Seminar, October 23rd - Jón Tómas Magnússon

Jón Tómas Magnússon

Jón Tómas Magnússon has a seminar on the 23rd of October at 10:30 in Hafrannsóknastofnun. 

The seminar's title is Mobile predators on the Ascophyllum nodosum dominated shores of Breiðafjörður, Iceland. 

Time: 10:30-12:00, 23rd of October
Place: Meeting rooms on 1st floor in Fornubúðir 5, Hafnarfjörður
Stream: Teams, more information later this week.
Lecturer's language: English

Mobile predators on the Ascophyllum nodosum
dominated shores of Breiðafjörður, Iceland

Rocky intertidal zones in Iceland, such as those found in Breiðafjörður, are dominated by Ascophyllum nodosum, a canopy-forming brown algae that dominates the landscape and provides critical ecosystems for a multitude of species, playing a key role in delivering various ecosystem services. This presentation delves into two specific aspects of these ecosystems:

1. Mobile brachyuran crabs: The study focuses on the largely unexplored assemblage of mobile brachyuran crabs in the sheltered rocky shores of Breiðafjörður. The aim of the study was to track the distributional shifts of a native and an invasive non-native crab species and assess the potential impact of seaweed harvesting.
2. Ascophyllum-associated fish communities: The study also delves into the little-studied fish community in the same area, characterizing the species found in this habitat, analyzes their dietary habits, and assesses the effects of Ascophyllum harvesting.

Important findings that result from this study will be discussed, providing valuable insights into the complex interactions between ecological components and human activities in rocky intertidal zones.

About Jón

Jón's journey as a researcher began in 2018 when he joined MFRI, where he has been working on-and-off. Over the years, he has been involved in the identification and sorting of samples from the fauna associated with Ascophyllum nodosum in Breiðafjörður until he embarked on his own MSc project under the guidance of esteemed mentors, Karl Gunnarsson and Lilja Gunnarsdottir. His research focus has been on brachyuran crabs and fish in the Ascophyllum-dominated intertidal zones.

Jón earned his BSc in environmental biology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, which laid the foundation for his passion for ecological sciences. He then pursued an MSc in marine ecology from the University of Iceland, and has been a part of projects in Iceland, Spain, Portugal, and Norway; further enriching his understanding of a wide array of topics within marine ecosystems.