Arkansas biologist receives $540,000 to study Baltic Sea life

This donation will be used to study the evolution of microscopic marine algae in the Baltic Sea.
This donation will be used to study the evolution of microscopic marine algae in the Baltic Sea. | File photo

University of Arkansas biologist Andrew Alverson has received $540,000 from the Simons Foundation to study the evolution of microscopic marine algae in the Baltic Sea.

“Working with collaborators at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, we'll determine how this diatom adapted to low salinity in such a short period of time,” Alverson said.

This donation will be used to study the evolution of microscopic marine algae in the Baltic Sea.

“Changing precipitation patterns and melting polar ice caps are freshening large regions of the ocean," he said. "Although these changes are predicted to have important impacts on the phytoplankton communities in these areas, relatively few data are available to predict how phytoplankton will respond to a rapidly changing ocean.”