Speaker: Zac Cannizzo, MPA Climate Specialist and Interagency Coordinator, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries - National Marine Protected Areas Center
Sponsors: Knauss Fellows Seminar Series and NOAA Central Library. POC: Knauss Fellow Sam Chew Chin, (sam.chin@noaa.gov)
Abstract: Artificial structures such as buildings, telephone poles, and boat docks are ubiquitous in the modern environment and are often thought of as having negative impacts on wildlife. However, the role that artificial structures can play in mitigating the impacts of stressors, including climate change, on affected species is increasingly being recognized. In addition to a discussion of this topic, this presentation will highlight a case study which examines the role of boat docks in facilitating the climate-mediated range expansion of a crab into a suboptimal novel ecosystem.
About the speaker: Zac Cannizzo recently cearned his Ph.D. in Marine Science at the University of South Carolina. His research interests broadly involve climate change ecology and his graduate work focused on the factors governing the climate-mediated range expansion of the mangrove tree crab into the novel salt marsh ecosystem. Prior to his graduate work, Zac received a B.S. in Biology and Biological Aspects of Conservation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and spent time between degrees working in conservation.
