Speaker: Melanie Jackson, Congressional Affairs Fellow, NOAA HQ Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs
Sponsors: Knauss Fellows Seminar Series and NOAA Central Library. POC: Knauss Fellow Sam Chin, (sam.chin@noaa.gov)
Abstract: The oyster industry has long been an important and icconic component of the Chesapeake Bay. Sustainability efforts to increase oysters in the Bay are of particular interest because oysters provide ecosystem services that may reduce nitrogen inputs, which are the primary cause of eutrophication. This presentation will discuss the state of aquaculture in the Bay and reveal how oysters fit into our current toolbox for improving water quality and mitigating nitrogen in coastal areas.
About the speaker: Jackson recently completed her doctorate at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, Maryland specializing in how oyster restoration and aquaculture remove nitrogen pollution. Prior to her Ph.D. work, she completed her master's degree at UMCES on algae blooms and nitrogen pollution. Jackson received her undergraduate degree in marine science and biology from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science in 2012.
