Christopher Gobler conducts research on plankton ecology, with a broad focus on the factors that promote phytoplankton growth (organic and inorganic nutrients), as well as factors that are responsible for algal mortality (zooplankton, viruses, filter-feeding bivalves) in diverse aquatic ecosystems. A primary focus of the lab within the field of plankton ecology has been the study of harmful algal blooms (HABs), having investigated blooms of brown tide both locally and around the U.S.