Integration of improved understanding of ecosystem service regulation into ERSEM model system
Lead Research Organisation:
Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Department Name: Plymouth Marine Lab
Abstract
Summary
The world's oceans and seas are home to highly diverse ecosystems and are characterised by the richness and abundance of species. Marine ecosystems provide a range of important services to mankind including food production, climate regulation through the cycling of carbon and other macronutrients, and a range of cultural values (e.g. recreation, tourism). They are in serious decline, primarily as a result of over-harvesting, pollution, and the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. In many locations, pressure from human activity and climatic changes have been associated with dramatic shifts in species composition, known as phase or regime shifts, which are often long lasting and difficult to reverse.
Our understanding of the ecosystems of the UK's coastal and shelf seas is limited and many processes are poorly understood. For example changes in the physical and chemical environment (temperature, circulation, light availability, nutrients) mainly affect algal growth and thus impact the foodweb through bottom up control, whilst impacts such as harvesting act on fish which modify the biomass of lower trophic levels thus altering the controls from predation. However the relative roles of these processes and hence the extent to which environmental change cascades through marine food webs and affects ecosystem services requires elucidation.
Our challenge is to further develop the existing ERSEM-NEMO modelling framework to better represent biodiversity-relevant processes, flows and feedbacks over a range of spatio-temporal scales, and to be able to model changes in function and the consequences of such changes in the context of ecosystem services. Furthermore these modelling tools need to be suitable for testing the impact of potential management solutions, such as marine conservation zones, on the structure and function of marine food webs across scales, and to explore the efficacy of specific indicators of good environmental status.
A big challenge in modelling marine ecosystems is to capture the hierarchical nature of biodiversity and hence to explore a range of scales. This requires a scalable model system, with a traceable hierarchy whereby more complex foodweb structures can be systematically and coherently related to simple foodweb structures. The project will provide new modelling tools which provide estimates of crucial information to help resolve key scientific questions as well as provide a better understanding of the marine ecosystems as they respond to global change and direct anthropogenic pressures. The combination of predictive tools and new knowledge will underpin the development and implementation of marine policy and the implementation of marine forecast systems.
The world's oceans and seas are home to highly diverse ecosystems and are characterised by the richness and abundance of species. Marine ecosystems provide a range of important services to mankind including food production, climate regulation through the cycling of carbon and other macronutrients, and a range of cultural values (e.g. recreation, tourism). They are in serious decline, primarily as a result of over-harvesting, pollution, and the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. In many locations, pressure from human activity and climatic changes have been associated with dramatic shifts in species composition, known as phase or regime shifts, which are often long lasting and difficult to reverse.
Our understanding of the ecosystems of the UK's coastal and shelf seas is limited and many processes are poorly understood. For example changes in the physical and chemical environment (temperature, circulation, light availability, nutrients) mainly affect algal growth and thus impact the foodweb through bottom up control, whilst impacts such as harvesting act on fish which modify the biomass of lower trophic levels thus altering the controls from predation. However the relative roles of these processes and hence the extent to which environmental change cascades through marine food webs and affects ecosystem services requires elucidation.
Our challenge is to further develop the existing ERSEM-NEMO modelling framework to better represent biodiversity-relevant processes, flows and feedbacks over a range of spatio-temporal scales, and to be able to model changes in function and the consequences of such changes in the context of ecosystem services. Furthermore these modelling tools need to be suitable for testing the impact of potential management solutions, such as marine conservation zones, on the structure and function of marine food webs across scales, and to explore the efficacy of specific indicators of good environmental status.
A big challenge in modelling marine ecosystems is to capture the hierarchical nature of biodiversity and hence to explore a range of scales. This requires a scalable model system, with a traceable hierarchy whereby more complex foodweb structures can be systematically and coherently related to simple foodweb structures. The project will provide new modelling tools which provide estimates of crucial information to help resolve key scientific questions as well as provide a better understanding of the marine ecosystems as they respond to global change and direct anthropogenic pressures. The combination of predictive tools and new knowledge will underpin the development and implementation of marine policy and the implementation of marine forecast systems.
Planned Impact
Impact Summary
Who will benefit from this research?
Policy-makers
Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
EU member states
Agencies:
Marine Scotland
AFBI
Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP)
Marine Management Organisation (MMO)
National Centre for Ocean Forecasting (NCOF)
Commercial private sector
Environmental Consultancies
Wider public:
UK and international general public and relevant NGOs
How will they benefit from this research?
Policy-makers/agencies
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) (MSFD) requires EC member states to develop strategies to achieve a healthy marine environment and make ecosystems more resilient to climate change in all European marine waters by 2020 at the latest. The strategies must contain a detailed assessment of the state of the environment, a definition of "Good Environmental Status" (GES) at regional level and the establishment of clear environmental targets and monitoring programmes. Defra, Marine Scotland and AFBI are responsible for the implementation of the MSFD in UK and will benefit from improved knowledge and predictive skill for key indicators of the state of the marine environment. In addition by addressing productivity at the lower trophic levels of the marine food web, including forecasting to century-scales, our research may assist the development of marine fisheries policy and approaches for working towards an ecosystem-focused approach to marine resource management. Cefas are key to this engagement, having for many years advised and Defra (and more recently the MMO) on the environmental status of UK waters and are advising on the implementation of the MSFD and the CFP in England and Wales.
Wider public
We will publicise our research through:
A project website
Engagement with the media as appropriate
Programme wide outreach activities as they are developed.
Online summaries of the project and key findings disseminated to key interested parties or events
Who will benefit from this research?
Policy-makers
Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
EU member states
Agencies:
Marine Scotland
AFBI
Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP)
Marine Management Organisation (MMO)
National Centre for Ocean Forecasting (NCOF)
Commercial private sector
Environmental Consultancies
Wider public:
UK and international general public and relevant NGOs
How will they benefit from this research?
Policy-makers/agencies
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) (MSFD) requires EC member states to develop strategies to achieve a healthy marine environment and make ecosystems more resilient to climate change in all European marine waters by 2020 at the latest. The strategies must contain a detailed assessment of the state of the environment, a definition of "Good Environmental Status" (GES) at regional level and the establishment of clear environmental targets and monitoring programmes. Defra, Marine Scotland and AFBI are responsible for the implementation of the MSFD in UK and will benefit from improved knowledge and predictive skill for key indicators of the state of the marine environment. In addition by addressing productivity at the lower trophic levels of the marine food web, including forecasting to century-scales, our research may assist the development of marine fisheries policy and approaches for working towards an ecosystem-focused approach to marine resource management. Cefas are key to this engagement, having for many years advised and Defra (and more recently the MMO) on the environmental status of UK waters and are advising on the implementation of the MSFD and the CFP in England and Wales.
Wider public
We will publicise our research through:
A project website
Engagement with the media as appropriate
Programme wide outreach activities as they are developed.
Online summaries of the project and key findings disseminated to key interested parties or events
Organisations
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory (Lead Research Organisation)
- MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (Collaboration)
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Collaboration)
- University of Liege (Collaboration)
- Joint Nature Conservation Committee (Collaboration)
- Dutch Research Council (Collaboration)
- Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (Collaboration)
- AGRI-FOOD AND BIOSCIENCES INSTITUTE (Collaboration)
- Natural Resources Wales (Collaboration)
- Meteorological Office UK (Collaboration)
- Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (Collaboration)
- CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SCIENCE (Collaboration)
- NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE (Collaboration)
- Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) (Collaboration)
- Seafish (Collaboration)
- Environment Agency (Collaboration)
- Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) (Collaboration)
- European Commission (Collaboration)
Publications
Acevedo-Trejos E
(2015)
Mechanisms shaping size structure and functional diversity of phytoplankton communities in the ocean.
in Scientific reports
Aldridge J
(2017)
Comparing benthic biogeochemistry at a sandy and a muddy site in the Celtic Sea using a model and observations
in Biogeochemistry
Beauchard O
(2021)
A generic approach to develop a trait-based indicator of trawling-induced disturbance
in Marine Ecology Progress Series
Cheung, William W. L.
(2018)
Impacts of climate change for Fisheries and Aquaculture
Flynn K
(2015)
Acclimation, adaptation, traits and trade-offs in plankton functional type models: reconciling terminology for biology and modelling
in Journal of Plankton Research
Goolsby E
(2016)
Rphylopars: fast multivariate phylogenetic comparative methods for missing data and within-species variation
in Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Janssen A
(2015)
Exploring, exploiting and evolving diversity of aquatic ecosystem models: a community perspective
in Aquatic Ecology
Le Quéré C
(2016)
Role of zooplankton dynamics for Southern Ocean phytoplankton biomass and global biogeochemical cycles
in Biogeosciences
| Description | Development of a new modular structure for the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM) (Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Cefas) has been ongoing throughout MERP. This allows scientists to remove, add, and duplicate modelled organisms to improve representation of key species and get a clearer picture of the functional biodiversity for a specific ecosystem and/or location. An exciting new development is a size-based module which represents fish populations. This achievement is a major step forward within the marine ecosystem modelling field, as existing models focus either on the lower or upper trophic levels, and combination of both requires extensive coupling work between two models. Now it is possible to run ERSEM for the whole of the food web, giving ERSEM a unique ability to explore impacts of climate change and human activity on the whole ecosystem, and resulting impacts on ecosystem functioning (clean water, food supply) and the diversity of marine species. To support the parametrization of newly introduced species and functional types in ERSEM, we have together with MERP partners set up a web service and repository with quantitative information on the traits of all marine species: http://www.marine-ecosystems.org.uk/Trait_Explorer. This service had received more than 8500 queries from 384 unique users between 2017 and Apr 2020. |
| Exploitation Route | All Model code is open source and is publicly available from GitHub and Zenodo. The size-structured fish module has been used outside MERP to produce fish projections (present till 2100) for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN; this work has been included in the 2018 FAO technical paper 627 (http://www.fao.org/3/I9705EN/i9705en.pdf), which is expected to have policy impacts worldwide. The model developments in MERP now underpins the UK contribution to the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS; https://www.copernicus.eu/en/copernicus-services/marine), as well as numerous national and international scientific projects including https://comfort.w.uib.no, https://missionatlantic.eu, https://www.solstice-wio.org, https://campus-marine.org. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Education Environment |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4075283;https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4593394 |
| Description | The fish modelling infrastructure developed for MERP has been leveraged to produce projections of global fish stocks and catches between present-day and 2100 for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. These have been published in FAO technical paper 627 (http://www.fao.org/3/I9705EN/i9705en.pdf), the release of which has been widely publicized among scientists and policy makers, and is expected to have inform fisheries policy and adaptation worldwide. It is already referenced in high-impact publications (http://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6430/930). The new developments in ERSEM now underpin the reanalysis and forecasts for the North West European Shelf that the UK contributes to the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS, https://www.copernicus.eu/en/copernicus-services/marine) Moreover, they underpin new science and decision support tools being developed in several European projects: https://missionatlantic.eu/, https://ocean-icu.eu/, https://www.neccton.eu/. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | climate change projections of fish biomass by national EEZs 1850-2099 |
| Amount | € 57,609 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Italy |
| Start | 03/2017 |
| End | 12/2017 |
| Title | PML gitlab server |
| Description | We set up a gitlab server to help share the model source code and other code between ourselves. We have also added outwards facing components to the server, which allow further collaboration between external scientists. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2014 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This server has allowed other scientists to access and run the ERSEM model. Over 180 scientists have created accounts on this server, allowing the model and other code to be easily disseminated in the community. |
| URL | https://gitlab.ecosystem-modelling.pml.ac.uk |
| Title | UKESM analysis toolkit |
| Description | A toolkit of analysis techniques has been shared with collaborating scientists in the Met Office and Reading University. This analysis code forms the basis of the validation tools for the UK Earth System Model (UKESM)'s biogeochemical ocean component (MEDUSA). |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2014 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This toolkit is envisaged to assist with the model development and validation of the UKESM model. The results of the UKESM model runs will be submitted WCRP CMIP6. |
| URL | https://gitlab.ecosystem-modelling.pml.ac.uk/ledm/ukesm-validation |
| Title | 3D AMM-jellyfish |
| Description | 10 years simulation of the Atlantic Margin Ecosystem with NEMO-ERSEM with a diversified trophic web with 5 different Mesozooplankton group of different size and 5 jellyfish group of different size |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | no impact yet |
| Title | 3D two-way coupled plankton-fish simulations for the North-West European Shelf |
| Description | First multi-year simulations for online, two-way coupled ERSEM-MIZER (MIZER fish grow by consuming ERSEM plankton, ERSEM plankton decreases through predation by fish) for the North-West European Shelf at 7 km resolution (AMM7). |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Presented initial research at the fish-modelling-focused 3rd meeting of the EU network for "ReDEveloping Models of the European Marine Environment" (20-21 March 2018, Brussels), and at the Ocean Prediction Workshop of the UK National Partnership for Ocean Prediction (NPOP) (15-17 May 2018, Liverpool). As a result, we a re now involved in several proposals where the same plankton-fish modelling system will be leveraged. |
| Title | Diversified benthic macrofauna structure in ERSEM |
| Description | ERSEM input files for modelling diversified structure of benthic macrofauna were created. This structure contains 6 functional types compared to classical 2-type implementation in ERSEM. Model results were validated against observational data from Station L4 of the Western Channel Observatory. Functional role of each group within whole ecosystem was analysed. Manuscript describing model setup and results is currently in preparation. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This model structure was one of initial steps towards reseach of functional importance of benthic biodiversity using modelling approach, and mutual influence of biodiversity and physical forcing/hydrodynamics. |
| Title | ERSEM 22.11 |
| Description | New release of European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM) v22.11 New in this version: Added pelagic denitrification following Sankar et al (2016). Parameterisation of pelagic production and air-sea exchange of nitrous oxide following Lessin et al (2020)(https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JG005613). Added first-order kinetics capability to the pelagic base module. Units of total alkalinity and bioalkalinity have been changed from umol/kg to mmol/m3. Extended documentation with new and updated tutorials. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Not yet |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/7300564#.ZA7q3tLP2EI |
| Title | European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model 19.04 |
