The Spring 2024 Biology Seminar Series commences with a talk from Julia Mackin-McLaughlin, "Spatial distribution of benthic flora and fauna of costal Placentia Bay, an ecologically and biologically significant area of the Island of Newfoundland, Atlantic Canada."
Coastal environments represent hotspots not only of biodiversity and ecosystem services, but human development and exploitation. This study establishes a baseline describing benthic organisms present along the western coast of Placentia Bay, a declared Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area (EBSA) of the Island of Newfoundland, Canada. Concurrently, this research investigates the methodology behind habitat mapping – using physical seafloor characteristics to predict the distribution of a target organism or group – and discusses ways it can be improved.
