Where Are Disasters Bad For Marine Life, and

Where Are They Worse?

Annie CervinResearch and Discover, 2010

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jamie Pringle

NASA, International Space Station Science, 5/4/10

BackgroundThe Mississippi

River Delta is either an upstream or downstream edge for many species

Using modeling, one can know how disasters impact marine life with different dispersal abilities and growth rates

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Terra Satellite,

4/30/10

ParametersOrganisms with

planktonic dispersal stages

Growth rate (births-deaths)

Mean distance larvae recruits downstream of the motherDepends on the current

strength and larvae development time

Standard deviation of dispersal distance

SD

Distance

Parent’s Location

Downstream

Different Generations

Downstream

Simulating the disaster

Downstream

Measuring the impact of the disaster

Downstream

Impact of different mean dispersal distances

Downstream

Impact of different standard deviations

Downstream

Impact of different growth rates

Downstream

Why?

Future Generations

Immediately impacted

Not immediately impacted

Downstream

Recovery for different mean dispersal distances

Downstream

Recovery for different standard deviations

Downstream

Recovery for different growth rates

Downstream

Where should MPAs be placed?

Downstream

Conclusions Population is most sensitive to disaster at

upstream edge, where it is recruitment limitedMarine life is most sensitive when

mean dispersal distance is highstandard deviation is lowgrowth rate is low

Need further knowledge of species’ dispersal abilities as well as currents to more accurately model the impactof disasters and help withplacement of MPAs

Thank youDr. Jamie PringleDr. George Hurtt

NASA /UNH Research and Discover Program