About

The Helmuth Lab, led by Professor Brian Helmuth, focuses on understanding the impacts of human-induced climate change on natural ecosystems. The lab emphasizes that the scientific challenge has shifted from merely documenting climate effects to forecasting where, when, and how severe these impacts will be. Their research involves extensive data collection, including over 15 years of intertidal logger data from around the world, which supports their efforts to study intertidal biomimetics and the Belize Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. The lab also engages in collaborative projects and educational initiatives, such as developing interactive pages on funded projects and producing a field guide video series. Their work extends to international cooperation, including lecture series for marine science students and projects related to underwater ancient cypress forests and marsh restoration. Overall, Professor Helmuth's research integrates long-term environmental data and interdisciplinary collaboration to address pressing questions about climate change and its effects on marine and coastal ecosystems.

Research topics

• Environmental resource management
• Political Science
• Ecology
• Economics
• Biology
• Business
• Environmental planning
• Natural resource economics
• Environmental science
• Geography
• Fishery
• Computer Science
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Marketing
• Endocrinology
• Mathematics
• Materials science
• Epistemology
• Environmental economics
• Zoology
• Statistics
• Environmental ethics
• Medicine

Selected publications

• Extreme events and socio-ecological transformations: Implications for research and management in the United States

  2026-02-23

  article

  Ongoing transformational shifts in natural and managed ecosystems threaten human health and well-being. A particularly urgent but underappreciated driver of transformation is the growing frequency and severity of extreme events---wildfires, droughts, terrestrial and marine heatwaves, hurricanes, storms, and floods---that occur on top of gradual changes and often accelerate ecological change, from species losses and movements, spread of invasives and disease, and altered functions and processes. These changes in turn create cascading socio-economic consequences, including diminished ecosystem services, economic impacts, and heightened inequities in vulnerable communities. This Review synthesizes recent advances on how extreme events drive ecological transformations across US ecosystems and outlines their consequences for human well-being and economic impacts. We note case studies of extreme events leading to regime shifts, from wildfire-driven forest loss, marine heatwave-induced collapses of kelp and coral systems, and storm-driven coastal salt marsh loss and ghost forest expansion, among others. Existing management and policy approaches are often predicated on ecosystem stationarity or stability targets that are not grounded in the reality and unpredictability of increasing extreme events. Contending with non-linear dynamics, tipping points, and cascading risks of extreme events within ecosystems may require adaptive governance, cross-scale coordination, integration of Indigenous and local knowledge, and in some cases, difficult triage decisions. Proactive strategies, including connectivity, nature-based solutions and protection of climate refugia, offer promise but are vulnerable themselves, while key research and monitoring gaps remain.

  PublisherDOI

• Detecting marine climate change refugia using “physiological seascapes”

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Climate Change, Marine Aquaculture and the Digital Twin

  2026-01-01

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Ocean weather, biological rates, and unexplained global ecological patterns

  UNC Libraries · 2025-01-14

  articleOpen access

  As on land, oceans exhibit high temporal and spatial temperature variation. This "ocean weather" contributes to the physiological and ecological processes that ultimately determine the patterns of species distribution and abundance, yet is often unrecognized, especially in tropical oceans. Here, we tested the paradigm of temperature stability in shallow waters (<12.5 m) across different zones of latitude. We collated hundreds of in situ, high temporal-frequency ocean temperature time series globally to produce an intuitive measure of temperature variability, ranging in scale from quarter-diurnal to annual time spans. To estimate organismal sensitivity of ectotherms (i.e. microbes, algae, and animals whose body temperatures depend upon ocean temperature), we computed the corresponding range of biological rates (such as metabolic rate or photosynthesis) for each time span, assuming an exponential relationship. We found that subtropical regions had the broadest temperature ranges at time spans equal to or shorter than a month, while temperate and tropical systems both exhibited narrow (i.e. stable) short-term temperature range estimates. However, temperature-dependent biological rates in tropical regions displayed greater ranges than in temperate systems. Hence, our results suggest that tropical ectotherms may be relatively more sensitive to short-term thermal variability. We also highlight previously unexplained macroecological patterns that may be underpinned by short-term temperature variability.

