"Bridging Fisheries Science and Ecological Theory to Understand How Fish Will Fare in a Changing Climate"
Jennifer Bigman
Quantitative Ecologist
NOAA Fisheries
March 20, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Cannon 203 + via Zoom in Robinson 202
Hosted by Mark Warner
Abstract: Environmental change is altering the ecology, life histories, population dynamics, and conservation status of fishes and reshuffling ecosystems globally with profound social and economic consequences. My research addresses applied, and theoretical questions aimed at understanding and predicting these changes within and across populations, species, and ecosystems at regional and global scales. Specifically, my work is structured around three main questions: (1) how are fishes responding to environmental change, (2) what are the fundamental processes that underlie these responses to a changing environment, and (3) can we forecast future responses to environmental change? I answer these questions using ecological theory and combine data from multiple sources (e.g., fisheries and oceanographic surveys, data from fundamental studies in the field and laboratory, ocean models, and simulation) with innovative statistical modeling frameworks. My work has led to several novel findings. First, I’ve uncovered that the effect of temperature on body size across age in managed fishes depends on the modeling approach. Second, contrary to ecological theory, I’ve found that oxygen supply explains little variation in size and growth across fishes. Third, mechanistic relationships between hatch success and temperature can be used to forecast changes in spawning dynamics of Pacific cod, one of the most economically valuable fisheries in the United States. In this talk, I will highlight my work as it relates to my three main questions, as well as discuss future directions for my research program and how I will involve students in this research. Finally, I will share my teaching interests at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
View Jennifer's CV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RhZkqF-PHUOSK9zPDvcHoq2_LjsDvJ1X/view?usp=drive_linkZoom Recording ID: 98076098991
UUID: 2i5Nw5n8S0SNQXZoLakNCQ==
Meeting Time: 2025-03-20 04:30:50pmGMT