Global warming is causing marine animals to change their range, which can lead to devastating consequences for the ecosystems they enter and exit. The good news is we can predict how and when these changes will occur by creating what’s called a model. Models can be used to predict the future distribution of an animal population. I will talk about how I created a model using basic math and ecology concepts, and how I used this model to predict the future! 

Alma Yesenia Ceja grew up in Bakersfield, a central California city with a desert climate. She often longed for the bay weather from her grade school years spent in Monterey Bay. During her studies she developed a special relationship with heat and its effects on physiology. As a marine thermal physiologist, she has the opportunity to explore both interests during her master’s research at San Francisco State University. Alma is also a Teaching Associate in the Biology Department of San Francisco State, as well as a research associate at the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies.