SPECIAL OCEANUS SEMINAR SERIES | Matthew Bracken | 13 MARCH | 15h00 

 

Title: Can functional traits help in predicting the vulnerability of species and ecosystems to global change?

 

Humans are modifying the diversity of life on Earth, changing the number and composition of species in ecosystems. It is essential to understand which species are most vulnerable and how these changes will affect how natural systems function. Our work - in collaboration with Dr. John Griffin at Swansea University in the UK and Drs. Francisco Arenas and Marina Dolbeth at CIIMAR - is investigating how species’ physical characteristics – their shapes and forms can provide insights into key roles that species play in marine communities and ecosystems. I will provide examples of this approach, including how species' traits can be used to predict the impacts of intertidal heat waves.

 

Name: Matthew Bracken

 

Prof. Matthew Bracken studies the links between community-level and ecosystem-level processes, especially in marine systems, including how biodiversity influences nutrient cycling and biomass accumulation. Other interests include local-scale versus large-scale processes, spatial subsidies, and the roles of consumers in ecosystems. He studied at the University of Puget Sound (B.S.), and Oregon State University (Ph.D.), and worked at the University of California, Davis (Postdoc) before becoming a faculty member, first at Northeastern University and now at the University of California, Irvine.

 

The seminar will take place at CIIMAR headquarters (3rd Floor Auditorium) and in online format using the following link

 

External members of CIIMAR should send an email to divulgacao@ciimar.up.pt, requesting authorization to enter the Leixões Terminal area

 

If you are a CIIMAR member you can also access last seminars recordings through the LINK.