Download HELMUTH LAB: ECOLOGICAL FORECASTING WHAT WE ARE ABOUT Future Directions 2)

HELMUTH LAB: ECOLOGICAL FORECASTING
WHAT WE ARE ABOUT
Our interest is in forecasting
the effects of climate change
on natural ecosystems, and in
developing metrics that can be
used by various stakeholders to
offset climate change impacts. We use a combination of
large scale monitoring networks (buoys, satellites,
weather stations), biophysical models and modified
biomimetic sensors to translate large scale information to
the level of an organism’s niche. Combining this
information with physiological studies tells us “how close
to the edge” natural populations currently are living.
Funded Projects
1)
We manage an unique long term intertidal organism
temperature database using “robomussels” deployed
throughout the west coast of North America.
Learn more about
the Helmuth Lab
2)
We are developing WSNs (Wireless Sensor Networks) to
provide access to near-real-time data on changing animal
temperatures.
Future Directions
1) Expand our biophysical models in predicting the
effects of climate change to incorporate multiple
stressors: temperature, salinity, ocean acidification,
predation risk.
2) Create an international sensor network to monitor
climate change in the Eastern and Western
Pacific,
and
Atlantic
oceans.
3)
Lab members
Using a combination of NASA remote sensing products,
ground-based weather stations and our biomimetic
sensors, we developed biophysical heat budget models to
predict body temperatures of marine organisms in both air
and water at sites around the globe.
Dr. Brian Helmuth
Nick Colvard – PhD student
Allison Matzelle – PhD student
Jessica Torossian – PhD student
Jennifer Mocarski – Initiative administrator
Francis Choi – Lab manager