Lucas Brotz holds a Bachelor’s degree in
Astrophysics and a Master’s degree in Oceanography. Currently, he is undertaking
his doctorate in Zoology at the University
of British Columbia’s
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries under the guidance of the esteemed Dr.
Daniel Pauly. He is also working with the Sea
Around Us.
His research focuses mainly on changing jellyfish
populations and jellyfish fisheries, as well as the economic impacts of
jellyfish blooms. A study that he published in 2012 together with UBC
scientists was the first attempt to identify changes in global jellyfish
abundance. Analysis of available data from 1950 to the present confirmed a
remarkable rise in their populations. This was evident in 28 of the world’s
Large Marine Ecosystems, or 62 percent of the regions analyzed.
Consequently, this study has immense
implications for humans and ecosystems. Negative impacts of this global phenomenon
are felt on human activities like fishing, aquaculture, tourism, power
generation, and desalination, among others. Aside from exploiting jellyfish as
a food source, people may have to resort to creative ways to reduce economic
loss. No single factor is responsible for increasing jellyfish blooms, but mounting
evidence suggests that pollution, aquaculture, fishing, shipping, global
warming, and coastal development are likely to contribute to this observed
rise. UBC scientists urge that subsequent studies on jellyfish populations and
awareness are vital to make sure we still have fishes, and not just
jellyfishes, on our plates.
Lucas Brotz makes use of SeaLifeBase for
jellyfish taxonomy as well as FishBase, since he is also studying the dynamics
between jellyfish populations and fisheries. He has contributed data on
taxonomic updates of jellyfish, photographs of jellyfish, and scientific papers
on jellyfish populations as well as the results of his MSc Thesis.
Cheers to more years of collaborating with you!
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The University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre . http://www.fisheries.ubc.ca/students/lucas-brotz [Accessed 6/29/2015]
The University of British Columbia. http://news.ubc.ca/2012/04/18/jellyfish-on-the-rise-ubc-study/ [Accessed 6/29/2015]
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