FlowCam - Flow Imaging Microscopy Blog

Carbon sequestration refers to the capture, removal, and storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. It is a key process in stabilizing carbon in solid and dissolved forms that doesn't contribute to atmospheric warming and climate change. There are biological and geological mechanisms of carbon sequestration with oceans absorbing approximately 25% of anthropogenically produced CO₂ annually.

In May 2022 our FlowCam Aquatic Team attended the Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (JASM) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This historic meeting brought together scientists from nine different societies to form the largest gathering of its kind in history. It was a welcome change after two years of virtual meetings and limited in-person collaboration. 

We are happy to announce the winner of the 2022 FlowCam Aquatic Research Grant, Kelsey Meyer, a Ph.D. candidate studying marine biology at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) College of Life Sciences and Agriculture in Dr. Bonnie Brown's research group. Kelsey is pictured here holding a European Green Crab (also referred to as the green crab).

Kelsey oversees Dr. Brown's lab field sampling efforts which include taking samples from Great Bay Estuary (GBE) in southeastern New Hampshire. Specifically, Kelsey's Ph.D. research aims to determine the extent to which green crabs are a predator of oysters, and if so, at what specific life stage for each species.

In April of 2022, we brought FlowCam to NACE, the Northeast Aquaculture Conference and Exhibition, in Portland, Maine, a stone's throw from our FlowCam headquarters in Scarborough. FlowCam is frequently used in aquaculture operations to detect harmful algae and to monitor the health and growth of larvae.

About 15 conference attendees had the opportunity to take a side trip to tour the aquaculture facilities at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), not far away. That morning we caravanned down to UNH's Judd Gregg Marine Research Complex in New Castle, New Hampshire. The complex is located at the mouth of the Piscataqua River and shares space with a US Coast Guard base. After a quick round of introductions, our guides, Erich Berghahn and Michael Doherty,  brought us to the Coastal Marine Laboratory (CML). Here, we learned about lump fish (pictured here), a species found in the Gulf of Maine that has been used as a cleaner fish to remove sea lice from farmed salmon. At the CML, we saw lump fish of all sizes and saw how they are cultivated in the lab for research. 

After a two-year break, the American Water Works Association's ACE Conference will be hosted in-person in San Antonio, Texas, from June 12th - 15th. The conference brings together water sector professionals from around the country to learn about new technologies and techniques in water quality monitoring, mitigation strategies, and overcoming engineering challenges. 

Scientists from around the world have been using FlowCam for over 20 years to better understand the ecosystems in our lakes, rivers, and oceans.

As new research is published, we continue to review the literature where FlowCam is utilized for essential and innovative studies in aquatic research. The publications included in our most recent list showcase important FlowCam applications in marine and freshwater research.

This May, nine aquatic science organizations will come together in person to host the largest aquatic science conference in history. The 2022 Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting "is designed to bring together deep, multidisciplinary subject-matter expertise to collaboratively educate one another and solve the complex environmental problems facing our society and our planet today".

FlowCam user, Jochen Wollschläger, of Germany's University of Oldenburg, recently returned from a research trip aboard the RV METEOR as part of the FjordFlux Cruise in the Beagle Channel, at the southernmost tip of Chile and Argentina. The goal of the expedition was to utilize the fjords of Patagonia to better understand how climate change will affect similar environments in Antarctica. Carried out in the context of the DYNAMO Project, the cruise was a cooperation between Germany, Chile, and Argentina. 

The FlowCam Aquatic Research Equipment & Travel Grant is now accepting applications for the 2022-23 academic year. This popular equipment grant, now in its 5th year, provides an opportunity for graduate students and undergraduate faculty members to apply for the use of a FlowCam instrument for the semester of their choice, plus funding to attend a conference to present their work.

Pictured here:  2020 award recipient Savannah Mapes, a graduate student in the Reece Lab at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), using a FlowCam 8100.

Graduate applicants are eligible for a FlowCam 8000 (8100 or 8400) and undergraduate applicants are eligible for a FlowCam 5000.

Each year the FlowCam Aquatic Research Equipment & Travel Grant is awarded to two recipients: a graduate-level researcher and an undergraduate faculty member to enrich a particular course or to support a student doing independent research. The winners each receive a FlowCam instrument to use for up to 4 months, plus remote training, technical support, software licenses, and funding to present at a major scientific conference.

The 2022 FlowCam Aquatic Research Equipment & Travel Grant is now accepting submissions. Learn more about the program and how to apply at the link above.