| Description | ERSEM is an ecosystem model of marine biogeochemistry and the lower trophic levels of the marine food-web. It is used in a wide variety of projects funded by NERC, Defra, the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service, and the EU Horizons 2020 program, among others. Changes in ERSEM 19.04 New functionality • provide pH on total scale (seawater scale is still supported, but not the default) • new module for fluff (particulate matter at sediment-water interface) • many more diagnostics, sufficient to completely reconstruct C,N,P flows throughout the ecosystem • benthic bacteria now support arbitrary numbers of substrates • first-order temperature-dependent mineralisation of benthic POM (default: off) • configurable critical shear threshold for deposition at bed (default: as before) • no_river_dilution is configurable for all pelagic variables Changed behaviour • apply resuspension to the surface concentration rather than the column total of benthic POM. This prevents excessive resuspension at high bottom shear stress • disabled river dilution of yellow matter (light_iop_ady) Fixes • temperature dependence of air-sea oxygen exchange • bacteria dynamics for sR1 values other than 1 • temperature responses under very low temperatures • various fixes for numerical stability (e.g., rate dampening) • various fixes to prevent NaNs (e.g., avoid 0/0) for very rare combinations of state and environment |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The release was announced to over 200 registered ERSEM users on 1 May 2019. It was directly taken up by a variety of projects, including the UK MetOffice operational system that delivers forecasts for marine waters over the North-West European Shelf to the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service. |
| URL | https://www.pml.ac.uk/Modelling_at_PML/Access_Code |
| Title | Fish in FABM-ERSEM |
| Description | Ongoing development to add a generic fish compartment in FABM-ERSEM |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | None yet. |
| Title | Framework for increased zooplankton diversity in biogeochemical ecosystem models (Jellyfish) |
| Description | New framework to add diversity to grazers and predators in ecosystem model. The framework allows for inclusion of Jellyfish. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Presented at Academic meeting with indication of possible uptake by the wider community, with collaborations. |
| Title | Model describing the nutrient-dependent production of recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon |
| Description | By combining previously published model formulations (Polimene et al., 2006 and 2015) we have developed a theoretical modelling framework able to simulate the variability of the Biological Carbon Pump (sinking of particles) to Microbial Carbon Pump (bacterial production of recalcitrant DOM) ratio as function of external nutrient availability |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Outcomes of this model have been published on journal of Plankton Research |
| Title | Model trophic structure |
| Description | Set of various combination of predator to investigate impact of the food web structure within an ecosystem model on its intrinsic properties. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | N/A |
| Title | Modelled impact of MPA on recovery of benthic communities from trawling |
| Description | Several trawling exclusion areas were introduced into NEMO-ERSEM AMM7 model setup with trawling impacts. Model was run for the period 2006-2015. Recovery of benthic fauna within MPAs and in adjacent areas was analysed. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The work has potential impact on future policy and management decisions regarding regulations of trawling activity. |
| Title | Modelling benthic macrofaunal diversity on the North West European Shelf |
| Description | Spatiotemporal dynamics of benthic macrofaunal diversity on the North West European Shelf was investigated using NEMO-ERSEM model for a 20-year period. The model was parameterised implementing six subgroups of benthic macrofauna with differing feeding modes, diet preferences and physiological rates, based on 1D experiments representing L4 station. The model was initiated with spatially uniform distributions of each group to study adjustment of communities to the governing conditions of physical environment and food supply. Distribution of biomasses of various groups and biodiversity indices were analysed for a set of stations. Outcomes of this work were presented at MERP final science meeting and EGU General Assembly 2018. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | No specific impacts yet. |
| Title | Modular version or ERSEM (FABM-ERSEM) |
| Description | A new, modular version of the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM) has been implemented in the Framework for Aquatic Biogeochemical Models (FABM). This model allow plug-and-play combination of different biological modules, thus supporting a hierarchy of models of different complexity. The new model will serve as the basis for future model development at PML, supporting among others the Shelf Seas Biogeochemistry (SSB) program and Marine Ecosystem Research Program (MERP). |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2014 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The work is central in ongoing collaboration with the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), and has led to PML being invited to participate in a proposal targeting coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical modelling of the Iranian Lake Urmia. |
| URL | https://gitlab.ecosystem-modelling.pml.ac.uk/jbr/fabm-ersem |
| Title | NEMO-FABM coupler update |
| Description | We have updated the PML-maintained biogeochemical coupler (NEMO-FABM) of the 3D hydrodynamic model NEMO to support more varied biogeochemical model configurations, including spectrally resolved light with feedback to physics (heating through light absorption) and depth-integrated fish stocks. New functionality is designed to integrate with existing biogeochemical models in FABM, including ERSEM and MEDUSA. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Used by various partners including the UK MetOffice in projects funded by e.g. CMEMS, NERC and Defra. |
| URL | https://www.pml.ac.uk/Modelling_at_PML/Access_Code |
| Title | Simulation of benthic macrofauna dynamics at Station L4 of the Western Channel Observatory |
| Description | Canonical model of benthic macrofauna based on ERSEM components was created to simulate dynamics of benthic macrofauna at Staion L4 in response to phytoplankton bloom dynamics. The model was used to estimate typical response times of macrofauna, as well as roles of functional types in ecosystem functioning. Manuscript describing this model and its results is currently in revision. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The main impact is influence on further integration of different research tools and methods to foster understanding of marine ecosystems. |
| Title | Simulations of benthic macrofaunal diversity in the northwest European shelf seas |
| Description | NEMO-ERSEM model with diversified benthic macrofauna structure was implemented to simulate dynamics of biodiversity within northwest European continental shelf sea during 2000-2016. Model results allow to analyse how physical forcing and hydrodynamic conditions shape biodiversity structure, which in turn affects biogeochemical cycling within the sea. Model results are currently analysed against available observational data. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | These results allow to analyse how physical environment shapes marine biodiversity, which in turn affects biogeochemistry. This will further allow to analyse impacts of disturbance and climate change on biodiversity and marine ecosystem services in general. |
| Title | Size and trait based zooplankton |
| Description | Framework combining size and trait based modelling for zooplankton representation within FABM-ERSEM. The framework has been developed to represent copepod and jellyfish, with a varying number of size class within each group, and accompanying equation to alter targeted rate and trophic interactions. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | N/A |
| Title | Zooplankton traits |
| Description | Collection of data regarding traits of zooplankton to later develop a trait based approach for expanding representation of zooplankton in FABM-ERSEM in order to improve diversity and representation of key functions. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Improved communication and linkage with the experimentalist community. |
| Title | fabm-mizer: size-based fish modelling in FABM |
| Description | Implementation of fish model "mizer" (https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12238) in the Framework for Aquatic Biogeochemical Models (http://fabm.net). The model is specifically designed to be compatible with ERSEM, and to support two-way ERSEM-mizer coupling in spatially explicit (1D, 3D) systems. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This model underpins the modelling of future fish catch projections for the Food and Agriculture Organization, in support of their 2018 update of technical paper 530 (tentative title "Impacts of climate change for Fisheries and Aquaculture") |
| Title | pydeb: a high performance implementation of the Dynamic Energy Budget model |
| Description | High performance implementation of Dynamic Energy Budget model equations in Python and C |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Supports functionality of Trait Explorer, http://www.marine-ecosystems.org.uk/Trait_Explorer |
| Description | Biogeochemistry of the benthic zone and implications for marine ecosystems - EGU session |
