during their morning free period to examine the samples collected the day before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attendance fluctuates \u2014 some come on one day, some show up for both days \u2014 but Neller is grateful. \u201cI\u2019ll take them whenever I can get them,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is strictly student run. I want them to decide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She is adamant that Phytofinders be a fun and interesting activity, not another pressure or stress for her students. So she encourages collaboration, not competition, while conducting scientific research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Neller has to contend with other school activities for students. And every year, her seniors graduate and move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne hundred percent of Phytofinders go to college,\u201d she notes proudly. Her students mostly end up in the science and engineering fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is an excellent program,\u201d acknowledges Matt Thibodeau, a senior who plans to study material science in college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBeing a part of the Phytofinders team confirmed that a science-related field was what I wanted to do,\u201d Allsbrook says. \u201cThe experience allowed me to develop and refine basic science skills that were crucial to my undergraduate and graduate science courses, and also my current career.\u201d She recently earned her master\u2019s degree in medical genomics from the University of Cincinnati.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Phytofinders\u2019 work is the gateway to many opportunities for the students. Kiousis, who wants to major in genomics in college, worked on a phytoplankton exhibit during his internship at Jennette\u2019s Pier, which is part of the N.C. Aquariums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some Phytofinders have presented peer-reviewed papers at an academic conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond the classroom, Neller hopes that their efforts will benefit the surrounding Outer Banks community that has strong ties to the ocean for jobs and recreation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA toxic event would be devastating to major fisheries and the economy,\u201d she says. \u201cWe want to find ways to predict when those things will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n State officials, local communities and organizations have recognized Phytofinders\u2019 contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their efforts in identifying the first Pseudo-nitzschia<\/em> bloom in the state earned the team the N.C. Governor\u2019s Conservation Achievement Award<\/a> for youth conservationists in 2007. The awards are the highest natural resource honors in the state, presented annually by the N.C. Wildlife Federation and the governor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2013, the team received the Albemarle Stewardship Development Program Significant Achievement Award from the Albemarle Resource Conservation and Development Council. They were honored for their commitment to environmental education and stewardship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 2009, the Phytofinders team has received annual financial support from the Oceanic Engineering Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, also known as OES IEEE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a huge return on investment and bang for your buck,\u201d says Todd Morrison, OES member and ocean engineer. \u201cIf we give a $5,000 scholarship to one grad student, that helps one person. But $5,000 per year here, suddenly instead of five kids, it is 50 kids who are involved in the program, who are getting something out of it. And some of them end up being published authors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first round of funding came with a requirement that the students write and present academic papers at OCEANS 2012, the society\u2019s annual meeting. OES extended the funding for another three years, with the same condition. Morrison is looking forward to seeing what the team will produce for OCEANS 2015 this autumn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA program of this quality is unusual in a high school. It\u2019s more the kind of thing you\u2019d see among undergraduate or graduate students,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have been no end impressed,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This summer, Jennette\u2019s Pier will unveil a touchscreen display on phytoplankton that Kiousis helped develop during his internship. A companion panel will focus on the Phytofinders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe just wanted to highlight the high school for their contribution to science,\u201d says Christin Brown, education programs coordinator at Jennette\u2019s Pier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, she wants to introduce the facility\u2019s visitors to PMN and its work via weekly citizen science programs \u2014 with involvement from the Phytofinders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would like for one of them to actually lead it instead of one of our staff, because they are so knowledgeable, and it would be a unique opportunity for them to do some outreach,\u201d Brown says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Echoing Morton and Morrison, Brown notes that Neller\u2019s enthusiasm and dedication enable Phytofinders to excel, in spite of student turnover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe composition of the Phytofinders changes annually, with seniors graduating and underclassmen joining or taking on leadership roles in the group. But what remains constant is the students\u2019 dedication to their job as citizen scientists and the support and mentoring they receive from Katie Neller,\u201d Sea Grant\u2019s Hathaway says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTeachers and students like these give me hope for our future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n **********************************************************************************************<\/p>\n\n\n\n The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s Phytoplankton Monitoring Network, or PMN, is an effort that engages citizen scientists \u2014 school groups, nongovernmental organizations and volunteers \u2014 to monitor sites for harmful algal blooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Volunteers sometimes are sent to ground truth local reports or satellite detection of potential bloom events. To sign up or learn more, go to products.coastalscience.noaa.gov\/pmn\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Residents of, or visitors to, the Outer Banks can help with phytoplankton monitoring projects at N.C. Aquarium\u2019s Jennette\u2019s Pier this summer. Contact Christin Brown at 252-255-1501 for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article was published in the Summer 2015<\/a> issue of Coastwatch.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Phytoplankton](\"\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/07\/IMG_0419_web.jpg\")
DEDICATED AND DECORATED<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Katie](\"\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/07\/IMG_0296_web.jpg\")
![\"phytofinders](\"\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/07\/2007_StudentAward_web.jpg\")
GET INVOLVED<\/h3>\n\n\n\n