Speaker: Will White, Associate Professor, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Oregon State University

Topic: 

Coastal climate change resilience – are there local solutions to a global problem?

Abstract: Climate change poses multiple threats to marine ecosystems. These range from marine heatwaves that have decimated Pacific coast kelp forests, low-oxygen conditions killing fish and crabs on the Oregon coast, and even changes in the sex ratio of sea turtle populations, which require cool temperatures to produce male hatchlings. The solution to this man-made crisis is ultimately global, but there are local actions we can take to make coastal ecosystems more resilient and help them withstand and adapt to change. 

This talk will consider two case studies, kelp forests and tropical sea turtles. We will see how ecologists use mathematical models of ecosystem change to understand and predict how different human interventions, from sea urchin culling to habitat restoration to marine reserves, can be used together to promote climate resilience. Come learn how we can set priorities to conserve our valuable coasts.