NCMA Training Courses

Algal Culturing Techniques Course

UPDATE: NCMA will be offering this course in April 2025. Dates for the course are tentatively April 27th to May 3rd (inclusive of travel days), but please check back in mid-October to confirm. Please reach out to CAI-education@bigelow.org if you have any questions and/or would like to have your name added to the notification list when we begin preparing for the 2025 course.

This culture techniques course is designed to teach the students the basics of culturing phytoplankton from sterile technique to the basics of growth media and everything in between. In addition, there will be learning sessions on use of automated optical microscopy and molecular techniques for identification, 100's of liter scale mass culturing, and other useful bits of information for embarking on a long career of growing phytoplankton.

Click here for more information

Karen A. Steidinger Marine Harmful Algae Taxonomy Training Course

Karen Steidinger was a giant in the field of phytoplankton taxonomy. It was her persistence that led to the creation of this HAB taxonomy course and its initial funding by NOAA. As a testament to her vision for training future generations of taxonomists, the course is still going strong! For these reasons, and many others, we posthumously rename the course as the "Karen A. Steidinger Marine Harmful Algae Taxonomy Training Course" in her honor.

UPDATE: Dates for the 2025 course are tentatively August 10th - 22nd (inclusive of travel days), but please check back in mid-October to confirm. If you applied in 2024 and were not chosen to participate, your name has been placed on the priority wait list for the 2025 course and we will reach out to you early in 2025. If you have other questions, please write to us at cai-education@bigelow.org

Effective monitoring and management of harmful algal blooms (HABs) relies on accurate and timely identification of the species involved. The classic method of detection is microscopic examination for HA species based on morphological characteristics. The rapidly expanding harmful algae taxonomy field, retirement of many ‘classical’ taxonomists, lack of dedicated U. S. harmful algae taxonomic and identification training programs, and increased use of non-traditional methods of harmful algae identification all contribute to an increasing need for comprehensive training for U.S. harmful algae managers, scientists and technicians.This course will provide expert training and a certificate of proficiency in harmful algae identification, based on light microscopy, and provide familiarity with alternate identification technologies.

Click here for more information

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Detailed Course information

Algal Culturing Techniques Course

The Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA) will offer its Algal Culturing Techniques Course again in April 2025. Dates for the course are tentatively April 27th to May 3rd (inclusive of travel days), but please check back in mid-October to confirm. The course will be held at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Research and Education campus in East Boothbay, Maine.

For a better feel of the topics to be covered, please click here for an example syllabus.

The fee for this workshop is $3,750. Course tuition includes:

Course tuition
Materials including a laboratory manual
Lodging at the Bigelow Laboratory Graham Shimmield Residence Hall
Continental breakfast, coffee breaks and lunch each day (the residence has a community kitchen for evening meals)
Course participation certificate

The course will be taught by experienced algal researchers at the NCMA and other special guest instructors as appropriate.

Instructors

Mike Preston, PhD., Research Associate, NCMA
Kristin Heidenreich, Associate Algal Curator, NCMA
Mark Hurd, Associate Algal Curator, NCMA
Olivia Barberi, Assistant Algal Curator, NCMA
Peter Countway, PhD., NCMA Associate Director for Algae and Protozoa
Mike Lomas, PhD., NCMA Director

Please click the link below to complete the online course application, which includes emergency contact information and media release forms. Once we receive your forms, a course payment invoice will be sent to you at the email you provide. Payment must be completed online by credit card (preferred), or, if you prefer, mail your check payable to Bigelow Laboratory to the NCMA, 60 Bigelow Drive, East Boothbay, ME 04544. The application form and payment are both required to successfully register for the course. You will receive a confirmation email within two weeks of your successful registration. Space is limited and is filled on a first come first served basis. We do expect the course to fill quickly.

COURSE APPLICATION

Financial assistance for graduate students that are members of the Phycological Society of America is available through the Hannah T. Croasdale Fellowship program.

Karen A. Steidinger Marine Harmful Algae Taxonomy Training Course

The Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA) is planning to offer the 9th U.S. training course on the identification of harmful algae in the U.S. marine waters during August 2025. Dates for the 2025 course are tentatively August 10th - 22nd (inclusive of travel days), but please check back in mid-October to confirm.

The course will be held at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Research and Education campus in East Boothbay, ME. The course is designed for current local, state tribal, and federal government employees and academics involved in all aspects of harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring, research, and management. The course is a tuition-based course. The tuition for this year’s course is $3,750 per student and includes course materials, housing in the Shimmield Residence Hall, and meals (breakfast, lunch, and several dinners where evening activities are planned) but not travel. The application process is fully competitive and not all applicants may be selected to participate. It is anticipated that this course will be offered frequently, perhaps every year if there is sufficient demand, and so there will be future opportunities to take advantage of this training program.

Background and Course Content:

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) have negative impacts on human and environmental health and result in significant economic losses and are thus monitored and managed by local, state and federal agencies and studied by academic researchers. Regardless of the stakeholder agency all have a common need for accurate and timely identification of HAB related organisms to the species level.

The classic ‘gold-standard’ method of HAB detection is microscopic examination for HA species based on morphological characters. However, there is an increasing need for comprehensive training in HAB identification for U.S. HAB managers, scientists and technicians due to the following:

rapidly expanding HAB taxonomy field
retirement of many ‘classical’ taxonomists
lack of dedicated U. S. HAB taxonomic training programs
increased use of more rapid, but less direct non-traditional (i.e. optical, molecular and hybrid) methods of HAB identification

With the goal of developing and teaching a certified, recurring, and classical harmful algae taxonomy and identification course, instructors will provide the theoretical and hands-on training needed to effectively and accurately identify HAB Species. The course will draw upon the recognized scientific and teaching expertise of the established taxonomists involved.

The program will consist of pre-course preparatory reading material and a 10-day course which will cover the following topics:

identifying Bacillariophyceae, Dinophyceae, Prymnesiophyceae, Raphidophyceae, and Dictyochophyceae
collection techniques
statistical considerations
specialized lectures on newer HAB identification and quantification methodologies

Course content will consist of:

training material handouts
lectures
hands on demonstrations with live and preserved species
demonstrations of methods for collection
treatment of samples
enumeration
culturing techniques

Once you have taken the course you will have access to the course website where all of the course information can be found.

Many harmful algae species are either in the Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota or available from the instructors. Over 60 HAB species will be demonstrated with many morphologically similar species for comparison and differentiation. Harmful algae species will include only those found in US marine waters. Certificates of proficiency will be provided for successful completion of the course and final examination. Students will be encouraged to continue their learning and ongoing networking between fellow students and Instructors facilitated through a course dedicated listserve.

Application Process:

Those interested in applying should click on the link below to complete the application form. The submission deadline is 1st May of the year of the course. Applicants will be notified by the end of May on the status of their application. Any further application/notification dates will be posted soon.

COURSE APPLICATION

Instructors

Celia Vilac, PhD, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Michael Parsons, Professor, Florida Gulf Coast University
Ian Probert, PhD, Station Biologique de Roscoff
Peter Countway, PhD, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Mike Lomas, PhD, Director of the National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA) at Bigelow Laboratory

Thank you for your interest in the Taxonomic Identification of Harmful Algae in U.S. Marine Waters.