The NOAA Science
Seminar Series began in 2004 and is a voluntary effort by
over 70 NOAA seminar coordinators to integrate and distribute a list of
NOAA-hosted, publicly accessible science seminars. In 2020
we shared listings for over 500 seminars!
All NOAA Program Offices are welcome to share their hosted science-related
seminars as part of the NOAA Science Seminar Series effort.
To become a seminar calendar contributor, e-mail Hernan Garcia.
Once you are approved as a contributor to the calendar, you are able to add
& update seminars on the calendar. We use the data from this Google calendar to populate the
listings for both e-mails and the seminars page.
We ask seminar contributors to follow our formatting and content guidelines,
which helps us keep the seminar listings consistent across all our contributors.
Title: Estuaries past, present and future: Using elevations and historical maps to characterize estuarine habitats across 30 National Estuarine Research Reserves
Presenter(s):
Kerstin Wasson, Research Coordinator, Elkhorn Slough NERR
Charlie Endris, GIS Specialist, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Andrea Woolfolk, Stewardship Coordinator, Elkhorn Slough NERR
Suzanne Shull, GIS Specialist, Padilla Bay NERR
Sponsor(s): This webinar is sponsored by the NERRS Science CollaborativeSeminar Contacts: Doug George (douglas.george@noaa.gov) or Nick Soberal (nsoberal@umich.edu) Location: Webinar
Remote Access:https://umich.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_33F-LjrSQpW6qE_1062QiAAbstract Estuaries are coastal gems. To protect and restore them, we need a clear understanding of exactly where they are, where they were, and where they could be in the future. A team led by the National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs) recently completed an ambitious effort to map estuarine habitat in and around the 30 NERRs. They used a powerful combination of NOAA resources for elevation and tidal datums to map the reach of tides, historical topographic sheets generated by NOAA's predecessor agency to map past habitat distributions, and compared this to mapping from USFWS's National Wetland Inventory (NWI). Elevation-based mapping revealed that estuary extent is greater than currently mapped in NWI. At more than two-thirds of the Reserves, the team detected tidal forests missed by NWI. Comparison of historical maps to NWI revealed dramatically greater loss of tidal wetland extent on the Pacific coast than in other regions. The results of this investigation suggest that multiple mapping methods complement each other and should be integrated to provide a more accurate understanding of estuaries"past, present and future.
Bio(s): Please visit here for more information about the webinar.Subscribe to the One NOAA Science Seminar Series weekly email:Send an e-mail to OneNOAAscienceseminars-request@list.woc.noaa.gov with the word 'subscribe' in the subject or body. Visit the NOAA Science Seminar Series website for more information. We welcome your suggestions and ideas!
Join via phone: 1-415-527-5035 U.S. Toll Free; Can't join the meeting? Contact support.
Abstract: Vulnerability assessments have become an important tool in climate change science. As the Northeast U.S. Shelf and other regions continues to experience rapid change, it will be important to understand the relative vulnerability of its species, habitats, and communities to that change. We developed the Habitat Climate Vulnerability Assessment (HCVA), which considers climate impacts on the habitats of fish and protected species in the Northeast U.S. region. The objective of the study was to provide regional managers and scientists with a practical tool to efficiently assess the relative vulnerability of habitats to climate change. The HCVA considers two components, exposure and the sensitivity (including adaptability), to determine vulnerability of marine, estuarine, and riverine habitats to climate change from Cape Hatteras, NC to the Maine-Canada border. The framework incorporated key environmental drivers of change and the sensitivity of habitats to those changes, and used expert elicitation, which relies on expert knowledge, to score the sensitivity and exposure of each habitat. Some of the goals of the study were to contribute to an understanding of the long-term effects of climate change to fish habitats, identification of particularly vulnerable habitats, and inform decisions regarding EFH designations and consultations, and fishery management.
BIO
Mike has worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service for 24 years, with the majority of that time spent in the Habitat and Ecosystem Services Division (HESD) in the Greater Atlantic Region. He has a MS degree in biology with a focus on ichthyology and marine ecology. In addition to decades of experience conducting Essential Fish Habitat consultations in the northeast region, Mike is the climate coordinator for the HESD and Greater Atlantic Region Fisheries Office. He has served on numerous climate coordination groups nationally and regionally, developed guidance for integrating climate science into the HESD program, and was a lead author on a climate vulnerability assessment for coastal habitats in the northeast region. His interest in climate change extends to his personal life, where he is the chair of the climate resiliency committee in the Town of Ipswich, Massachusetts. Mike enjoys road and gravel bike riding in New England and beyond.
