Lab Overview
The Seascape Ecology and Mapping (SEAM) laboratory, led by Dr Craig Brown, is based in the Oceanography Department at Dalhousie University.
Human pressures on the ocean continue to increase, and improved understanding of the spatial distribution of seabed organisms and habitats is of paramount importance for implementing effective marine spatial planning, marine conservation, and sustainable resource management. The research of the SEAM lab is focussed in the emerging field of seascape ecology, the ocean-centric equivalent of landscape ecology, which offer a solution to this problem by providing a way to study marine systems within a spatial framework.
Our research aims to describe, understand, and quantify the spatial patterns of benthic fauna and habitats at the ocean floor. This is closely linked to our ability to map seafloor ecosystems at appropriate resolutions to understand species-environment relationships, and drivers of spatiotemporal change in these systems (both natural and anthropogenic). Our research is therefore closely tied to developments in seafloor mapping technologies, primarily acoustic remote sensing methods (e.g. multibeam sonar), and the application of novel and new data integration approaches (i.e. Geographic Information Systems and geospatial statistical techniques).
Our research is grounded in the applied sciences, and we collaborate with government, private sector, and other academic institution on a wide range of projects within this field.