Applied Mathematics Colloquium/DE Seminar

Abstract:  The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) occurs from Argentina to Canada but is emblematic of the Chesapeake Bay.   Blue crab supports important commercial and recreational fisheries in the Bay.  The management of blue crab requires that we develop models of its population dynamics to develop policy recommendations to ensure sustainable harvest levels.  In this seminar I will review the basic biology and ecology of blue crab required to understand its dynamics and then present matrix population models that have been developed to support management.  In particular, the seminar will explore the application of both a stage-structured projection model together with associated elasticity analyses that were used to understand the resilience of the underlying life history and a statistical catch-survey model that used a maximum likelihood approach with non-informative priors to estimate parameters of interest to fisheries managers.   The seminar will seek to illustrate how ecology and applied mathematics can be integrated to address societal challenges related to fisheries.