Remote Access: Connect with Google Meet meet.google.com/kti-ktaw-nes, Phone Numbers (US)+1414-856-5982 PIN: 248 179#
Abstract: Physical processes may affect ecosystem structure and function through the accumulation, transport and dispersal of organic and inorganic materials, nutrients, and organisms; they structure physical habitat, and can influence predator-prey interactions and trophic production. In the Laurentian Great Lakes, horizontal currents generally dominate, but little is known about the effects of vertical mixing on lake food webs. We developed a linked earth system model and used it to explore how vertical mixing affects the productivity of Lake Michigan (LM), the world's fifth largest lake, whose food web and fisheries have been adversely affected by invasive Dreissena mussels. We hypothesized that higher vertical mixing would result in higher food web biomass by making phosphorus more available to the lower food web, and that filtration by invasive mussels would counter the effects of mixing and decrease food web biomass. Using linked climate, hydrodynamics and ecosystem models, we projected the response of LM's food web to scenarios of different levels of vertical mixing, with and without invasive mussels. Biomass of most functional food web groups increased with increases in vertical mixing, with greatest increases in phytoplankton and zooplankton. Increased biomass was due to the replenishment of nutrients into the euphotic zone, which enhanced growth and biomass of lower trophic levels through bottom-up effects. However, filtration by invasive mussels reduced the positive effects of mixing for most species. Future applications of the linked earth system framework will explore effects of climate warming and nutrient reduction on fisheries production to inform fisheries managers.
Abstract: The Alaska chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment examines how climate change affects various aspects of our society. From health and livelihoods through our built environment and our security, the changing climate has far-reaching effects. The chapter also examines the many ways that Alaska communities and others are adapting to a changing environment.
Slides, Recordings, Other Materials: Slides, links shared during the presentation, and a recording may be found after the meeting at the URL listed above.
Abstract: Description, prediction, and explanation all depend upon causal understanding. In this talk, I demonstrate a simplified (linear) toolbox for causal analysis that builds upon structural equation models. To demonstrate, I first introduce phylogenetic structural equation models (PSEM). I show that these can be fitted to data from 30+ traits for all described fishes to classify fishes into Periodic, Equilibrium, or Opportunistic strategies. I also introduce a simplified R-package phylosem that can be used for customized application of PSEM. Finally, I use PSEM to predict natural mortality rate for rockfishes (Sebastes spp), and show that PSEM substantively improves predictions relative to conventional linear models when predicting natural mortality from size and growth parameters. Next, I introduce dynamic structural equation model (DSEM). This includes both simultaneous and lagged effects, and therefore unifies a wide range of time-series methods. I specifically highlight how DSEM can be used to synthesize physical and lower-trophic variables to explain recruitment for Alaska pollock. I also introduce how DSEM can be used to integrate ecosystem indicators for Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEAs), using the Bering Sea ecosystem as an example. I hope to convince you that structural equation models are useful to integrate causal understanding into statistical models.
Bio(s): Jim Thorson is a statistical ecologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. His pandemic hobby was reading global history books. He will soon be fostering two cats, and hopes to study their interactions with existing (resident) children.
Recordings: The talk will be recorded; link to recording available upon request.
Title: Restoration of Deep Gulf of Mexico Coral Communities NOAA Gulf of Mexico Forum Webinar Series
Presenter(s): Sasha Francis, Gulf Restoration Education & Outreach Manager, Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Mesophotic & Deep Benthic Communities Restoration, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
Sponsor(s): NOAA's Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaboration Team, a part of NOAA's Regional Collaboration Network
Seminar Contact(s): Kristen Laursen, Kristen.R.Laursen@noaa.gov , NOAA Fisheries and Regional Collaboration NetworkLocation: Webinar
Remote Access: Please Register at:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5311921428427346517 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. For your awareness, this webinar will be recorded and shared.
