Professor Discusses Toxic Blue Green Algae Blooms at UNF Lecture

Joanna Norris, Assistant Director

Department of Media Relations and Events

(904) 620-2102

Dr. Karl Havens, director of the Florida Sea Grant College Program and professor for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences at the University of Florida, will discuss “Causes and Consequences of Toxic Blue Green Algae Blooms” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21, at the University Center, Room 1058-2. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Havens has more than 25 years of professional experience in aquatic research, education and outreach, working with Florida aquatic ecosystems and the use of objective science in their management for the past 15 years. His area of research specialty is plankton ecology and the eutrophication of lakes and estuaries. He is particularly interested in how natural and human-related stressors impact the structure and function of plankton and other components of shallow aquatic ecosystems.

He has published over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles in his area of expertise, several book chapters, a number of invited review papers and an edited book with colleagues in the P.R. China. Havens also has written papers dealing with integration of research and resource management and competencies that resource management agencies look for in new hires, as guidance for graduate education programs.

Havens has research collaborations with scientists in Italy, Denmark, Brazil, Japan, China, Korea and the Netherlands. He is the founding editor of the electronic journal “Freshwater Systems” and served as associate editor for the publication “Environmental Pollution” for more than 14 years. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the “Korean Journal of Limnology,” and he recently became an associate editor for the international journal “Hydrobiologia.”

He is a recipient of the Edward Deevey, Jr. Award from the Florida Lake Management Society for his research dealing with Florida lake ecosystems. Havens is a member of the Florida Oceans and Coastal Resources Council, which provides the Florida Legislature with an annual research plan addressing critical coastal issues. He is a member of the Florida Ocean Alliance, a non-partisan organization dedicated to bringing together government, academic and private sectors in Florida to protect and enhance the coastal and ocean resources.

Additionally, Havens is a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Institute of Oceanography. He received his bachelor’s degree in Biology from State University of New York at Buffalo and both his master’s degree and doctorate in Biology from West Virginia University.

This event is sponsored by The Brotman Family Lecture Series and the UNF Coastal Biology Flagship Program. For more information, contact Amy Moore, UNF Coastal Biology Program, at (904) 620-2830.

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