Erika Zavaleta

Last updated
Erika Zavaleta
Alma materPhD Stanford University, Biological Sciences

MS Stanford University, Anthropology

BA Stanford University, Anthropology
AwardsFellow, Ecological Society of America

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor

Sustainability Science Award
Scientific career
Fields Ecology

Conservation Biology
Ecological anthropology

Climate change adaptation
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Santa Cruz
Thesis Influences of climate and atmospheric changes on plant diversity and ecosystem function in a California grassland  (2001)
Doctoral advisor Christopher Field
Website https://people.ucsc.edu/~zavaleta/

Erika S. Zavaleta is an American professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Zavaleta is recognized for her research focusing on topics including plant community ecology, conservation practices for terrestrial ecosystems, and impacts of community dynamics on ecosystem functions.

Contents

Early life and education

Zavaleta was born in New York. Both her parents immigrated to the United States to study; her father from Bolivia and her mother from India. Zavaleta spent time playing outside from a young age, influencing her early interest in science. [1] She earned a bachelor's degree and Masters in Anthropology at Stanford University. For her thesis, Zavaleta studied the evolution of waterfowl conservation in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta with advisers William Durham and Donald Kennedy. [2] Zavaleta earned her Ph.D. from Stanford University in biological services. Her doctoral mentors were Hal Mooney and Chris Field, with her dissertation focused on examining plant diversity and ecosystem functioning in a California grassland as influenced by climate and atmospheric changes.

Career and research

Zavaleta is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor and MacArthur Foundation Chair of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC). [3] She also serves as the Faculty Director for the UCSC Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program, which is a conservation leadership program supporting a diverse group of undergraduate college students. [4] [5] In 2018, Zavaleta founded and serves as the faculty director of the center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-Based Opportunities (CAMINO) at UCSC to promote inclusive and accessible research experiences, and provide resources and mentoring for students interested in the ecology and conservation fields. [6] Zavaleta is also vice-president of the California Fish and Game Commission, appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in April 2021. She co-chairs the commission's Wildlife Committee.

From 2001 to 2003, Zavaleta was a David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow of The Nature Conservancy [7]

Zavaleta is known for her research in environmental change at both global and regional scales, ecology and biodiversity, ecosystems functions, and conservation practice. [8] Projects include seeking to understand how global climate changes affect terrestrial ecosystems, analyzing ecosystem stewardship and effective conservation practice in response to global climate changes, and studying the impacts of biodiversity loss. [9] Zavaleta's paper Consequences of Changing Biodiversity examines the impact of human caused extinctions in decreasing the resiliency of ecosystems and thus the services humans can gain from these ecosystems. [10] In Biodiversity Management in the Face of Climate Change: A Review of 22 Years of Recommendations, Zavaleta reviews literature addressing adaptation to climate change, and identifies trends to provide recommendations for conservation management. [11] Zavaleta analyses secondary impacts in ecosystems of the eradication of invasive species to provide recommendations to prevent adverse unintended impacts in her paper Viewing Invasive Species Removal in a Whole-Ecosystem Context. [12]

Awards and honors

Publications

Zavaleta has published an extensive amount of work, including over 68 peer-reviewed journal articles, 1 book, 14 chapters in books, and 4 non-academic specific reports as of 2017.

Personal life

Zavaleta has four children with her spouse Bernie. Her family splits time between Telluride, Colorado and California. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biodiversity</span> Variety and variability of life forms

Biodiversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Earth. It is greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator. Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than one-fifth of Earth's terrestrial area and contain about 50% of the world's species. There are latitudinal gradients in species diversity for both marine and terrestrial taxa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Invasive species</span> Non-native organism causing damage to an established environment

An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native species that become harmful to their native environment after human alterations to its food web. Since the 20th century, invasive species have become serious economic, social, and environmental threats worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation biology</span> Study of threats to biological diversity

Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on natural and social sciences, and the practice of natural resource management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habitat conservation</span> Management practice for protecting types of environments

Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in terms of any one ideology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecosystem engineer</span> Ecological niche

An ecosystem engineer is any species that creates, significantly modifies, maintains or destroys a habitat. These organisms can have a large impact on species richness and landscape-level heterogeneity of an area. As a result, ecosystem engineers are important for maintaining the health and stability of the environment they are living in. Since all organisms impact the environment they live in one way or another, it has been proposed that the term "ecosystem engineers" be used only for keystone species whose behavior very strongly affects other organisms.

