J.O. Roger Johansson Biography
J. O. Roger Johansson has over 40 years of experience in environmental science and was the Supervisor of the Bay Study Group for the City of Tampa for over 25 years. A native of Sweden, Johansson moved to St. Petersburg, Florida in order to pursue a master’s degree in marine science at the University of South Florida. After working for the Westinghouse Corporation, the City of Tampa hired Johansson as a biologist to work on their Hillsborough Bay Project. His areas of expertise include estuarine surface water management, administration of water quality and biological studies, algae and seagrass ecology, eutrophication, nutrient limitation, sediment and water column interactions, bio-optical model applications, and seagrass monitoring and transplanting.
In this interview, Johansson discusses the history of the Bay Study Group and its role in improving the health of the bay through research, presentations, and publications. Johansson talks about the effects of pollution abatement and its role in increasing seagrass growth and improving water quality. Johansson also discusses the importance of transect observation and how the health of the bay is monitored by aerial photography and optical modeling.