Seventh Workshop on Trait-based Approaches to Ocean Life

The trait-based approach describes ecosystems as consisting of functional types rather than species, characterising them by a few key traits that are interrelated through trade-offs. Examples of traits are organism’s body size, feeding mode, predator-prey size ratios, optimization for fast growth due to proteome allocation, or defence characteristics.

The rationale is that the spatio-temporal distribution of organisms and their functional role in ecosystems depend on their traits rather than on their taxonomical affiliation. As such, the trait-based approach has the potential to describe complex ecosystems in simple ways and to assess the effects of environmental change on ecosystem structure and function.

This workshop aims to discuss the latest research in trait-based ecology of the ocean encompassing all realms of life (e.g. phytoplankton, bacteria, fish, whales, corals). We invite scientists that use either experimental, statistical or modelling approaches to investigate topics related (but not limited) to the following:

• Traits and trade-offs of aquatic organisms
• Distribution of organisms and/or traits in space and time
• How organisms and their traits shape ecosystem functions

This workshop will consist of research talks, poster presentations, discussion sessions, and informal "chalk talks." Any trait-based topic is welcome for submission as an abstract. 

Application Deadline: Open space remains for those who would like to present their research as a poster or to attend without presenting. Please complete an application to receive the registration information. Rooms are reserved for our workshop until Jul. 1, 2025; after that, registration is subject to room availability.

Chalk Talks 

We envision the chalk talks as slide-free (chalkboard only) presentations to small groups, and could be, for example, an idea at an 

• Early-stage ideas needing feedback from participants.
• "Zombie idea"—concept that won't go away but has never made it into a publication
• Tutorials on useful methods or approaches.
• Argument for challenging/updating an established paradigm, e.g., "Is it time to set aside some long-held ideas about X?".

Discussions 

We envision discussions as being facilitated by group leaders around focused topics, with participants filling most of the space. 

Volunteering to Lead

Below, after the abstract submission, we query whether you would be willing to volunteer to lead a chalk talk or a discussion. If you are unsure now, you will have another opportunity to sign up later, if space allows.

Updated application and registration deadline: Jul 1, 2025. After this date, registration is subject to room availability.

Workshop: August 4, 2025 - August 7, 2025

Rooms have been reserved at the Asilomar Conference Center. The all-inclusive registration will include room, meeting fees, and all meals, snacks, and drinks. 

Total Estimated Costs (subject to change slightly):

• $1336.14 for single room occupancy
• $1,008.63 for double room occupancy (per participant)

Workshop participants will stay in hotel rooms at the Asilomar Conference Grounds. All rooms are a short walking distance from the main workshop meeting room, Merrill Hall. Single and double-occupancy rooms are available. Meals will be in the main dining hall at Asilomar. Shuttles from local airports (SFO and SJC) to Asilomar are available and can be reserved through Asilomar following registration.

• Ken Andersen (Technical University of Denmark)
• Andrew Barton (University of  California San Diego)
• Thomas Kiørboe (Technical University of Denmark)
• Holly Moeller (University of  California Santa Barbara)
• Camila Serra Pompei (Massachusetts Institution of Technology)
• Shlomit Sharoni  (Massachusetts Institution of Technology)
• David Talmy (University of Tennessee)
• Ben Ward (University of  Southampton, U.K.)
• Emily Zakem (Carnegie Institution for Science)

Questions about the scientific program: Emily Zakem (ezakem@carnegiescience.edu)

Questions about logistics: La Chelle Eddines (leddines@carnegiescience.edu)

News and Updates:
We encourage you to stay up to date with the latest news and announcements about the Seventh Workshop on Trait-based Approaches to Ocean Life by subscribing to our email list. 

• 3:30 PM — Refreshments and poster set-up

• 4:00 PM — Welcome, introduction, and icebreaker

• 5:00 PM — Poster Session 1

• 6:00–7:00 PM — Dinner

• 7:00 PM — Bonfire social

The detailed program will be released closer to the event date.  