The diversity of species and genes in ecological communities affects the functioning of these communities. These ecological effects of biodiversity in turn are affected by both climate change through enhanced greenhouse gases, aerosols and loss of land cover, and biological diversity, causing a rapid loss of biodiversity and extinctions of species and local populations. The current rate of extinction is sometimes considered a mass extinction, with current species extinction rates on the order of 100 to 1000 times as high as in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Applied ecology</span>

Applied ecology is a sub-field within ecology that considers the application of the science of ecology to real-world questions. It is also described as a scientific field that focuses on the application of concepts, theories, models, or methods of fundamental ecology to environmental problems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecological restoration</span> Scientific study of renewing and restoring ecosystems

Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair already damaged ecosystems rather than take preventative measures. Ecological restoration can reverse biodiversity loss, combat climate change, and support local economies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reconciliation ecology</span> Study of maintaining biodiversity in human-dominated ecosystems

Reconciliation ecology is the branch of ecology which studies ways to encourage biodiversity in the human-dominated ecosystems of the anthropocene era. Michael Rosenzweig first articulated the concept in his book Win-Win Ecology, based on the theory that there is not enough area for all of earth's biodiversity to be saved within designated nature preserves. Therefore, humans should increase biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes. By managing for biodiversity in ways that do not decrease human utility of the system, it is a "win-win" situation for both human use and native biodiversity. The science is based in the ecological foundation of human land-use trends and species-area relationships. It has many benefits beyond protection of biodiversity, and there are numerous examples of it around the globe. Aspects of reconciliation ecology can already be found in management legislation, but there are challenges in both public acceptance and ecological success of reconciliation attempts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation grazing</span> Use of animals to graze areas like nature reserves to maintain habitats

Conservation grazing or targeted grazing is the use of semi-feral or domesticated grazing livestock to maintain and increase the biodiversity of natural or semi-natural grasslands, heathlands, wood pasture, wetlands and many other habitats. Conservation grazing is generally less intensive than practices such as prescribed burning, but still needs to be managed to ensure that overgrazing does not occur. The practice has proven to be beneficial in moderation in restoring and maintaining grassland and heathland ecosystems. Conservation or monitored grazing has been implemented into regenerative agriculture programs to restore soil and overall ecosystem health of current working landscapes. The optimal level of grazing and grazing animal will depend on the goal of conservation. Different levels of grazing, alongside other conservation practices, can be used to induce desired results.

Richard J. Hobbs FAA, is an Emeritus Professor, ARC former Australian Laureate Fellow and ecologist at the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Highly-Cited author who has written extensively in the areas of vegetation dynamics and management, ecosystem fragmentation, ecosystem rehabilitation and restoration, landscape ecology, and conservation biology. His research focused on managing ecosystems in a rapidly changing world and the implications of environmental and biological change for conservation and restoration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biodiversity in agriculture</span> Increasing biodiversity in agriculture

Biodiversity in agriculture is the measure of biodiversity found on agricultural land. Biodiversity is the total diversity of species present in an area at all levels of biological organization. It is characterized by heterogeneous habitats that support the diverse ecological structure. In agricultural areas, biodiversity decreases as varying landscapes are lost and native plants are replaced with cultivated crops. Increasing biodiversity in agriculture can increase the sustainability of farms through the restoration of ecosystem services that aid in regulating agricultural lands. Biodiversity in agriculture can be increased through the process of agroecological restoration, as farm biodiversity is an aspect of agroecology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Tabor</span> American environmentalist

Gary Tabor is an American environmentalist with over 30 years' experience working on behalf of large scale conservation internationally as well as 12 years as a leader within the U.S. environmental philanthropic community. Tabor is known for his role as a catalyst in forwarding progress through large landscape conservation, pioneering the fields of Conservation Medicine and EcoHealth, and advising agencies and organizations about contemporary environmental issues.

This is a bibliography of ecology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biodiversity loss</span> Extinction of species or loss of species in a given habitat

Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in biological diversity in a given area. The decrease can be temporary or permanent. It is temporary if the damage that led to the loss is reversible in time, for example through ecological restoration. If this is not possible, then the decrease is permanent. The cause of most of the biodiversity loss is, generally speaking, human activities that push the planetary boundaries too far. These activities include habitat destruction and land use intensification. Further problem areas are air and water pollution, over-exploitation, invasive species and climate change.

Nancy Huntly is an American ecologist based at Utah State University, where she is a Professor in the Department of Biology and director of the USU Ecology Center. Her research has been on biodiversity, herbivory, and long-term human ecology. She started her position at USU in 2011, after serving as a Program Officer in the Division of Environmental Biology at the National Science Foundation. Prior to that she was a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University (Pocatello).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Díaz (ecologist)</span> Argentine ecologist

Sandra Myrna DíazForMemRS is an Argentine ecologist and professor of ecology at the National University of Córdoba, who has been awarded with the Linnean Medal for her scientific work. She studies the functional traits of plants and investigates how plants impact the ecosystem.

Michelle Cailin Mack is an ecologist working on the connections between plants and climate in polar regions. She is a fellow of the Ecological Society of America and the American Geophysical Union. She currently holds the title of Regent's Professor at Northern Arizona University.

Richard Simon Ostfeld is a Distinguished Senior Scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York. He is best known for his work on the ecology of Lyme disease, which he began studying while monitoring the abundance of small mammals in the forests of Cary Institute property in the early 1990s.

Stacy Philpott is an American ecologist who is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research considers agroecology and the conservation of biodiversity. She was elected a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America in 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "You Can Have It All: Erika Zavaleta • Telluride Magazine". Telluride Magazine. 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  2. ↑ Zavaleta, Erika (1999). "The Emergence of Waterfowl Conservation among Yup'ik Hunters in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska". Human Ecology. 27 (2): 231–266. doi:10.1023/A:1018773211034. JSTOR   4603318. S2CID   16700176.
  3. ↑ "Campus Directory - UC Santa Cruz". campusdirectory.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  4. ↑ "UC Santa Cruz launches conservation scholars program to increase diversity". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  5. ↑ "ABOUT". Doris Duke Conservation Scholars. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  6. ↑ "ABOUT US". CAMINO. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  7. ↑ "Erika Zavaleta | danm.ucsc.edu".
  8. 1 2 "Ecological Society of America announces 2018 Fellows | Ecological Society of America". www.esa.org. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  9. ↑ "The Zavaleta Lab". people.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  10. 1 2 Chapin III, F. Stuart; Zavaleta, Erika S.; Eviner, Valerie T.; Naylor, Rosamond L.; Vitousek, Peter M.; Reynolds, Heather L.; Hooper, David U.; Lavorel, Sandra; Sala, Osvaldo E. (May 2000). "Consequences of changing biodiversity". Nature. 405 (6783): 234–242. doi:10.1038/35012241. hdl: 11336/37401 . ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   10821284. S2CID   205006508.
  11. ↑ Heller, Nicole E.; Zavaleta, Erika S. (2009-01-01). "Biodiversity management in the face of climate change: A review of 22 years of recommendations". Biological Conservation. 142 (1): 14–32. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2008.10.006. ISSN   0006-3207.
  12. ↑ Zavaleta, Erika S.; Hobbs, Richard J.; Mooney, Harold A. (2001). "Viewing Invasive Species Removal in a Whole-Ecosystem Context". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 16 (8): 454–459. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(01)02194-2.
  13. ↑ "Two UCSC biologists receive Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor awards". UC Santa Cruz News. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  14. ↑ "HHMI Professors" . Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  15. ↑ "Winners of 86th Annual California Book Awards Competition Announced". www.commonwealthclub.org. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  16. ↑ "2017 Award Winners - PROSE Awards". PROSE Awards. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  17. ↑ "Sustainability Science Awards". The Ecological Society of America's History and Records. 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  18. ↑ Zavaleta, Erika S.; Hobbs, Richard J.; Mooney, Harold A. (2001-08-01). "Viewing invasive species removal in a whole-ecosystem context". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 16 (8): 454–459. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(01)02194-2. ISSN   0169-5347.
  19. 1 2 Shaw, M. Rebecca; Zavaleta, Erika S.; Chiariello, Nona R.; Cleland, Elsa E.; Mooney, Harold A.; Field, Christopher B. (2002-12-06). "Grassland Responses to Global Environmental Changes Suppressed by Elevated CO2". Science. 298 (5600): 1987–1990. Bibcode:2002Sci...298.1987S. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.126.9944 . doi:10.1126/science.1075312. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   12471257. S2CID   2517996.
  20. ↑ Zavaleta, Erika S.; Hulvey, Kristin B. (2004-11-12). "Realistic Species Losses Disproportionately Reduce Grassland Resistance to Biological Invaders". Science. 306 (5699): 1175–1177. Bibcode:2004Sci...306.1175Z. doi:10.1126/science.1102643. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   15539600. S2CID   11818256.
  21. ↑ Lindenmayer, David; Hobbs, Richard J.; Montague-Drake, Rebecca; Alexandra, Jason; Bennett, Andrew; Burgman, Mark; Cale, Peter; Calhoun, Aram; Cramer, Viki (2007-10-10). "A checklist for ecological management of landscapes for conservation". Ecology Letters. 11 (1): 071010211025003––. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01114.x. ISSN   1461-023X. PMID   17927771.
  22. ↑ JONES, HOLLY P.; TERSHY, BERNIE R.; ZAVALETA, ERIKA S.; CROLL, DONALD A.; KEITT, BRADFORD S.; FINKELSTEIN, MYRA E.; HOWALD, GREGG R. (February 2008). "Severity of the Effects of Invasive Rats on Seabirds: A Global Review". Conservation Biology. 22 (1): 16–26. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00859.x . ISSN   0888-8892. PMID   18254849.
  23. ↑ Funk, Jennifer L.; Cleland, Elsa E.; Suding, Katherine N.; Zavaleta, Erika S. (2008-12-01). "Restoration through reassembly: plant traits and invasion resistance". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 23 (12): 695–703. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.07.013. ISSN   0169-5347. PMID   18951652.
  24. ↑ Isbell, Forest; Calcagno, Vincent; Hector, Andy; Connolly, John; Harpole, W. Stanley; Reich, Peter B.; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Schmid, Bernhard; Tilman, David (2011-08-10). "High plant diversity is needed to maintain ecosystem services" (PDF). Nature. 477 (7363): 199–202. Bibcode:2011Natur.477..199I. doi:10.1038/nature10282. hdl: 11299/176833 . ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   21832994. S2CID   4326167.
  25. ↑ Naeem, Shahid; Duffy, J. Emmett; Zavaleta, Erika (2012-06-15). "The Functions of Biological Diversity in an Age of Extinction". Science. 336 (6087): 1401–1406. Bibcode:2012Sci...336.1401N. doi:10.1126/science.1215855. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   22700920. S2CID   3778674.
  26. ↑ "Erika Zavaleta". Source of the Week. 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
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