pose with one of the fish they studied to develop a model of the
Narragansett Bay food web. (Photo courtesy of Maggie Heinichen)
A team of scientists at the University of Rhode Island is creating a series of
computer models of the food web of Narragansett Bay to simulate how the
ecosystem will respond to changes in environmental conditions and human uses.
The models will be used to predict how fish abundance will change as water
temperatures rise, nutrient inputs vary, and fishing pressure fluctuates.
“A model like this allows you to
test things and anticipate changes before they happen in the real ecosystem,”