Alexa Fredston is a quantitative ecologist who gained her BA from Princeton University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and her PhD from University of California, Santa Barbara. She is currently a postdoc at Rutgers University where she studies how human activities alter biogeographic patterns and ecological processes. Her research has specifically investigated how fast species are shifting their spatial distributions in response to climate change, and the consequences this has for nature and for people. We talk about species distribution ranges in the ocean in response to climate change, the affects this has on marine ecosystems, the challenge of managing human impacts on the ocean in international waters, sustainable fisheries, and what the labels at Whole Foods mean. Unintentionally, this episode addresses and exposes much of the misinformation that is contained in the popular Netflix documentary Seaspiracy. If you have seen the film, the contradictions will be clear. 

Links from episode

Alexa Fredston

The great apes range distribution

Bottlenose dolphin range distribution 

Importance of fish in developing countries  

Decline of shark and ray populations

Challenges of managing fisheries in international waters

Whole Foods sustainable fish

Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch