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400 Scientists to Meet in Mobile on March 25-27, 2004 for
March 22, 2004 |
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Contact: Lisa Young 251/861-7509 “Benthos” means “bottom” in Greek, and this week some 400 ecologists will come to Mobile from locations as far away as Australia and Finland to discuss their latest investigations of the bottom of the ocean. The topics to be discussed at the meeting range from the impacts of global climate change on coral reefs, to the impacts of overfishing, to the effects of unmanaged contaminants on the animals living within the seas’ bottom. Benthic communities include such diverse habitats as coral reefs, seagrasses and salt marshes, to name just a few. These communities are among the most productive found anywhere in the world’s oceans; in fact, along the southeastern and gulf coasts of the continental United States, some 97% of the commercially important species depend on estuaries. Of these, virtually all are dependent in some way on the organisms found on or in the muddy bottom. But these critical ecosystems are now being affected by human impact. Contaminants accumulate in benthic habitats, changing the community structure; global warming is “cooking” coral reefs to death; overfishing is changing the basic profile of the benthic community. The productivity of most of our nation’s nearshore waters is determined by what goes on at the sea floor – and how we’re affecting that community, for better or worse. This meeting is being hosted by ecologists both at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the University of South Alabama. The meeting will be held downtown at the Adam’s Mark Hotel from March 25-27. For more information on the meeting contact John Valentine at 861-7546 or email at jvalentine@disl.org. |
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