Attempting to model all life on earth - a proof of concept General Ecosystem Model Event

Abstract

Over the past few years, Microsoft Research and the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), both in Cambridge, UK, have built a global ecosystem model for terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Called the Madingley model, it captures the broad-scale structure and function of ecosystems around the world by simulating processes - including feeding, reproduction and death - that drive the distribution and abundance of organisms. From the relationship between the mass of individual organisms and how long they live, or the effects of  human perturbations such as hunting, to the distribution of biomass across Earth, the model's outputs are broadly consistent with current understanding of ecosystems. Global ecosystem models such as the Madingley model could radically improve understanding of the biosphere and help inform policy decisions about biodiversity and conservation.

The talk will run from 4-5pm in B53/4025, Highfield Campus.

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