  PublisherDOI

• Opposing Physiological Performances of Two Coexisting Gastropods to Changing Ocean Climate

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Assessing Nature: perceptions, knowledge, and gaps

  Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment · 2025-04-01 · 1 citations

  reviewOpen access

  where there once was prairiea few remaining fireflies abstract themselvesover roads and concrete pathsprairie wants to stretch full out again and sigh(Dungy 2023) In 2022, the US Global Change Research Program initiated the first National Nature Assessment (NNA) via presidential Executive Order, addressing the need to “take stock of US lands, waters, wildlife and the benefits they provide to our economy, health, climate, environmental justice, and national security” (Global Change Research Act of 1990). This order was rescinded in January 2025, effectively cancelling the NNA before the final assessment was published. However, many of its authors deemed this multi-year endeavor important enough to keep alive because the NNA was needed to provide the American public with a “comprehensive understanding of nature, an assessment enriched by braiding together the stories, scientific findings, Indigenous knowledge, and lived experiences of people from across the US” (Tallis et al. 2023). Performing such an assessment requires moving beyond a mere snapshot of the status and trends of environmental features, ecosystems, and organisms, and weaving in diverse perspectives and knowledge systems representing the cultural complexity and heritage of American communities (Chan et al. 2016). As experts convened by the NNA, we—the authors of this commentary—represent different scientific disciplines including ecology, genomics, entomology, science communication, psychology, natural resource management, Earth and environmental sciences, and human dimensions of natural resources. We explored the status, trends, and future projections of nature but recognized that our own perspectives and training represent only a slice of the many cultural perspectives and knowledge systems addressing the human–nature nexus. Regardless, we were tasked, as part of the NNA, with assessing the available scientific literature and associated knowledge sources (including information from museums, zoos, participatory databases, and government agencies). We were and are deeply committed to the view that humans are part of nature, and that human values and perceptions of nature shape what we measure, protect, manage, and love in the environments that surround and sustain us. The original vision of the NNA is still critically important as it required us to interlink social perceptions with scientific information and knowledge gaps as ways to understand how the nature of today is uniquely shaped by American society, what the nature of the future will likely be, and how we can use that understanding to support nature that benefits all Americans. We argue that interlinkages among people's perceptions of nature and the data available to measure nature across different biological scales—including populations, communities, and ecosystems—shape a future nature in complex and potentially unpredictable ways. Here, we share our approach of using constructive dialogues and storytelling as exemplified by the Talanoa Dialogues introduced by Fiji to the UNFCCC in 2017. We frame the status and trends of nature as being informed by the perceptions and values of American society, which shape future projections of nature. Our writing here is based on Talanoa: Where are we now, where do we want to go, and how are we going to get there? Perceptions of humanity's place within or apart from nature, and our shared responsibilities toward nature, shape assessments of nature. These different perceptions of nature and how to assess it can be based on occupation (eg farmer, scientist), landscape (eg urban, rural), or social-cultural groupings within America. Past international assessments of the status of nature have been conducted through the IPCC and IPBES (Pörtner et al. 2021) and have included human values of nature. However, incorporating how these conceptions of nature shape perceptions and motivate actions in the US and its territories (hereafter, the US)—given the complexity of American landscapes, coupled with the rich diversity of peoples residing in those landscapes—is a unique and challenging undertaking. One of the most common ways to describe the status of nature is to focus on the most well-defined units of biodiversity—species. In this approach, “status” is based on the species’ likelihood of going extinct throughout all or a significant portion of its range (Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 USC § 1532(6)). However, species’ definitions become problematic as technological advances highlight how few species we know. Species new to science are being described with startling regularity. Additionally, a multitude of species unrecognized by academic science may already be documented by traditional knowledge and other sources of information, and their status could be either known or unknown. Thus, our knowledge of which species are important within the US is skewed, based on what some people observe or have direct interest in. Larger and less cryptic vertebrates appear in the forefront of most assessments, while invertebrates (which comprise the bulk of biodiversity) are mostly in the shadows with insufficient information to determine their status or population trends. The demographics and beliefs of the peoples of America are dynamic, and this dynamism shapes our construction of what nature is and how to assess it. During the NNA's development, we sought to construct a future projection of