Hofmann to Give CCPO Lecture on Southern Ocean Food Webs

Eileen Hofmann, professor of ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences at Old Dominion University, will deliver a lecture assessing recent expressions of global climate change in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica as part of ODU's Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography (CCPO) Spring 2009 Seminar Series at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26.

The lecture, titled "Synthesis of Southern Ocean Food Webs," is related to research presented at the Southern Ocean Food Web Workshop held at CCPO in April 2008.

Fundamental to predicting how ecosystems respond to change, such as climate change, is an understanding of food web structure and function. Hofmann's presentation will review the status of Southern Ocean food web models and explore issues associated with developing these to the circumpolar scale. The gaps in knowledge that limit current food web models will be highlighted, with particular emphasis on the importance of considering regional and trophic complexities.

The presentation will be in CCPO's Room 3200 in the Innovation Research Park@ODU Building 1. will be preceded by a reception with refreshments beginning at 3 p.m. The seminars in the series are free and open to the public.