MCB Seminar: Dr. Tara McAllister

Dr. Tara McAllister, Research Fellow, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

Host: Dr. Kat Milligan-McClellan

Tuesday, September 26, 2023, 3:30 PM, BPB 130

“Formidable Phormidium: toxic cyanobacteria in New Zealand rivers”

Summary: In this seminar, Dr McAllister will explore the physicochemical factors that lead to toxic benthic cyanobacterial blooms in New Zealand rivers. She will present the findings of two experiments that collectively aimed to understand the effects of nutrients and velocity on Phormidium growth

Bio: Dr Tara McAllister (Te Aitanga a Māhaki) is an Indigenous scientist, interdisciplinary scholar and a mother. She is currently a Research Fellow at the School for Science in Society at Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. She holds a PhD in Water Resource Management from the University of Canterbury and has expertise spanning freshwater ecology and racism in higher education.

Publication: The rise of toxic benthic Phormidium proliferations: a review of their taxonomy, distribution, toxin content and factors regulating prevelance and increased severity.