Contact

Shipping Instructions:

Identification services are entirely free, but algae must be shipped safely and securely. You must notify me via email prior to shipping a sample. If you live in a New England state of the USA, email me about dropping the algae off in person.

Pest algae should be shipped similarly to how one would ship hardy corals or macro-algae.  The sample must not freeze or get too hot in transit.  If the weather is hot, then ice packs will be necessary to prevent the sample from dying in transit. If the weather is cold a heat pack will be necessary to prevent freezing. Make sure the hot/cold pack is not in direct contact with the sample container. A sample container about the size of a urine sample bottle is as much as is needed (bigger is wonderful but that gets expensive to ship). Make sure there is plenty of water in the container. Put enough water in the container so it is at least half just empty water. A container with a screw top is best. Put the container in a sealed plastic bag to make sure it doesn’t leak. Place all of this in a styrofoam box or cardboard box with lots of packing material. Shipping does not need to be fast, but if a hot/cold pack is needed make sure the shipping method is fast enough to get the package safely to me before the hot/cold packs are exhausted.

Some pictures of where the samples were taken could be helpful as well.

Name: Gregg Mendez
Email: mendezg@umd.edu