Abstract: For December, the Gulf of Mexico Forum webinar series will focus on mesophotic and deep benthic (mid-depths and deep-sea) communities in the Gulf of Mexico. In particular, our speaker, Sasha Francis, will focus on the ongoing efforts to restore these hard-to-reach habitats that were injured by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This presentation will feature imagery and stories about fascinating deep-sea coral propagation techniques, exploration and sample collections a mile below the surface, connecting scientists at sea with the community, and more.
Bio(s): Sasha Francis is the Gulf Restoration Education and Outreach Manager with National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, working with NOAA and other partners on the restoration of Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities injured by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. She leads strategic efforts to share the restoration activities being conducted by four collaborative project teams, and increase awareness of the existence and importance of these communities, threats they face, and actions that can be taken to protect them. Sasha's previous roles include being a marine mammal behaviorist, zookeeper, and Texas watershed environmental educator.
Slides, Recordings, Other Materials: Please contact Kristen.R.Laursen@noaa.gov for the recording and/or PDF.
Abstract: Dr. Anandkumar leads development of AI-based weather modeling that allows forecasting with higher resolution and faster predictions for extreme weather events. On September 10, several new AI-based models followed"and accurately predicted"Hurricane Lee's path through the Atlantic Ocean. These programs leverage activities and outputs from NOAA's new Center for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) established in 2021 to improve NOAA capabilities. During this month's Speaker Series talk, Dr. Anandkumar will discuss her work with NVIDIA on storm prediction modeling using machine learning, which is faster, more scalable, and more affordable than traditionally used modeling systems. To learn more about how Dr. Anandkumar and Caltech are working towards the Pathfinder Initiative, please contact noaa.pathfinderinitiative@noaa.gov.
Bio(s): Dr. Anima Anandkumar (California Institute of Technology) has been a Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at CalTech since 2017 and is the senior director of machine learning research at NVIDIA. Her research in artificial intelligence (AI) brings pivotal solutions to climate, drone flight, engineering, and medicine advancement. She has been honored for her groundbreaking work with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award, and faculty fellowships from Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Adobe. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum's Expert Network.
NOAA Science Seminar Series Title: Inadvertent introduction of bias into the stock assessment and review process (National Stock Assessment Science Seminar Series)
Presenter(s): Will Satterthwaite, Research Ecologist, NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center - Fisheries Ecology Division
Sponsor(s): NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and NOAA's Central Library (NCL)Seminar Contacts: Abby Furnish (abigail.furnish@noaa.gov) and Library Seminars
Accessibility: Captions are added to the recordings of presentations once uploaded to the NOAA Central Library YouTube Channel. Sign language interpreting services and Federal Relay Conference Captioning (RCC) service are available, but need to be requested at least 5 days before the event.
Abstract: Science is struggling with a "reproducibility crisis" brought on by factors including p-hacking or selective reporting that may increase the rate of false positives or generate misleading effect size estimates from meta-analyses. This results when multiple modeling approaches or statistical tests may be brought to bear on the same problem, and there are pressures or rewards for finding significant results. I will provide examples of risks for similar processes operating in fisheries science, and describe simulations addressing the level of bias this may introduce into management advice.Keywords: p-hacking, reproducibility, bias
Bio(s): Will Satterthwaite is a research ecologist based in Santa Cruz. In his day job, he works on the ecology and life history of salmon and their interactions with the ecosystem. Since 2012, he has been a member of the Pacific Fishery Management Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee, developing familiarity with assessing groundfish and coastal pelagic species. Although this talk is partially informed by experiences on the SSC, he in no way speaks for the SSC or NMFS during this talk.
