Improving the Predictability of Marine Ecosystem Models

CEES Extra seminar by Juan A. Bonachela from Levin Lab

Abstract

Marine ecosystem models are a powerful tool to model and predict the biomass and community composition of a large variety marine species. Thus, these models describe the role of those species in key geochemical cycles, as well as in providing important ecosystem services. In this talk, we will discuss how simple modifications to the way essential parts of marine food webs are modeled can provide significant improvements to the predictability of such models. After a brief review of classic and state-of-the-art marine ecosystem models, I will present two simple approaches (bottom-up and top-down) that allow for this improvement. These approaches add more realism to the biological and ecological descriptions of the basal resources, which can cascade to the rest of the trophic levels of marine food webs.

Juan A. Bonachela
Levin Lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and
Princeton Environmental Institute
Princeton University

 

Published Mar. 15, 2013 2:43 PM - Last modified Oct. 14, 2016 10:27 AM