Events
Events for May 2012
Modelling approaches for evaluating change in Southern Ocean ecosystems
Some of the strongest regional expressions of global climate change over recent decades have occurred in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Indeed, Southern Ocean ecosystems can be regarded as early indicators for broad scale climate-driven change in marine systems, particularly since the confounding effects of fisheries, pollution and coastal development are less pronounced than for other regions. Given the existence of, and potential for, dramatic responses to climate change in southern polar regions, developing the ability to project ecosystem dynamics at a range of spatial and temporal scales is crucial. We present a set of modelling approaches to both evaluate current change and explore future scenarios for Antarctic marine ecosystems. In particular, we demonstrate the value of qualitative network models for testing established paradigms of change, and present a framework for developing second-generation coupled ecosystem models for broad regions of the Southern Ocean.
BIO
Jessica has a background in marine ecosystem modelling across a range of marine systems. Her PhD research focused on the development of regional scale biophysical models for complex coral reef ecosystems. The culmination of this research was the development of a decision support toolthat can be applied to tropical reef systems anywhere in the world. Prior to her PhD Jess worked as a coral reef researcher in Indonesia and as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. Jess joined the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC in 2011 and is currently engaged in developing ‘end-to-end’ models for physical, biogeochemical and food web dynamics in the East Antarctic region. She is also developing qualitative models to explore climate change impacts on Antarctic marine food webs, as part of a broad-scale risk assessment of ecosystem impacts.
Ecological Statistician
Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems CRC
University of Tasmania
