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Blooms of the harmful alga Alexandrium catenella produce potent neurotoxins that accumulate in shellfish, and cause gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms if contaminated shellfish are consumed by humans. The limited predictive capacity for A. catenella blooms poses a significant problem for local managers and shellfish growers and threatens the vitality of the $108 million shellfish industry in Washington State. Shellfish closures due to A. catenella blooms in Puget Sound have increased in frequency, duration, and geographic scope since the 1950s. The short-term goals of this project are to determine the dormancy requirements and germination characteristics of the benthic cyst life stage of A. catenella, and evaluate the effectiveness of traditional cyst mapping as a tool for early warning of bloom events in Puget Sound. The long-term goal is to incorporate this critical information on A. catenella life history characteristics into a model that will provide an unprecedented, powerful risk assessment of toxic blooms in Puget Sound now and in a future warmer climate. This project will determine the mandatory dormancy period of Alexandrium cysts (i.e. time from cyst formation until cysts can germinate) from Puget Sound and whether or not cysts display secondary dormancy. Secondary dormancy is a phenomenon that prevents germination during periods that are actually favorable for germination, but not for growth. These datasets will describe and better explain temporal patterns in cyst germination.