• 7:30–9:00 AM — Breakfast

• 9:00 AM — Session: Keynote Talk, Research Talks

• 12:00–1:00 PM — Lunch

• 1:00 PM — Session: Keynote Talk, Research Talks, Chalk Talks/Discussions

• 5:00 PM — Poster Session 2

• 6:00–7:00 PM — Dinner

• 7:00 PM — Bonfire social

• 7:30–9:00 AM — Breakfast

• 9:00 AM — Session: Keynote Talk, Research Talks

• 12:00–1:00 PM — Lunch

• 1:00–3:30 PM — Local Excursions (e.g., Monterey Bay Aquarium)

• 4:00 PM — Session: Research Talks, Chalk Talks/Discussions

• 6:00–7:00 PM — Dinner

• 7:00 PM — Bonfire social

• 7:30–9:00 AM — Breakfast

• 9:00 AM — Session: Research Talks, Group Discussion

• 11:30 AM — Wrap-up and Workshop Feedback

• 12:00–1:00 PM — Lunch

• Afternoon — Departures

I am an Assistant Professor at UC Santa Cruz. My journey is simple on paper, but complex, and I would have it no other way. I love complexity, which is why my lab focuses on marine biogeochemistry and its connection to deoxygenation and climate. Although my lab is just starting, it is a trifecta- lab work, being out in the field, and hanging with our computers, modeling new ideas.

At the center of all we do is the respiration quotient- the amount of oxygen needed to break down organic carbon- and phytoplankton physiology. What is the respiration quotient? What are the controlling patterns we are seeing at the surface and through depth? Are these controls environmental, biological, or a combination? What could it have been in the past? How does climate change impact phytoplankton, their physiology, chemical composition, and stoichiometric ratios? These are just a few questions that go through my mind—maybe on a weekly basis.

We also explore harmful algal bloom dynamics and their predictability with collaborators. Everywhere I go, I come with my life experiences and am who I am- a scientist and bold Chicana. I have leveraged my experiences to have a full community-engaged, focused research pillar on broadening participation and retention in STEM.

Jessica Luo is a global ocean biogeochemical and marine ecosystem modeler at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), working at the interface of plankton ecosystem model development, plankton observations, and the coupled carbon-climate system. Dr. Luo’s research focuses on how various parts of the marine ecosystem (e.g., gelatinous zooplankton, migrating zooplankton, mixotrophs) contribute to the biological pump and ocean biogeochemical cycles, as well as the fate of sinking organic matter in ocean sediments. She has made contributions to the observations of, and modeling of, plankton traits and size structure, through the Pelagic Size Structure database (PSSdb) project, the Size-based Plankton Ecological Traits (SPECTRA) model, and the Carbon, Ocean Biogeochemistry, and Lower Trophics (COBALT) model. In this talk, Luo will discuss the applications and limitations of size and trait based modeling for ocean biogeochemical cycles using examples from the SPECTRA and COBALT models.

Prior to coming to GFDL as a Research Oceanographer, Jessica completed her postdoctoral training at the Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. She received her Ph.D. in Marine Biology and Fisheries from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, and B.A. and M.S. degrees from Stanford University.

Fungi are a megadiverse group of organisms that drive carbon (C) and nutrient cycling through ecosystems through their activity as decomposers, symbionts, and pathogens. Over the last decade, advances in molecular technologies have enabled exploration of the ecological, evolutionary, and biochemical mechanisms that fungi use to control these large-scale processes in situ and how they are modified by global change.

This talk will describe how we merge biogeochemical analysis and multi-omics approaches to explore these types of fungal activities in complex communities (soils) and the unexpected processes by which they do it. I will also describe what we know about global change impacts on fungal activity in nature and new research on how global change shifts interactions between fungi and plants that feed back to control the exchange of energy and nutrients between the biosphere and the atmosphere. Our results challenge the classic perspective of fungi as recipients of growth resources, showing their roles as ecosystem engineers, and inform current ecological models that consider interactions between plants and microbes.