Professor Discusses Biological Impacts of Global Climate Change at UNF

Joanna Norris, Assistant Director

Department of Media Relations and Events

(904) 620-2102

Dr. David Wethey, a professor of Biological Sciences and Marine Science in the Department of Biology at the University of South Carolina, will discuss “Biological Impacts of Global Climate Change” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 1, at the University Center. This lecture is free and open to the public.

His research interests include biogeography, population dynamics, predator-prey and competitive interactions, conservation genetics and the mechanisms by which intertidal organisms survive the physics of their habitats.

Much of Wethey’s recent work has used field experiments and biophysical modeling to determine the mechanisms responsible for setting geographic limits of species. This information is then used to predict the effects of climate change on shifts of geographical distributions of intertidal organisms, and whether the observed shifts match predictions of models incorporating climate patterns and the physiological traits (i.e.: temperature tolerance) of various organisms.

As is often the case, his work shows that observed patterns of range shifts in intertidal organisms are typically only partially explainable by shifts in water or air temperature and more complex interactions are usually involved.

This event is sponsored by the UNF Coastal Biology Flagship Program and the Florida Sea Grant. For more information, contact Amy Moore, UNF Coastal Biology Program, at (904) 620-2830 or by e-mail at amy.moore@unf.edu.

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