Coupling 3-D models of ocean physics and biochemistry to a marine animal population dynamics model to study the combined impacts of fisheries and climate change
Philippe GasparCERFACS
Thursday, June 4th, CERFACS Conference Room - 11h00
Slides of the talk
Abstract.
Marine ecosystems presently suffer from the combined effects of climate change and direct anthropogenic pressure (fisheries, pollution). Understanding, modelling, and ultimately predicting how populations of marine animals respond to these perturbations is crucial for the development of sound management strategies for marine ecosystems.
3-D models of ocean physics are now mature enough to be exploited operationally. Their outputs are commonly used to force models simulating the oceans’ biogeochemistry and primary production. But little has been done, so far, to go one step further and simulate the evolution of mid- and higher-trophic levels of marine ecosystems.
We will present here one such ecosystem model and its coupling with climate/ocean models. We will show results concerning the evolution of tropical tuna populations under pressure from fisheries and, inter-annual to long-term, climate variability.
Numerical and algorithmic limitations of this marine ecosystem model will also be discussed, hoping this can trigger some fruitful exchanges with CERFACS scientists.
Patrick Lehodey and Philippe Gaspar
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