Planet Ocean Seminar

The Planet Ocean Seminar Series is offered four times a year, free and open to the public. Seminars are hybrid, registration is required. April's speaker is Dr. Matt McLean on Exploring Fish Diversity Across North Carolina's Reef Ecosystems.

Fish and fisheries contribute nearly $4 billion each year to North Carolina's economy, making it critical to understand, manage, and conserve coastal ecosystems. Reef ecosystems like rocky ledges and shipwrecks are especially important because many fish species depend on reef habitat at some stage of their life for feeding or reproduction. Reef ecosystems cover less than 5% of North Carolina's seafloor, making them both potentially vulnerable to environmental changes, but also poorly studied and understood. Using scuba-diver surveys of reef ecosystems alongside a decade-old historical database, we have begun exploring how fish communities are changing on North Carolina's reefs. We are also uncovering the influence that local environmental conditions have on fish diversity, abundance, and productivity. Dr. McLean will share some initial key findings and discuss his lab's ongoing work. This research will ultimately help state and federal agencies anticipate future changes to fish diversity and optimize artificial reef design and placement.