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IMS Faculty Candidate Seminar: Austin Humphries
May 1, 2019 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
UNC’s Institute of Marine Sciences presents a seminar by Austin Humphries, Ph.D.. This event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 1st, at 11:00 am in room 222 at the Institute of Marine Sciences. This seminar will also be broadcast live to both room 3204 on the 3rd floor of Venable/Murray Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and online via Zoom (Meeting ID: 252-726-6841).
Presenter Affiliation: University of Rhode Island
Title: Untangling the differential effects of management on ecosystem functioning and catches in reef fisheries
Abstract: Fisheries support food and nutrition security, promote economic growth, and alleviate poverty while creating employment opportunities for billions of people globally. Yet, fishing is one of the most pervasive threats to fishes and associated habitats. This has led to an increasing emphasis on ecosystem-based fisheries science and management. Such an approach considers social and ecological dynamics with global drivers to balance catches with ecosystem functioning. Ultimately, this is an effort to achieve long-term sustainability. It is within this context that I will highlight results from my lab where we consider habitat and species interactions along with social dynamics in coastal reef ecosystems. I will use case studies from coral reefs in Indonesia and Kenya as well as oyster reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. These are nice study systems for my research interests because they represent huge gradients in human use where there is a tight coupling in social and ecological processes. My goal is to provide evidence for a science-management gap by highlighting consequences of different management approaches, discuss why it matters, outline suggestions for addressing it, and consider how I might apply this to the coastal ecosystems of North Carolina. This talk will also shed light on how my past experiences have shaped my current research philosophy where I increasingly value shared learning experiences with diverse students and colleagues.