Co-Convenors: Changkyu Lee (Korea) and Charles Trick (Canada)
Analogous to the seeds of terrestrial plants, phytoplankton cysts are the hardy resting forms that allow phytoplankton (usually flagellates) to survive during extreme environmental conditions. These cysts fall out of the water column into sediments often after large blooms, thereby forming seed beds. Characterization of the distribution of seed beds in coastal waters can assist with forecasting the intensity of HAB events. However, proper identification is often difficult as many cysts can look alike. This workshop will focus on new methods for identification of cysts as well as findings on their ecology and physiology. Presentations are encouraged on known distributions of cysts in coastal waters (cyst mapping), and studies on their ecophysiology.