nature that reflects the diversity of people's beliefs. Doing so has sometimes revealed conflicts among different people's behaviors, as we attempt to do justice to varying economic, political, social, cultural, or geographical concerns and priorities. One important way to meet the challenges this presents is acknowledging community-based knowledge, which can increase participation in science and data collection, and can often inform community-based endeavors to make environments more hospitable for biodiversity in ways that meet the needs of multiple groups of people. For example, urban residents can incorporate native flowering plants in place of—or in addition to—lawns in their yards, providing suitable nesting and foraging resources for pollinators including native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds (Cooper et al. 2021). Likewise, in agricultural landscapes, the inclusion of flowering habitats in marginal lands along field edges and as inter-row cover crops in orchards improves species diversity and abundance of beneficial organisms, thus reducing the need for agrochemicals. In coastal communities, hardened seawalls are being replaced with living shorelines, which improve the safety and well-being of coastal residents, enhance local biodiversity as well as fish stocks, and ensure ecosystem health. Lastly, although land degradation and recovery are often linked to soil microbes, some of which have yet to be identified, new technologies are rapidly revealing essential information about these taxa. These efforts are all indicative of proactively creating future visions of nature and where we want to go. We see all these efforts—from cutting-edge science, to community participation, to local knowledge, values, and solutions—merging into a vision of a future nature. Several approaches transcend the conventional focus on species and assess nature in a way that is comprehensive and considers diverse perspectives and knowledge systems. Emerging technologies can engage communities as active participants in creating a vision of a future nature that benefits all. AI-informed databases that gather community-based knowledge, such as iNaturalist and eBird, have become the fastest growing online databases of species, representing one-quarter of described species, with non-expert participants documenting most of these observations. These databases rely on participatory science efforts and the resulting data reduce information gaps for organisms that belong to small, understudied, or less accessible taxa, including invertebrates and nonvascular plants. Also, initiatives tracking community-based restoration projects, such as the Homegrown National Park or the National Wildlife Federation's Native Plant Habitats, are informed by stakeholders reporting data using taxonomic identification tools built on AI and include digitized museum specimens aggregated in platforms like GBIF. The management of American lands, waters, and protected areas reflects how society values and perceives nature's contributions to people. Federal agencies have been directed by Congress and past presidents to monitor and assess the nation's shared resources through laws and executive orders, respectively, and as such, there is a wealth of data collected and assessed by these agencies. Continued access to these data is vital to the well-being of all Americans. Integration of local community knowledge of species within these assessments is important and the increasingly accurate species identification that this knowledge enables is notable. In addition, while often quite small, urban greenspaces provide crucial opportunities for urban dwellers to interact with nature. In a future America, consideration of how and where nature is experienced by humans should include these small spaces as they sometimes have a startling wealth of species, while providing a place to sit and benefit from connecting to nature. …prairie wants to stretch full out again and sigh—purple prairie clover prairie zinniaprairie dropseed nodding into solidagobee balm brushing rabbitbrush—prairie wants prairie wants prairie wants(Dungy 2023) Human actions shape the natural world and nature's future will be influenced not only by our ability to monitor and understand it, but also and especially by our shared societal values and actions, which are shaped by our perceptions of how we are connected to nature. Any assessment of nature will invariably contain data gaps that prevent a truly holistic snapshot, unknowingly ignoring a wealth of species—unappreciated and undescribed by humankind, yet indispensable for ecological viability. “Prairie wants prairie wants prairie wants” perhaps best expresses future projections of nature that will be shaped through the geographical and biological diversity, as well as the complex cultural heritages, of America. As scientists assessing perspectives, values, ecosystems, and species, we need to analyze our current knowledge about biodiversity and ecosystem functions, gather evidence to fill the gaps, and describe a future nature that could benefit all. Although the cost of such efforts might superficially appear too high for society to address, the cost of silent extinctions and the loss of the many benefits that nature provides will undeniably be even higher. Special thanks to Professor Camille T Dungy for inclusion of excerpts from her poem “let grow more winter fat wine-cup western wild rose” and to Jill Baron for early comments on the manuscript. This is an independent commentary of our views and experiences as an expert team convened by the first NNA.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Opposing physiological performances of two coexisting gastropods to changing ocean climate

