The goal of this project is to advance network models of marine ecosystems by including the influxes of primary productivity generated by ocean currents.
As a Collaborative Interdisciplinary Research project, Valdovinos' lab has received a Large Senate grant to fund a post-doc, Paul Glaum, two graduate students, Sophia Simon and Casey Duckwall, and undergraduate research experience for students Sophia Pelletier, Fernanda Arao, and Christopher Yun.
The aim of this project is to develop network models that consider oceanic fluxes using the intertidal system at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory. This will be accomplished through three initiatives: construct a comprehensive trophic network of the intertidal system through a literature search, develop an Allometric Trophic Network model for this network that includes oceanic influxes of primary productivity, and use this model to evaluate the potential effect of climate change on this system.