Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab will soon co-host its annual event convening audiences across academia, government, and the agricultural community to share the latest scientific information about algal blooms.

The 2025 “Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science” Conference is set for Sept. 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event, now in its ninth year, has a new location at a venue in Toledo: the Delta Hotels, located near The University of Toledo’s Medical Campus.

At the conference, research and outreach leaders will present findings from recent studies and identify important areas of uncertainty. Expected audiences include academic researchers, municipal, state, and federal agencies and farmers interested in the latest algal bloom science and technology. Members of the aforementioned communities are especially encouraged to attend, but all are welcomed. Students, with a discounted price of admission, are especially encouraged to attend.

“Ohio Sea Grant continues to co-host this event and promote it on its website because the program has become known as a trusted, ‘go-to’ resource for unbiased, fact-based information,” said Dr. Christopher Winslow, director of Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab.

This year’s event will be broken into three thematic sessions, Winslow said. In the morning, three speakers will highlight what has changed in the harmful algal bloom space over the last 10 years through a lake science lens. Speakers will focus on how the lake ecosystem has responded to blooms and how environmental variability has changed bloom behavior.

“For example, what impact are warmer water temperatures having on bloom timing and size?” Winslow said. “Are blooms more or less toxic now? Do we know more about nitrogen’s role in bloom growth and toxicity, and can we now predict real-time toxicity?”

Before lunch, the conference will convene a panel session that will discuss what advancements have been made and what challenges persist in the public health space. Panel members — representing academia, state agencies, and a public utility — will talk about how HABs and their associated toxins have changed their jobs and answer questions from the audience.

In the afternoon, three more speakers will talk about the use of manure application to fertilize farm fields, discussing innovative approaches to wise use of this potential nutrient source and barriers to appropriate application and transport.

The event is made possible by a steering committee that includes Ohio State University Extension, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, and academics within The Ohio State University’s Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering. This year, the steering committee also welcomes the help of harmful algal bloom researchers from Bowling Green State University and The University of Toledo.

“Ohio Sea Grant programming, with help in this case from the steering committee, strives to provide cutting-edge scientific findings that are intended to provide information that targets a non-scientific audience,” Winslow said. We also aim, with partners, to be a conduit of information to elected officials, decision makers, media personnel, state and federal agencies, municipalities, lake-based businesses, and watershed residents.”

For more information about the event and a full agenda, visit Ohio Sea Grant’s website. Individuals interested in earning Ohio EPA Contact Hours for this conference can complete a form on the event’s web page. Organizations interested in being a sponsor of this conference can contact Lillyann Nahar at [email protected].

Ohio Sea Grant is supported by The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, and NOAA Sea Grant, a network of 34 Sea Grant programs nation-wide dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s island campus on Lake Erie and is the research, education, and outreach facility of Ohio Sea Grant and part of CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources.