Hardcore Natural History: Marine Algae as Ocean Record Keepers - Livestream

Join us as we speak to Dr. Emily Miller a research technician in the Monterey Bay Aquarium/Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) Incubator Initiative program with the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) team. Emilly Miller will talk about how the team based at the Monterey Bay Aquarium used older algae specimens to extend the Bakun upwelling index back to 1878, 70 years before monitoring of upwelling began in Monterey Bay.

Planning for future ocean conditions requires historical data to establish more informed ecological baselines. To date, this process has been largely limited to instrument records and observations that begin around 1950. Marine algae from herbaria repositories may document long-term ecosystem processes and extend historical information records into the nineteenth century. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Ocean Memory Lab generates new information about the ocean’s past by combing through scientific collections, museums, and other historical archives. Emily Miller, the lead author of the study, was able to offer a new perspective on upwelling cycles and document these patterns to help understand the shifts in the foundation of the food web to make more informed conservation decisions in the future of Monterey Bay.

Register at weblink to receive connection information