Harmful algal blooms were rarely observed in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta before 2000. Over the past two decades, they have become a regular summer event, and scientists are racing to understand why. DWR is co-leading a five-year, $3 million research project funded by NOAA to investigate what is driving the increase in harmful algal blooms across the Delta and San Francisco Bay. The effort, called MERHAB, brings together scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the San Francisco Estuary Institute, UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly Maritime Academy and several regulatory agencies. … The research team is using remote sensing technology, continuous monitoring stations, laboratory analysis and community volunteers to track where blooms form, how they move and what conditions trigger them. 

Other aquatic nuisance species news:

• Active NorCal (Redding, Calif.): A parasite is infecting nearly half the young salmon in the Klamath River
• California Department of Fish and Wildlife: News release: Be part of protecting California’s biodiversity during invasive species action week