| Organisation | University of Liege |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | A session on biogeochemistry of the benthic zone and implications for marine ecosystems is regularly organised at EGU General Assembly held annually in Vienna. It attracts researchers from various backgrounds - both modellers and experimentalists - to share progress in benthic zone research in oral and poster presentations. Each year prominent speaker is invited to give a keynote talk. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This EGU session will focus on recent outcomes in the understanding of processes controlling benthic biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem dynamics, implementation of new experimental setups and data collection techniques, novel benthic model developments and efforts addressing the implications of benthic-pelagic coupling at a shelf and basin scale. Contributions related to the following non-exhaustive list of sub-topics are particularly encouraged: lability of benthic organic matter, microscale interactions (e.g. microenvironments, burrows, cable bacteria), microphytobenthic primary production, experimental setups and novel data collection techniques (e.g. fixed benthic observatories, eddy-covariance applications), permeability spectrum, extreme and episodic events and ecosystem recovery, erodability and response to resuspension, diversity of benthic habitats. |
| Impact | Ongoing collaboration. No specific outcome yet. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | EGU General Assembly session on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling |
| Organisation | Dutch Research Council |
| Department | Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Co-organisation and co-chairing a session on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling at the annual EGU General Assembly. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-organized a session on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling for the EGU General Assembly 2016. |
| Impact | The session in 2016 was jointly organised and 18 abstracts were received. Due to high amount of total abstracts submitted to EGU and very tight schedule, the session was merged with another session, similar, but more general in scope: OS3.1/BG3.8 Ocean biogeochemistry: novel approaches and synthesis. Poster session on benthic-pelagic coupling had a separate subtitle in the programme. In 2017 the session became a part of a bigger session "Biogeochemistry of coastal seas and continental shelves". This effort is a part of on-going collaborative activities on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling research involving modelling, experimental and observational approaches. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | EGU General Assembly session on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling |
| Organisation | Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres |
| Department | Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Co-organisation and co-chairing a session on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling at the annual EGU General Assembly. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-organized a session on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling for the EGU General Assembly 2016. |
| Impact | The session in 2016 was jointly organised and 18 abstracts were received. Due to high amount of total abstracts submitted to EGU and very tight schedule, the session was merged with another session, similar, but more general in scope: OS3.1/BG3.8 Ocean biogeochemistry: novel approaches and synthesis. Poster session on benthic-pelagic coupling had a separate subtitle in the programme. In 2017 the session became a part of a bigger session "Biogeochemistry of coastal seas and continental shelves". This effort is a part of on-going collaborative activities on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling research involving modelling, experimental and observational approaches. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | EGU General Assembly session on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling |
| Organisation | Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Co-organisation and co-chairing a session on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling at the annual EGU General Assembly. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-organized a session on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling for the EGU General Assembly 2016. |
| Impact | The session in 2016 was jointly organised and 18 abstracts were received. Due to high amount of total abstracts submitted to EGU and very tight schedule, the session was merged with another session, similar, but more general in scope: OS3.1/BG3.8 Ocean biogeochemistry: novel approaches and synthesis. Poster session on benthic-pelagic coupling had a separate subtitle in the programme. In 2017 the session became a part of a bigger session "Biogeochemistry of coastal seas and continental shelves". This effort is a part of on-going collaborative activities on benthic processes and benthic-pelagic coupling research involving modelling, experimental and observational approaches. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | EU network ReDEveloping Models of the European Marine Environment |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Department | Directorate-General for the Environment |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Attend and present at annual meetings in Brussels to update the EU's Directorate-General for the Environment (DG ENV) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) on the latest developments in marine ecosystem modelling, where relevant for policy development. |
| Collaborator Contribution | About 25 invited marine scientists across Europe participate and contribute in similar fashion. |
| Impact | Meeting report; In-house modelling capability of DG ENV + JRC will be designed in part based on advances and tools presented at the network meetings. Disciplines: marine and freshwater science, socioeconomics, EU policy |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | EU network ReDEveloping Models of the European Marine Environment |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Department | Joint Research Centre (JRC) |
| Country | European Union (EU) |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Attend and present at annual meetings in Brussels to update the EU's Directorate-General for the Environment (DG ENV) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) on the latest developments in marine ecosystem modelling, where relevant for policy development. |
| Collaborator Contribution | About 25 invited marine scientists across Europe participate and contribute in similar fashion. |
| Impact | Meeting report; In-house modelling capability of DG ENV + JRC will be designed in part based on advances and tools presented at the network meetings. Disciplines: marine and freshwater science, socioeconomics, EU policy |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | Centre For Environment, Fisheries And Aquaculture Science |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | Environment Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | Joint Nature Conservation Committee |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | Marine Biological Association |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | National Oceanography Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | Natural Resources Wales |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | Scottish Environment Protection Agency |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | HBDSEG |
| Organisation | Seafish |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I contribute to the evidence group by highlighting the type of evidences that the NERC research community, and in particular the marine modelling community, could provide and by sharing best practices and experience about modelling |
| Collaborator Contribution | they provide a better understanding the requirements of policy makers and management agencies so that my current and future research can have stronger impact |
| Impact | the collaboration is highly multidisciplinary, involving modellers, biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, fishery scientists |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | National Partnership for Ocean Prediction (NPOP). |
| Organisation | Centre For Environment, Fisheries And Aquaculture Science |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Launched in April 2107, The mission of the partnership is to develop and promote marine products and services, with a focus on national and public benefit. It member are PML, NOC, Cefas and UKMO. NPOP focuses on the integration of models, observations and scientific understanding, and how these can be used to produce good quality information and advice about the marine environment. The partnership itself does not provide services, but facilitates the partners to develop these services, and helps them to be used as widely as possible and to the best effect. PML works with the partnership to provide ecosystem models for the NW European shelf operational forecast system and with UKMO to further develop operational data assimilation. This is managed through a join position between to 2 organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Setting priorities for research and observation collection is key to the success of ocean prediction services. The National Partnership of Ocean Prediction has an important role in understanding and defining these priorities. Our activity groups provide the fora in which the work of the research community can be coordinated, to ensure we work in a complimentary way to maximise the impact of our research and services. They are also the route through which we can understand where the gaps in understanding, tools or observations lie. This informs our own priorities, as well as providing appropriate guidance for the observations community and others. The partnership provides a means of engaging with users so that they have a good understanding of the services we provide, and we have a good understanding of how we need to develop our services to meet their needs. As a partnership we look for funding to underpin the work needed to develop the services, and have a stronger, more coherent, voice than we do as individual groups. |
