[SEMCO] Red tide subject of free public lecture

[Melissa Lowe]

For Immediate Release:									Contacts:
October 6, 2005			Melissa Lowe (Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary): 508
349-2615

LOCAL EXPERTS DISCUSS RED TIDE IN A FREE PUBLIC LECTURE

South Wellfleet, MA. – A tiny plant had a huge impact on the Cape’s
environment and economy this past summer. Red tide, a bloom of single-celled
microscopic plants that contain harmful toxins, closed the Cape’s coastline
to shellfishing for up to two months or more. David Kulis, Senior Research
Assistant at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and Henry Lind, Director of
Eastham Natural Resource Office, will be presenting a FREE public lecture
entitled “Red Tide on Cape Cod” on Friday, October 21 at 2 p.m.

The presentation is hosted by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife
Sanctuary and will be held at the Chapel in the Pines in Eastham. Kulis
works in the Anderson Laboratory in WHOI’s Biology Department studying
harmful algae. He and Lind have been working together studying the
occurrence of red tide in Salt Pond and the Nauset estuary in Eastham.

While red tide occurs naturally, widespread blooms of this alga are more
typically found in the northern reaches of the Gulf of Maine. This year,
however, the nor’easters in late May brought red tide into the warmer waters
surrounding Cape Cod. Cape Codders, relatively unfamiliar with this
phenomenon, have had many questions. This FREE presentation will provide
information on the organism’s biology; how and where blooms occur; impacts
on the environment, wildlife, and human health; and information on current
research projects. Time will also be allowed for questions.

While the program is free, registration is required because seating is
limited. The presentation takes place at the Chapel in the Pines in Eastham
located next to the Eastham Public Library. Contact the Wellfleet Bay
Wildlife Sanctuary at 508-349-2615 for more information or to register.

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Melissa Lowe
Education Coordinator
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
PO Box 236, South Wellfleet, MA 02663
508-349-2615 or mlowe at massaudubon.org

"Protecting the Nature of Massachusetts"
www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay