Current Postdoctoral Associates [1]
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Website [2]
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I am a postdoctoral associate on the Scientific Observations Network (SONet) project, where I work on the semantic modeling of scientific observations to aid data integration and interoperability. I am motivated by the desire to develop semantic technology solutions that help domain scientists better share and discover data relevant to their research interests. In addition to traditional knowledge modeling, I use bottom-up approaches, including natural language processing, to populate ontologies with terms and concepts that are used by working scientists. |
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Website [3]
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Products traditionally made from natural materials are being replaced by man-made materials such as plastics that are lighter, cheaper, more durable, and less flammable. When these materials reach the end of their life, they are discarded as waste. When this waste is not managed properly, these man-made materials enter marine habitats where they can harm organisms, reduce the quality of our seafood, and contaminate habitats and waterways used for recreation (e.g. swimming, surfing, and running). I am investigating where marine debris comes from, where it goes, and what effects it has on wildlife and humans. In doing so, I am providing information about the types of problems, where and when they occur, and how best to reduce them.
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Website [4]
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My research will evaluate the effects of climate change on endemic plankton communities in one of the world’s largest lakes: Lake Baikal, Siberia. Using a unique 60-year data set, I will determine the main environmental drivers of zooplankton community dynamics and evaluate whether endemic species are likely to be replaced by common cosmopolitan species. My analyses will contribute to a collaborative project aimed at evaluating the potential impacts of climate change on the food web of this distinct ecosystem.
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I am interested in how human activities and climate variability affect the structure and dynamics of marine communities. My research provides insights into species interactions and species-environment relationships that benefit both management and conservation efforts. At NCEAS I am contributing to a project that is exploring ecosystem thresholds and indicators for marine spatial planning. A priority of my work is to synthesize information on how ecological components of marine systems respond to stressors and identify the prevalence of nonlinearities in those responses. |
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I am intrigued by ecological processes at several scales, from populations to ecosystems, and the challenge to translate them to tractable models serving conservation purposes. Building on my experience in indicators of fishing effects, with emphasis on biodiversity metrics, at NCEAS I am contributing to the development of a methodology to globally assess ocean health. The goal is to combine indicators of the relevant ecological and socio-economic parameters within a framework that is, at the same time, scientifically sound and understand-able to the wider public. (Ocean Health Index)
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Benoit Parmentier
(805) 892-2512 parmentier [at] nceas [dot] ucsb [dot] edu (Email) |
Dr. Benoit Parmentier's research focuses on the development of spatially explicit climate layers to inform global studies of ecological phenomena such as species' distributions and ecosystem services. The research requires integrating newly available information resources, such as MODIS images, along with advanced algorithms for extracting essential climatological features from these data sets. This work is being done through a partnership of the NCEAS Working Group on "Environments and Organisms" (https://groups.nceas.ucsb.edu/environment-and-organisms [5]) and the iPlant Collaborative (http://www.iplantcollaborative.org/ [6]).
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Website [7]
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As a member of the DataONE project, I help create and evaluate learning resources and communication strategies for engaging environmental researchers, students, and educators in sound data management practices. I support the growth of the DataONE user community and interactions between its members, and enhance DataONE visibility to researchers, decision makers, and educators. I also work toward improving public communication about science related to controversial environmental issues such as global climate change through algorithmic processing of text and content analysis of visual images.
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Understanding the extent and cause of tropical insect diversity is challenging and comprehending that diversity generally requires two approaches: 1) rigorous surveys and taxon inventories of insects at particular sites; and 2) reconstructing quantitative food webs demonstrating trophic interactions between species. These two approaches lead to insights on the structuring of insect communities and encompass the major goals of my NCEAS project, which synthesizes extensive biodiversity and genetic datasets for a dominant group of tropical parasitic wasps from Costa Rica. (NSF NCEAS)
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Josephine Rodriguez
