As part of our efforts to preserve and protect the Lagoon, LLPS has partnered with Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) to monitor water quality and phytoplankton community composition. 15+ trained (by DISL and SEPMN) LLPS volunteers and DISL researchers sample 4 locations in the Lagoon every two weeks. The team gathers field measurements and samples, prepares and analyzes samples, and enters and maintains observations in the SEPMN national data base and the DISL Water Chemistry and Phytoplankton database. Grant moneys from Alabama Department of Conservation (ADCNR) and Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) support the nutrient analyses and have been used to supplement equipping our lab in Gulf Shores for the monitoring and research efforts, funding the LLPS Guest Speaker Initiative, and funding the LLPS Road and Park Sign Initiative.
Additional funding recently recieved from the National Science Foundation (NSF), MS-AL Sea Grant, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Alabama Department of Conservation (ADCNR) are enabling cutting edge investigations of lagoon water parameters and processes. Investigations of nitrogen sources, bacterial sources, toxic phytoplankton species, benthic flux and process, and circulation and flushing are ongoing since late 2010.