| Impact | Annual science, meeting. development of a strategy for ocean forecasting. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | National Partnership for Ocean Prediction (NPOP). |
| Organisation | Meteorological Office UK |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Launched in April 2107, The mission of the partnership is to develop and promote marine products and services, with a focus on national and public benefit. It member are PML, NOC, Cefas and UKMO. NPOP focuses on the integration of models, observations and scientific understanding, and how these can be used to produce good quality information and advice about the marine environment. The partnership itself does not provide services, but facilitates the partners to develop these services, and helps them to be used as widely as possible and to the best effect. PML works with the partnership to provide ecosystem models for the NW European shelf operational forecast system and with UKMO to further develop operational data assimilation. This is managed through a join position between to 2 organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Setting priorities for research and observation collection is key to the success of ocean prediction services. The National Partnership of Ocean Prediction has an important role in understanding and defining these priorities. Our activity groups provide the fora in which the work of the research community can be coordinated, to ensure we work in a complimentary way to maximise the impact of our research and services. They are also the route through which we can understand where the gaps in understanding, tools or observations lie. This informs our own priorities, as well as providing appropriate guidance for the observations community and others. The partnership provides a means of engaging with users so that they have a good understanding of the services we provide, and we have a good understanding of how we need to develop our services to meet their needs. As a partnership we look for funding to underpin the work needed to develop the services, and have a stronger, more coherent, voice than we do as individual groups. |
| Impact | Annual science, meeting. development of a strategy for ocean forecasting. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | National Partnership for Ocean Prediction (NPOP). |
| Organisation | National Oceanography Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Launched in April 2107, The mission of the partnership is to develop and promote marine products and services, with a focus on national and public benefit. It member are PML, NOC, Cefas and UKMO. NPOP focuses on the integration of models, observations and scientific understanding, and how these can be used to produce good quality information and advice about the marine environment. The partnership itself does not provide services, but facilitates the partners to develop these services, and helps them to be used as widely as possible and to the best effect. PML works with the partnership to provide ecosystem models for the NW European shelf operational forecast system and with UKMO to further develop operational data assimilation. This is managed through a join position between to 2 organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Setting priorities for research and observation collection is key to the success of ocean prediction services. The National Partnership of Ocean Prediction has an important role in understanding and defining these priorities. Our activity groups provide the fora in which the work of the research community can be coordinated, to ensure we work in a complimentary way to maximise the impact of our research and services. They are also the route through which we can understand where the gaps in understanding, tools or observations lie. This informs our own priorities, as well as providing appropriate guidance for the observations community and others. The partnership provides a means of engaging with users so that they have a good understanding of the services we provide, and we have a good understanding of how we need to develop our services to meet their needs. As a partnership we look for funding to underpin the work needed to develop the services, and have a stronger, more coherent, voice than we do as individual groups. |
| Impact | Annual science, meeting. development of a strategy for ocean forecasting. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | National Partnership for Ocean Prediction - NPOP |
| Organisation | Centre For Environment, Fisheries And Aquaculture Science |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I lead the ecosystem models Action Group |
| Collaborator Contribution | the partnership has the aim to promote the use of operational oceanography for marine and maritime policy, management and industries |
| Impact | the partnership organised workshops, conferences and meeting with stakeholders. It is multidisciplnary, involving physical and biological oceanographer, ecosystem modeller, remote sensing scientists and data assimilation scientists |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | National Partnership for Ocean Prediction - NPOP |
| Organisation | Meteorological Office UK |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I lead the ecosystem models Action Group |
| Collaborator Contribution | the partnership has the aim to promote the use of operational oceanography for marine and maritime policy, management and industries |
| Impact | the partnership organised workshops, conferences and meeting with stakeholders. It is multidisciplnary, involving physical and biological oceanographer, ecosystem modeller, remote sensing scientists and data assimilation scientists |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | National Partnership for Ocean Prediction - NPOP |
| Organisation | National Oceanography Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I lead the ecosystem models Action Group |
| Collaborator Contribution | the partnership has the aim to promote the use of operational oceanography for marine and maritime policy, management and industries |
| Impact | the partnership organised workshops, conferences and meeting with stakeholders. It is multidisciplnary, involving physical and biological oceanographer, ecosystem modeller, remote sensing scientists and data assimilation scientists |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Title | ERSEM |
| Description | ERSEM: European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model For more information please visit http://ersem.com. Changes since 19.04: Harmonised and extended formulations for air-sea exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide - with thanks to Phil Wallhead @ NIVA Dissolution of benthic calcite is now dependent on saturation state (this was already the case for pelagic calcite) Fix to prevent spurious oxygen production under heavy deposition at the bed Compatibility with FABM 1.0 |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4075284 |
| Title | ERSEM |
| Description | ERSEM: European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model For more information please visit https://ersem.com. Changes since 20.09: Updated documentation |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4075283 |
| Title | ERSEM |
| Description | ERSEM: European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model For more information please visit https://ersem.com. Changes since 20.09: Updated documentation |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4075315 |
| Title | ERSEM+N-Osmolytes |
| Description | ERSEM: European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model For more information please visit http://ersem.com. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4288841 |
| Title | ERSEM+N-Osmolytes |
| Description | ERSEM: European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model For more information please visit http://ersem.com. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4288840 |
| Title | FABM-Mizer |
| Description | This is a FABM port of Mizer with support for offline and online simulation of size structured fish communities and populations. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | This software was used to predict changes in fish stocks and catches under climate change for a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (chapter 4 in http://www.fao.org/3/I9705EN/i9705en.pdf). It also underpins new research in several national and international projects, including the NERC-funded GCRF project SOLSTICE (https://www.solstice-wio.org) and the EU Horizons 2020 projects COMFORT (https://comfort.w.uib.no) and Mission Atlantic (https://missionatlantic.eu). |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4593395 |
| Title | FABM-Mizer |
| Description | This is a FABM port of Mizer with support for offline and online simulation of size structured fish communities and populations. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/4593394 |
| Title | FAMB ERSEM |
| Description | The Framework for Aquatic Biogeochemical Models (FABM): a Fortran 2003 programming framework for biogeochemical models of marine and freshwater systems. FABM enables complex biogeochemical models to be developed as sets of stand-alone, process-specific modules. These can be combined at runtime to create custom-tailored models. This approach has been adopted to implement several large ecosystem models in FABM, including ERSEM (marine), and AED and PCLake (freshwater). FABM has also been used to model suspended sediment and redox chemistry. FABM has been coupled to several hydrodynamic models, including GOTM, GETM, GLM, MOM4 and MOM5. It also comes with a stand-alone box model driver. FABM uses modern software standards: it is coded in object-oriented Fortran 2003, has a build system based on CMake, and uses YAML files for configuration. FABM makes it easy to partition complex biogeochemistry over many building blocks, called "model instances" in FABM. The fabm-ersem port currently makes everything that can be considered as "integral physical particle" a model instance. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | none as yet |
