UH Manoa-led research team receives $905,000 award from National Science Foundation

Team of scientists led by UH Manoa botanist to study Hawaii's freshwater algae

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Feb 23, 2009

A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Alison Sherwood of the UHM Botany Department has been awarded $905,000 over three years by the U.S. National Science Foundation to undertake expeditionary work throughout the main Hawaiian Islands to collect and characterize all species of freshwater algae.

The team, which also includes Dr. J. Patrick Kociolek (University of Colorado at Boulder), Dr. Rex Lowe (Bowling Green State University), Dr. Jeffrey Johansen (John Carroll University) and Dr. Gernot Presting (MBBE, CTAHR, UH), brings together a unique combination of expertise in taxonomy of freshwater algal lineages, coordination of biodiversity surveys, and organization of biodiversity data through Internet-accessible databases.

According to Sherwood, "The state of our taxonomic knowledge of Hawaii‘s freshwater algae is far behind that of marine algae. This project provides an unparalleled opportunity to survey this biodiversity hotspot and subsequently improve our understanding of the ecological roles played by these species in our freshwater ecosystems."