Webinar on Global Change

Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve.\Photo by Jason Waicunas.

The Hatfield Marine Science Center’s Research Seminar Series continues online.  The next topic is broad indeed:  ‘Ecological and evolutionary responses to global change across realms.”  The free public event takes place on Thursday, June 3, at 3:30 p.m.

The speaker is Malin Pinsky, an associate professor in Rutgers University’s Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources.  Dr. Pinsky is an ecologist and evolutionary biologist with a strong interest in marine communities. Much of his research strives to integrate theory and observation to understand whether and why global changes have substantially different impacts in the ocean and on land.  As he describes his topic:

“The same ecological and evolutionary processes operate across land and sea, and yet ocean life survives in a dramatically different fluid environment. The ocean is, in effect, a 1.3 sextillion liter water bath with muted thermal variation through time and space, limited oxygen, and intense convective and conductive processes. In this talk, I will trace some of the consequences for evolution, physiology, population dynamics, and conservation at sea, including striking contrasts and similarities to patterns on land. I will present evidence that marine animals live closer to their upper thermal limits than do species on land, that marine species have responded faster to temperature change, and that species can but do not universally evolve in response to rapid environmental change. Finally, I will discuss some of the unique conservation challenges these dynamics create for ocean life and potential solutions through proactive ocean planning and by harnessing evolutionary rescue for climate resilience.”

To attend this virtual webinar, go here. 

Password: 972587 or call +1-971-247-1195 US Meeting ID: 945 5573 1151