| URL | https://gitlab.ecosystem-modelling.pml.ac.uk/ |
| Title | GOTM/FABM source codes with hydrodynamically controlled benthic-pelagic coupled oxygen model |
| Description | This archive contains the source codes of the 1D water column and turbulence model GOTM, and the BGC model framework FABM used for the simulations in the manuscript "Hydrodynamic control of sediment-water fluxes: Consistent parameterization and impact in coupled benthic-pelagic models" by Umlauf et al. (2023, JGR Oceans, 10.1029/2023JC019651). Please note that the purpose of this archive is only for fulfilling the required archive standards from AGU and not for sharing the developed code. See https://gotm.net and https://fabm.net for the latest codes. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.7950382 |
| Title | Generic prokaryote |
| Description | A new formulation describing the metabolism of a generic, non photosynthetic prokaryote (bacteria and archaea) has been implemented in the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM). The new formulation implies that different metabolic pathways (aerobic heterotrophy, anaerobic heterotrophy and chemolithotrophy) act simultaneously. However, the relative magnitude of each pathway dynamically varies depending on the environmental conditions (i.e. O2 concentration, DOM and NH4). Thanks to this feature, the model is able to simulate in a dynamic way important processes such as denitrification, nitrification and N2O production. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Impact | The new formulation substantially improves the representation of the nitrogen cycle in ERSEM |
| Title | Mixothrophy |
| Description | A new formulation describing mixotrophy has been implemented in the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM). The new model implies that mixotrophic plankton is able to select the most convenient feeding strategy (phototrophy or phagotrophy) depending on the availability of light, nutrients and potential prey (bacteria and small phytoplankton). |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Impact | The new formulation will allow to test the importance of mixothrophy in the planktonic ecosystem and assess its impact on trophic fluxes and carbon export. |
| Title | Trait Explorer |
| Description | For many applications we need to know the traits of marine species. This is crucial for understanding ecosystem function and building ecosystem models. Unfortunately, while literature and online databases are replete with trait values, we are still a long way away from a complete characterization of every species. The Trait Explorer web service addresses this issue by estimating traits for any species, through a form of "automated expert judgement" that combines large datasets with published trait values and the latest taxonomic information. Its results account for taxonomic relationships between species (related species tend to have similar traits) and power law-like relationships between traits (e.g., organism mass is a good predictor for other size metrics and many physiological traits). |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | The Trait Explorer web service is used in the NERC/Defra Shelf Seas Biogeochemistry (SSB) programme and the Marine Ecosystem Research Programme (MERP) to estimate the size and carbon mass of a wide variety of marine species, which in turn is used for validation of model results, notably of the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM). |
| URL | http://www.marine-ecosystems.org.uk/Trait_Explorer |
| Title | Trait Explorer extensions |
| Description | The Trait Explorer web service has been expanded with additional datasets and functionality, including the ability to estimate parameters of Dynamic Energy Budget models |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Impact | In the first 10 months of availability (Jan-Oct 2017), the web service received more than 800 queries from 101 unique users from 20 different countries. |
| URL | http://www.marine-ecosystems.org.uk/Trait_Explorer |
| Description | 2nd workshop of the EU Network of Experts for ReDEveloping Models of the European Marine Environment (MEME) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The second workshop of the 'Network of Experts for ReDeveloping Models of the European Marine Environment' was held on 22-23 March 2017 in Brussels, Belgium, jointly organized by DG Environment and DG JRC (Water and Marine Resources Unit) within the framework of the Administrative Arrangement (N110661/ENV.C.2/2016/733192) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MFSD). The aim of this workshop was to continue the information exchange between the Commission and marine modelling experts. Another important objective of this initiative is to narrow the gap between modellers and decision makers in order to better exploit the full utility of models. In this context, the workshop consisted of 17 presentations covering the wide use of marine ecosystem models to address several indicators of the MFSD in coastal zones and European regional seas, including assessment, indicator development and scenario building. The presentations dealt with (1) General lectures, (2) Eutrophication, (3) Hydrography, (4) Higher Trophic Levels and (5) Fish. The participants were invited to join the network informal 'Network of experts on the Modelling of the European Marine Environment (MEME)'. DG Environment and DG JRC emphasized the added value of a joint effort to further develop modelling capabilities with the objective of providing useful advice for policy makers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | ASLO Aquatic Sciences meeting, Hawaii |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at the ASLO Aquatic Sciences meeting, 26 Feb - 3 Mar 2017, Hawaii: "How to capture species succession and evolution in large-scale biogeochemical models?" Abstract: In nature, part of the impact of environmental change on ecosystem functioning is cushioned by changes in species composition and by genetic evolution: the community adapts. These responses can reduce the sensitivity of mass and energy fluxes to change - a key parameter in climate change research. The potential influence of these responses is greatest in the ocean, where the cycling of matter and energy is dominated by small, fast reproducing species. However, the models that routinely predict the response of marine systems to climate change do not describe species diversity and evolution in any detail, and are not easily amended to do so. Recent "trait-based" approaches provide a conceptual framework for the modelling of species diversity, but their present implementations remain computationally expensive and unsuitable for the dynamic introduction of new types, implicit in genetic evolution. I discuss how these problems can be addressed by leveraging concepts and methods from the field of "adaptive dynamics". By describing the intra- and interspecific diversity in terms of the distribution of a few key traits, the dynamic structure of the ecosystem can be modelled with a few variables. As shown with a canonical ecosystem model in a spatially resolved world ocean, this approach remains viable in the presence of advective and diffusive transport of biota, and smoothly incorporates genetic evolution as another source of biodiversity, linked to reproductive effort. These provide a starting point for the modelling of species diversity and evolution in computationally efficient manner. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Contribution to MERP newsletter: Trait Explorer |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Contributed news item describing the new Trait Explorer web service, http://www.marine-ecosystems.org.uk/Trait_Explorer |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Defra briefing to present outputs of Marine Ecosystems Reserach Programme |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Briefing to staff of UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, in order to show case policy-relevant outputs of the Marine Ecosystems Research Programme. Attended by 13 Defra staff, working on topics including marine evidence, fisheries, and marine protected areas. Presented spatially explicit fish projections for UK seas under scenarios for riverine nutrient reduction. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Dialogue on methods for ecology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This dialogue aims to identify some crucial challenges in the area of micro- to macro ecology for the next 20 years as seen by biologists today, which may be tractable to a mathematical modelling approach. The aim is to have a series of short talks (12 minutes plus 3 minutes for questions) which summarise the sorts of data that are available in the different disciplines, how these can be linked to other types of datasets: what are the challenges and what are the gaps? Are we collecting the right sort of data. These will be followed by smaller discussion groups where we can focus on the detail: such as are we producing the right sort of data and how do we incorporate these multiple data sets into current models, do we need a new generation of models? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | ERSEM workshop at AMEMR 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop to teach student and senior scientist outside the modelling field how to use the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model. This covered how to set-up and run the model. Has well as how to use the model to test hypothesis regarding food-web and nutrient circulation or climate change impact. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | European Conference of Ecosystem Modelling |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote talk on 'next generation ecosystem models' Discussion on how to build models |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Filling the gaps for predicting the future |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Article in the Challenger Society magazine highlight the Marine Ecosystem Research Programme's activities and outcomes as the programme drew to a close. The 4 page article reached a wide audience of those interested in marine issues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/oceanchallenge/2018_23_1.pdf |
