Monster Seminar Jam with Dr. Katie Arkema

The NWFSC Monster Seminar JAM is a weekly seminar with presentations by Center scientists and guest speakers, and touches on variety of research fields, including landscape ecology, community ecology, genetics, wildlife biology, systematics, marine ecology, conservation biology, population biology and numerical modeling. Demonstrated applications included recovery planning, design of marine protected areas, fisheries management, marine mammal conservation, stock assessment, anthropogenic impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, policy and decision making, and sociopolitical and socioeconomic impacts of management actions.

This week’s speaker is Dr. Katie Arkema of the Natural Capital Project.

In her talk titled “Valuing Nature for Coastal Risk Reduction: It’s Not All About the $$$,” Dr. Arkema will discuss coastal hazard risk reduction while considering social, economic, and ecological approaches that are policy-relevant to affected communities and jurisdictions.

For more on the speaker…

ABSTRACT

Globally, extreme weather, sea-level rise, and degraded ecosystems are placing people and infrastructure at greater risk of damages from coastal hazards.  Flooding and erosion may be reduced by intact reefs and vegetation when these habitats fringe vulnerable communities. Yet the magnitude and nature of these effects are highly context dependent, making it difficult to know under what conditions ecosystems are likely to be effective for saving lives and protecting property. I am addressing this challenge by developing approaches that link social, ecological, and physical processes to value ecosystems for coastal risk reduction in both monetary and social vulnerability metrics. My talk will share examples in which my research has informed coastal management and sustainable development in the US and Caribbean. I will end with some ideas about future work that aims to explore issues of equity in risk reduction and climate adaptation.

BIO

As lead scientist at the Natural Capital Project, Katie spearheads several efforts around the world to develop and use science about how nature benefits people to inform problems humans face in managing coastal and marine ecosystems. Katie is particularly interested in the ability of coastal ecosystems to protect vulnerable communities from sea level rise and storms, while providing other services such as nursery habitat for fish and opportunities for tourism and recreation. Her research is informing national development planning, climate adaptation, and investments in restoration and conservation in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. Katie received her Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and her B.A. in ecology with a minor in Latin American studies from Princeton University. She is a recent recipient of a Fulbright NEXUS scholarship.

RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS

Arkema, K., R. Griffin, S. Maldonado, J. Silver, J. Suckale, A. Guerry. 2017. Linking social, ecological and physical science to advance natural and nature-based protection for coastal communities. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. The Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology.  DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13322

Arkema K., G. Verutes, S. Wood, C. Clarke, M. Canto, S. Rosado, A. Rosenthal, M. Ruckelshaus, G. Guannel, J. Toft, J. Faries, J. M. Silver, R. Griffin, A. D. Guerry. 2015. Improved returns on nature’s benefits to people from using ecosystem service models in marine and coastal planning in Belize. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (24):7390–7395, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1406483112

Arkema, K., G. Guannel, G. Verutes, S. Wood, A. Guerry, M. Ruckelshaus, P. Kareiva., M. Lacayo, J. Silver.  2013. Coastal habitats protect people and property from sea level rise and storms.  Nature Climate Change 3:913–918. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1944

INTERESTED IN MEETING WITH THE SPEAKER?

If you are interested in meeting with the speaker, contact Robby Fonner at robby.fonner@noaa.gov.

For additional information about the NWFSC Monster Seminar JAM series please contact Vicky Krikelas at Vicky.Krikelas@noaa.gov.