Robert Smith, Coastal Coordinator for Wildlife Mississippi; Brandon Waltman, NCRS Assistant State Soil Scientist; Dr. Rocky Lemus, forage research professor, Mississippi State University Extension; and Jim Currie, private landowner
Title: Exploring Livestock Grazing for Coastal Habitat Management Webinar
Presenter(s): Robert Smith, Coastal Coordinator for Wildlife Mississippi; Brandon Waltman, NCRS Assistant State Soil Scientist; Dr. Rocky Lemus, forage research professor, Mississippi State University Extension; and Jim Currie, private landowner
Abstract: Searching for a cost-effective, less intrusive habitat management solution? Discover how to transform livestock grazing from a ubiquitous agricultural practice into a powerful tool for vegetation management and landscape enhancement. In this webinar, you'll hear short presentations from Robert Smith, Coastal Coordinator for Wildlife Mississippi, Brandon Waltman, NCRS Assistant State Soil Scientist, Dr. Rocky Lemus, forage research professor, Mississippi State University Extension, and Jim Currie, private landowner followed by a Q&A session. Topics to be covered include what is conservation grazing, the power of herbivory, herbivory and soil health, wildland forage and its management, and a case study. For more information: https://exploringlivestockgrazingwebinar.eventbrite.com
Abstract: The co-chairs of the eDNA Task Team under the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST) Interagency Working Group on Biodiversity will provide a preview of the National Aquatic eDNA Strategy, which is slated to roll out in spring 2024.
Bio(s): Dr. Kelly Goodwin is a marine microbiologist who has led development, validation, application, and technology transfer of molecular biological tools to address NOAA missions, including improved assessment of ecosystem status. Within the NOAA Ocean Exploration Science and Technology Division, she is the portfolio lead for NOAA 'Omics and serves as the chair of the NOAA 'Omics Working Group. In these roles, Dr. Goodwin is responsible for providing agency-wide direction with regard to harmonizing integration of bioscience and biotechnology into NOAA research and operations. The goal is to accelerate mission outcomes across a range of national priorities, including employing biomolecular mapping of biodiversity to explore the ocean and to understand and mitigate impacts arising from ecosystem threats such as climate, pollution, disease, and invasive species.
Subscribe to the NOAA Science Seminar Series weekly e-mail: Send an email to OneNOAAscienceseminars-request@list.woc.noaa.gov with the word 'subscribe' in the subject or body. Visit the NOAA Science Seminar Series website for more information. We welcome your suggestions and ideas!
Abstract: The persistence of Pacific coral reefs is threatened by large-scale mortality. While reefs have demonstrated the ability to recover from these disturbances, recovery potential is highly variable; in part driven by the high spatial variability in the abundance of coral juveniles. However, our understanding of the patterns and predictors of juvenile coral density is hampered by the limited geographic scope of previous studies. Our objectives in this study were to: (1) explore the spatial and temporal patterns of juvenile colony density across the U.S. affiliated Pacific islands and atolls; and (2) identify the potential role of ecological and environmental factors which may influence coral juvenile abundance. Juvenile density was quantified as part of NOAA's National Coral Reef Monitoring Program between 2013 and 2019 using a stratified sampling design across 1,405 forereef sites on 34 islands and atolls. Regional mean juvenile density varied from 1.4 to 10.5 colonies m-2 with the highest densities observed in the northern Mariana Islands, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and southern Mariana Islands. Juvenile density significantly increased between sampling periods in the Main Hawaiian Islands, Line Islands and northern Mariana Islands. With the unique scale and gradients across the U.S. Pacific, our study found that the high latitude regions have enhanced juvenile density compared to their lower latitude counterparts. Survey-weighted generalized linear modeling suggests density is dependent on stock-recruitment with an open adult population, availability of suitable habitat at the site-scale, timing and severity of heat stress, wave energy during heat stress, and proximity to human population. Given the vast spatial scale of this dataset, this study allows us to identify hot spots of recovery potential and study recovery dynamics across a large environmental gradient. It also has applications for reef managers and restoration practitioners to more effectively promote conditions that favor persistence of corals and make informed decisions about restoration site selection.
Bio(s): Courtney is a Supervisory Coral Reef Researcher for the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research in Honolulu, HI. She joined NOAA/CIMAR in 2017 after completing a PhD at Cornell University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a postdoc at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Courtney studies benthic communities across the U.S. Pacific to identify factors underpinning coral reef resilience and has co-lead a research program that utilizes Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry to assess coral reefs. She is currently co-leading a research program to guide practitioners more effectively implement coral restoration in the Pacific. NOAA Science Seminar Series weekly email: Send an email to OneNOAAscienceseminars-request@list.woc.noaa.gov with the word 'subscribe' in the subject or body. Visit the NOAA Science Seminar Series website for more information. We welcome your comments and ideas!