Climate Change and Ecosystem Fluctuations
National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center
A number of commercially important fish populations respond to changes in environmental conditions on interannual and longer time scales. To relate environmental variability to fluctuations in marine populations, we must understand how the ocean varies in space and time-particularly the patterns, processes, sources, mechanisms, and scales of decadal variability. We are investigating changes in the ocean on interannual to decadal scales, and are attempting to determine the physical mechanisms that lead to these changes. Our objective is to develop indices of environmental conditions that can be applied to fisheries recruitment and population dynamics problems. This is done by using traditional and innovative statistical methods to analyze historical environmental data sets. We also seek straightforward algorithms for the near-real-time estimation of important physical oceanic fields (e.g., transport, mixed layer depth) from readily available variables. The Associate will work with a team of scientists investigating the role of climate change on marine populations in the productive ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean.
Experience Supplement: Postdoctoral and Senior Associates will receive an appropriately higher stipend based on the number of years of experience past their PhD.