| Description | Guest speaker at the final workshop of the BlueBRIDGE project (EU Horizons 2020), Brussels, Belgium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented recent work on fish catch projections for a varied audience including academics and representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Marine Stewardship Council, the EU Copernicus program, the EC Directorate-General for Research, the EC Directorate-General for Environment and several SMEs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.bluebridge-vres.eu/events/bluebridge-workshop-supporting-blue-growth-innovative-applicati... |
| Description | ICES WGIPEM (working group in integration of physical and ecosystem models) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The presentation discussed linkage between lower trophic and higher trophic models and how these could be improved as well as accounting for additionnal species like jellyfish and their impact on ressource availability for fish and other higher trophic predators. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | ICES WGIPEM (working group on integration of physical and ecosystem models) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Expert working group on marine ecosystem modelling |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | ICES WGIPEM (working group on integration of physical and ecosystem models) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Specialist working group for improvement of marine ecosystem model and their implementation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | ICES WGIPEM workshop. Held in Brest, France |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop regarding progress in modelling of secondary trophic level and impact on lower trophic level |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | ICES-WGIPEM presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The presentation, titled "Modelling zooplankton - how and what can we do?" was given at the ICES Working Group on Integrated, Physical-biological and Ecosystem Modelling (WGIPEM). It highlighted the role of zooplankton and the necessity to further develop it's representation in ecosystem models to better characterise ecosystem state and the impact on things like fisheries capacity as it is an important food item for several fishes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | ICES/PICES 6th Zooplankton Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation titled "Stoichiometry and Microzooplankton: How one predator answer to food quality impacts the ecosystem around him" Highlighted work conducted and progress regarding zooplankton modelling to a panel of zooplankton specialist (both experimentalist and modellers) fuelling discussion on how to best progress in regard to zooplankton modelling. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.ices.dk/news-and-events/symposia/zp6/Pages/default.aspx |
| Description | International Marine Science Communication Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The International Marine Science Communication Conference (CommOcean) brings together marine scientists, communication professionals, policy managers and private sector professional to discuss and share expertise on marine science communication. MERP Communications leader attended the conference to highlight the Programme, showing the recently made MERP video and discussing advancements in communication techniques and best practice through a series of hands-on workshops. This resulted in enhanced networking opportunities, closer links with NERC Press Office and plans for future collaborations for outreach products. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Invited oral presentation at Gordon Research Conference on Ocean Global Change Biology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On invitation by the conference organizing committee, I presented work on modelling adaptation and evolution of thermal tolerance in phytoplankton. This has led to several new contacts, some able to provide key new datasets. This has increased the likelihood of creating a high-impact publication about this work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.grc.org/ocean-global-change-biology-conference/2018/ |
| Description | Invited seminar at Bristol University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited seminar presenting worked on zooplankton modelling and jellyfish |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Invited seminar at University of Reading |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Approxiamtely 40 undergraduate student listened to the seminar. Further the invitation lead to discussion with senior scientist within the university with invitation to participate in future research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Invited talk at Earth Science Research seminar at Plymouth University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation "Modelling marine benthic ecosystems: from observing state to explaining function" presenting work on benthic modelling, including L4 benthic fauna modelling with FABM-ERSEM, modelling biodiversity and current issues and future challenges of benthic ecosystem modelling. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/modelling-marine-benthic-ecosystems-from-observing-state-to-expl... |
| Description | Joint MERP-SSB workshop on ERSEM development |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Joint Shelf Seas Biogeochemistry/Marine Ecosystem Research Program workshop on ERSEM development was held 24-25 November 2014. This workshop synchronized development efforts by partners developing ERSEM (PML, Cefas, NOC) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | MERP Newsletter series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The MERP newsletter is sent out biannually and highlights the ongoing activities and achievements of the Programme. It is targeted not only at programme partners but at many external stakeholders and communication channels, such as the Marine Ripple Network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015 |
| URL | http://us10.campaign-archive1.com/?u=0a1f17d91ab0b711be36f6f70&id=c546006116&e=dd5288513d |
| Description | MERP Stakeholder Advisory Group Meeting: Addressing key policy questions to stakeholders |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This workshop gathered MERP scientists with the stakeholder advisory group to share project outcomes and gather their feedback and comments on how to maximize broader dissemination with wider stakeholder communities. The meeting sparked interested discussion and keen interest for further follow up information and details on how to access more information. The stakeholder group also agreed to participate in the wider Stakeholder Symposium (to be held in April 2018) as panel members. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | MERP Stakeholder Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | In April 2018 MERP hosted a symposium for a broad range of stakeholders. Throughout the 4-year programme MERP has engaged actively with stakeholders including relevant marine policy formers, managers, regulators, NGOs, and industry. The Symposium was design to allow us to share with stakeholders across the UK how the advances made across MERP could support the broad management and sustainable use of the UK's marine environment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | MERP stakeholder day and ASM |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Held a small demonstration stand for stakeholder to understand ERSEM (Stakeholder day) Presentation of the zooplankton and jellyfish modelling work carried out in ERSEM (MERP ASM) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | MMO Science Alignment Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The aim of the workshop was to foster collaboration between academia and marine managers, developing both research projects and programmes to create excellent science that has maximum impact |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Marine Ecosytems Research Programme Briefing for Scottish Government |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Key representatives from MERP held a briefing with Scottish Government to discuss how MERP work may be of use to them. The meeting involved short presentations followed by feedback and discussion. The intended outcome was continued further engagement and follow up for further information on MERP. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Marine Management Organisation - |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentations and Discussions with the MMO on how our research can help address key policy needs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Marine Management Organisation's Marine Science Alignment Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Marine Management Organisation hosted this invitation-only workshop on 9th September 2015 in London, with the aim to provide a forum through which we can develop and enhance collaborations between academic researchers and the MMO with a view to building innovative research projects and programmes to make best use of government and European funding on science and marine management. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Marine ecology and ecosystem services |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | PML (and MERP) Scientist Stefanie Broszeit participated in the SoapBox Science day in Exeter City Centre. Together with some of Devon's leading female scientists Stefanie took to her soapbox to showcase science to the general public. She discussed her work on linking marine ecology to ecosystems services undertaken through the Marine Ecosystem Research Programme. This event engaged with broad spectrum of the general public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Meeting between MERP and MMO |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A meeting was organised to initiate closer working relationship between the MMO and MERP (both the whoel programme and the individual researchers), and to assist the MMO to develop closer working relationships with the academic community and a clearer line of sight between scientific research and management decisions. Following the meeting the MMO have continued to be engaged in MERP activities and are helping to support the overall impact on policy of the programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Modelling marine benthic ecosystems: from observing state to explaining function - an invited talk at University of Plymouth |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk at University of Plymouth Earth Science Research Seminar on my work on benthic macrofauna modelling. The talk was well attended by ~100 people - undergraduate and postgraduate students, university stuff - mainly from School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. The talk was followed by a question session and a follow-up discussion on potential for further collaboration between PML modelling and University of Plymouth Earth Science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | News article on PML website 'Filling the gaps in marine ecosystem research' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Online news article in line with a press release to publicise the start of the Marine Ecosystem Research Programme (MERP), jointly funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The news article was intended to promote the new programme's innovative research with funders, partners, media, collaborators and beyond. The news article extended the potential reach of the press release, raising the profile of the Marine Ecosystem Research Programme (MERP) with stakeholders, directing traffic to the new MERP website and generating interest in its strategic aims and outcomes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.pml.ac.uk/News/Filling_the_gaps_in_marine_ecosystem_research |
| Description | Ocean Prediction Workshop 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I presented our advances in spatially explicit models of fish around the UK. Specifically, the focus was on our new ability to account for two-way feedbacks: fish grow by feeding on plankton, plankton decreases through fish predation. This presentation reached the core of the ocean modelling community in the UK (e..g, UK MetOffice, National Oceanography Centre). It has contributed to us being invited to participate in new proposals (e.g., a NERC large grant) involving hydrodynamic modelling, plankton and fish. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://oceanprediction.org/workshops/ |
| Description | Participation in the ICES WGBIODIV workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion of how MERP work can contribute to the ongoing activities and recommendations of the ICES WGBIODIV workshop |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Press Release for the launch of a new open-source Shelf Seas Biogeochemistry programme 'ERSEM' model, as a modelling tool for the marine science community. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press release to publicise the launch of a new open-source Shelf Seas Biogeochemistry programme-ERSEM model, as a modelling tool for the marine science community. This press release was intended to promote the new model to a varied audience including press, the marine science community, funders, colleagues, collaborators and the general public. There are now 94 users of the ERSEM open access model worldwide. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.pml.ac.uk/News/New-modelling-tool-to-enhance-global-understanding |
| Description | Press release 'Filling the gaps in marine ecosystem research' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press release to publicise the start of the Marine Ecosystem Research Programme (MERP), jointly funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The press release was intended to promote the new programme's innovative research with funders, partners, media, collaborators and beyond. The press release raised the profile of the Marine Ecosystem Research Programme (MERP) with stakeholders and beyond, directing traffic to the new MERP website and generating interest in its strategic aims and outcomes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.pml.ac.uk/News/Filling_the_gaps_in_marine_ecosystem_research |
| Description | Programme Stakeholder Advisory Group workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Stakeholder Advisory Group was formed to advise on how to maximize the impact of the programme it includes members from industry, advisory bodies across the devolved administrations, ICES, Defra, NGO and others. The group is helping to support the use of project outputs in policy and management. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | SSB workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Participants in the workshop got hand on experience with FABM-ERSEM, which provided them with a better understanding of the functioning of ecosystem model and how they can be used. This increased their interest in collaboration with the group for current or future projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | The NERC/Defra marine Ecosystems Research Programme |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | MERP Project Coordinator shared information about what MERP had achieved and promoted the Stakeholder Symposium which will be taking place in April 2018 amongst the wide range of stakeholders at the event. This drummed up good support and interest for the later symposium. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | UK Challenger Society Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Participants in your research and patient groups |
| Results and Impact | 200 people attended a keynote talk on ecosystem modelling Talk videoed and available on line Invited to give seminars at BAS and UKMO |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | United Nations Ocean Conference - Partnership Dialogue 3 - Minimizing and addressing ocean acidification |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | PML Scientist participated sat on a panel discussion and presented/discussion work arising from the MERP programme. This allowed MERP to be highlight and discussed at a high-level meeting amongst a diverse community who may not otherwise have heard about the programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Work accepted for presentation at the EGU General Assembly 2019 (Modelling how environmental change a?ects benthic biodiversity with a biogeochemical model) by Dr. Jonathan Beecham |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Attendance al presentation of MERP work at the EGU 2019 by Jonathan Beecham. The presentation is entitled "Modelling how environmental change a?ects benthic biodiversity with a biogeochemical model" The EGU General Assembly 2019, taking place in Vienna (Austria) on 7-12 April 2019, will bring together geoscientists from all over the world to one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary, and space sciences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2019/EGU2019-15916.pdf |
| Description | article for MERP newsletter |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Article on the modelling activity ongoing in the project. After 1 month from publication I have been already contacted by JNCC with request of more information and collaboration |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.marine-ecosystems.org.uk/News/Identifying_impact_with_ERSEM.aspx |
| Description | kick-off meeting for EU network ReDEveloping Models of the European Marine Environment |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The 'Kick-off workshop of the Network of Experts for ReDeveloping Models of the European Marine Environment. Eutrophication modelling and Descriptor 5 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive' was held on 20-21 January 2016 in Brussels, Belgium, jointly organized by DG Environment and DG JRC (IES -Water Resources Unit) within the framework of the Administrative Arrangement NoENV.C.2/2015/070201/705766 (Deliverable 2.2) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MFSD). The aim of this workshop was to learn about existing modelling work and to draw lessons for the build-up of the European modelling effort. In this context, the workshop consisted of 18 presentations on the use of marine ecosystem models to address indicators within the Eutrophication descriptor (D5) of the MFSD in coastal zones and European regional seas, including assessment, indicator development and scenario building. Some other descriptors were also covered by the presentations and discussions. The presentations dealt with (1) South European regional seas (Black and Mediterranean Seas), (2) Atlantic shelf areas, (3) North Sea and Baltic Sea and (4) General lectures. The workshop also served as the inception meeting of the newly created informal network of experts on the Modelling of the European Marine Environment (MEME). The participants were invited to join the network DG Environment and DG JRC emphasizing the added value of a joint effort to further develop modelling capabilities with the objective of providing useful advice for policy makers. This was well received by the attendants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |