HABITAT SUITABILITY MODELS FOR THREE HAB SPECIES IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY
Christopher Brown1, Douglas Ramers2, Catherine Wazniak3, and Raleigh Hood4
1
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, College Park, MD
2
University of Evansville, Evansville, IN
3
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD
4
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point Laboratory, Cambridge, MD
We are developing and implementing a system to routinely provide short-term predictions of the
likelihood of blooms of the following three harmful algal bloom (HAB) species in Chesapeake Bay and
its tidal tributaries: the dinoflagellates Karlodinium micrum and Prorocentrum minimum and the
cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa. The method involves using real-time and 3-day forecast data
acquired and derived from a variety of sources to drive empirical habitat suitability models of the target
species. In this poster, we will discuss the approach, development and verification of the habitat
suitability models for each of the three HAB species.