  Marine Environmental Research · 2025-09-13

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Biodiversity integration drives sustainable and restorative aquaculture

  Aquaculture · 2025-09-10 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  We establish an ecological foundation for sustainable aquaculture, highlighting the essential role of ecological mechanisms in achieving biodiversity-positive, resilient aquaculture systems. Restorative aquaculture leverages species with ecosystem benefits – enhancing water quality, expanding habitat and supporting biodiversity - to address conservation challenges within sustainable food production. By combining restorative aquaculture with the concept of biodiversity mainstreaming and specifically with ecological principles dealing with species performances and species coexistence, we show how aquaculture systems can enhance ecosystem functions and economic viability simultaneously. This approach underscores how understanding and incorporating ecological dynamics can fundamentally transform aquaculture into a truly sustainable practice. Restorative aquaculture, when aligned with international biodiversity and sustainability goals, provides a strategic model for integrating biodiversity within food production systems, bridging ecological integrity with human needs in a globally impactful framework. • Restorative aquaculture promotes biodiversity and enhances ecosystem services. • Novel frameworks integrate aquaculture practices with conservation strategies. • Mechanistic modeling predicts species responses to environmental changes. • Advanced technologies optimize trade-offs in sustainable aquaculture systems. • Policy-aligned aquaculture addresses biodiversity and sustainability goals.

  PublisherDOI

• An Underview Effect? Psycho-Social Impacts of Saturation Diving Among Aquanauts

  Environment and Behavior · 2025-12-20

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Aquanauts—people who live and work underwater for extended periods—have anecdotally reported cognitive shifts in how they perceive the ocean environment and their role in it. This experience bears resemblance to the cognitive shift astronauts have experienced when first seeing our planet from space, dubbed “The Overview Effect.” This shift involves an intense feeling of awe that increases astronauts’ sense of connection to humanity and the entire planet. In this study, we used semi-structured interviews with aquanauts to document their experiences living underwater. Results show that aquanauts do indeed experience shifts in cognitive, affective, behavioral, perspectival, and relational areas that strengthen feelings of connectedness and commitment to the marine environment. However, the effects of the experience varied between aquanauts, indicating a potential “Underview Effect” that may occur on a spectrum of intensity with a number of core features.

  PublisherDOI

• Can we predict ectotherm responses to climate change using thermal performance curves and body temperatures?

  UNC Libraries · 2025-09-18 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Thermal performance curves (TPCs), which quantify how an ectotherm's body temperature (T_b ) affects its performance or fitness, are often used in an attempt to predict organismal responses to climate change. Here, we examine the key - but often biologically unreasonable - assumptions underlying this approach; for example, that physiology and thermal regimes are invariant over ontogeny, space and time, and also that TPCs are independent of previously experienced T_b. We show how a critical consideration of these assumptions can lead to biologically useful hypotheses and experimental designs. For example, rather than assuming that TPCs are fixed during ontogeny, one can measure TPCs for each major life stage and incorporate these into stage-specific ecological models to reveal the life stage most likely to be vulnerable to climate change. Our overall goal is to explicitly examine the assumptions underlying the integration of TPCs with T_b , to develop a framework within which empiricists can place their work within these limitations, and to facilitate the application of thermal physiology to understanding the biological implications of climate change.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NSFOCE-BSF: The effects of fine-scale temperature and desiccation variability on the distribution of marine species

  NSF · $646k · 2016–2019

• Collaborative Research: Using an Energetics Framework to Forecast the Interactive Effects of Abiotic and Biotic Stressors on Intertidal Mussels

  NSF · $425k · 2016–2020

• Environmental signal analysis: Monitoring the impacts of climate change on rocky intertidal ecosystem across a cascade of scales

  NSF · $762k · 2009–2014

• Climate change and latitudinal patterns of body temperature in rocky intertidal invertebrates

  NSF · $257k · 2003–2007

Frequent coauthors

• Francis Choi

  Northeastern University

  67 shared

• James J. Leichter

  Scripps Institution of Oceanography

  36 shared

• Karl D. Castillo

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  33 shared

• Clare Fieseler

  Smithsonian Institution

  33 shared

• Randi Rotjan

  32 shared

• Scott M Jones

  30 shared

• Mark W. Denny

  27 shared

• Gianluca Sarà

  University of Palermo

  22 shared

Labs

• Helmuth LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Oceanography

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1996

• M.S., Oceanography

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1993

• B.S., Oceanography

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  1991