Rob Suryan

Changing Climate, Changing Ecosystems

About the Speaker

Did climate models predict the recent heatwave affecting Alaska? Yes and no. Yes, the range of warming was predicted, but no, not so soon! Ocean climate will continue to exhibit periods of cooling and warming, however the frequency of heatwaves will likely increase. Dr. Rob Suryan will discuss efforts to understand how Alaska’s marine ecosystems respond to climate variability and how scientists are trying to predict ecosystem response to long-term climate change…or at least narrow down the range of possibilities. Dr. Suryan is a Research Ecologist for NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center and the Science Coordinator for the Gulf Watch Alaska Long-term Ecosystem Monitoring Program. He specializes in integrated ecosystem studies working with physical, biological, and fisheries oceanographers and developing programs to integrate and model predator response to changing prey availability and ocean climate. His efforts with Gulf Watch Alaska and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center focus on assessing how ecosystem variability affects resources recovering from the T/V Exxon Valdez oil spill and how ecosystem information is best used to inform fisheries management in Alaska. Rob recently transitioned back to Alaska after 15 years at Oregon State University where his lab focused on ecology, population dynamics, marine spatial planning, and conservation biology of seabirds. Rob received a Ph.D. from Oregon State University, a M.S. from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and a B.S. from Humboldt State University. He has contributed to over 60 scientific publications and, among other activities, is currently chair-elect of the Pacific Seabird Group, a contributing editor for Marine Ecology Progress Series, and leads the Short-tailed Albatross endangered species recovery team.