Meet the marine biology alumna that specializes in shellfish poisoning prevention

Biology student Micah Rogers (biology, '07) crouched by the edge of a vibrant tide pool, captivated by the swirl of colorful slimy critters swimming in slippery grasses against wind-carved rocks. It was along the Oregon coast, in 2007, that she realized her passion for marine biology fieldwork was just beginning.

Following her graduation from Oregon State University, she embarked on a variety of biology positions ranging from Florida sea turtle research and wildlife rehabilitation to protecting desert tortoises in Nevada. But in 2017, Rogers was pulled back to the Pacific Northwest coast by something else.

Thanks to her versatile degree in biology from Oregon State, she transferred her skills and embarked on phytoplankton and shellfish monitoring with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This opportunity later led her to a permanent position with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife as a coastal harmful algal bloom specialist in Long Beach. By conducting phytoplankton cell counts and testing seawater for toxins, her day-to-day tasks proactively prevent shellfish poisoning for thousands of residents in the Pacific Northwest.

What being a coastal harmful algal bloom specialist looks like

While it’s normal for algae to be drifting in the sea, there are seasons when they bloom and form a colorful blanket in the rolling waves, often coloring the water they grow in. This makes a perfect feeding ground for shellfish. But if the bloom consists of biotoxin-producing algae, that’s when dangerous conditions arise, such as the paralytic shellfish poisoning outbreak in Oregon and Washington earlier this summer.

Green-colored plant-like substances covering the coast like a blanket. The water is calm and tainted green.

Colored water and shore by a non-harmful algal bloom on the Oregon coast.

Being a specialist in algal blooms requires knowing which toxins from each type of algae are harmful. Surprisingly, not all of the toxins harm shellfish, but warm-blooded animals that eat them—including humans—are at risk.

Shellfish are filter feeders, meaning they obtain nutrients by eating algae like phytoplankton and other food particles their bodies filter out from the seawater. If they eat enough biotoxin-producing algae, the toxins accumulate in their edible tissues.

Once the Washington State Department of Health runs tissue tests and detects toxic shellfish, public warnings are delivered, harvesting is closed and fisheries are disrupted. One goal of the shutdown is to protect people from amnesic shellfish poisoning, which happens when high levels of domoic acid, produced by the marine algae Pseudo-nitzschia, accumulate in edible shellfish tissue.

Five columns of razor clams laid out on a lab table.

Rogers analyzes a limit of 15 pacific razor clams, which is one type of shellfish, in the lab with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

If people eat shellfish such as clams, oysters, mussels, or scallops contaminated with high levels of these biotoxins, the outcome can be fatal as there are no antidotes.

Last summer, thanks to collaborations with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, tribal managers, and other departments, razor clam assessment results allowed Washington officials to see elevated harmful cell counts and detect paralytic shellfish poisoning, warning others that the danger might be happening further down the coast as well.

To continue actively preventing shellfish-lovers from falling ill, Rogers completes a six-hour round-trip drive up and down the southwestern Washington coastline to conduct fieldwork two days a week. At each stop, she checks water quality parameters and brings water samples back to the lab.

She also works the razor clam digs where she conducts creel interviews to collect harvest data, and enjoys educating diggers about what toxins and symptoms to look out for. Other than domoic acid, additional concerns include toxins produced from other diverse algal species, some of which cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning and paralytic shellfish poisoning.

A team counting clams on the Oregon coast in the early morning dark.

As part of the stock assessment process, an early morning team estimates how many clams are on the Washington coast.

Octopus and biotoxin shenanigans

Razor clams are not the only creature on Rogers checklist. She also collects mussel samples biweekly from cages set up by the DOH. Like little magicians, critters sometimes squeeze into the cages get a fast food meal of their own. Two visits in a row at the Tokeland Marina in Washington, she discovered a hungry young Giant Pacific octopus eating mussels from the cage.

After releasing devious octopuses and thoroughly conducting her fieldwork, Rogers returns to her lab to count the harmful algae cells in her samples under a microscope. “There are some really cool organisms out there you get to see. Some of them look like aliens you see in the movies,” she said.

A yellow string of Pseudo-nitzschia sp. 10-cell chain under the microscope.

Pseudo-nitzschia sp. 10-cell chain under the microscope, which produces domoic acid toxins and causes Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP).

If the Pseudo-nitzschia cell counts are higher than expected—at least 30,000 cells/L—she opens her test kits to detect if the marine algae produced domoic acid in the samples. Once the counting is complete, she writes an email containing the updated cell counts.

Rogers loves to inform people how shellfish poisoning occurs so that more community members know what to watch out for. “The other day, my son was invited to a three-year-old girl’s birthday party. While I was sitting there talking to another parent, I found out she was a local physician's assistant and newer to the area. As a healthcare provider, she didn't know that she needed to watch out for these toxins in people in her clinic,” she said.

Rogers’ transformative pursuit of education

Originally from Brigham City, Utah, Rogers undertook an adventure at Portland Community College to obtain her associate’s degree before transferring to Oregon State to earn her bachelor’s degree in biology.

The most impactful experience at Oregon State was when she spent an entire summer with coastal ecologist Sally Hacker, her mentor for Biology 450 at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. In addition to attending classes in the spring, she conducted hands-on summer research in Hacker’s research lab under the work-study financial aid program. "I got paid to do so many cool things with her lab,” Rogers said.

“Do Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, get really good at statistics, and pick a good skill to become an expert at and that will translate into whatever field you end up in.”

When the southern Oregon tides were low, the team set out on a late-night hiking expedition with headlamps and camp songs to help a graduate student conduct research in eelgrass beds. "We tramped around in the mud flats at 3:00 AM in the pitch-black dark,” she said. “We were getting poured on, rained on, and pulling each other out of the mud.”

Exciting experiences like these at Oregon State set her up for success as she advanced in her career. “It was a very adventurous summer and a really good introduction to the biology field. I think that's what made me always want to come back to the Pacific Northwest after I moved away,” Rogers said.

A closeup of four brown cells that are attached in a chain. Under the microscope, this is the Alexandrium catenella 4-cell chain.

Alexandrium catenella 4-cell chain under the microscope, which produces saxitoxins and causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP).

After graduating from Oregon State at 28 years old, she set out to specialize in sea turtles while working on her graduate degree at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton before pivoting to her current career in shellfish poisoning prevention, thanks to the flexibility of both her degrees.

For future students, Rogers recommends picking a skill instead of an animal. That way, students build skills that are more versatile for their overall career and not reliant on cycling between project-based positions with restricted income and limited job security.

“Do Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, get really good at statistics, and pick a good skill to become an expert at and that will translate into whatever field you end up in,” she said. “Because clearly, if you look at my resume, I did not stay with one single path. I wandered around quite a bit, but your skills can transfer like mine did.”

When it comes to life outside of work, Rogers is a first-time Mom. She spends most of her time with her baby boy, Laith Rogers — taking him to birthday parties, playing games, helping him sport his own Oregon State fleece and teaching him about marine animals.