Leah Gerber

Last updated
Leah R. Gerber
EducationBA., Environmental Biology
MMA., Marine Policy
PhD., Wildlife Ecology
Alma mater Mills College
University of Washington
Known for Biodiversity
Conservation Science
Scientific career
Institutions National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
Arizona State University

Leah R. Gerber is a conservation biologist and environmental scientist most known for her contributions to the field of biodiversity conservation. She has conducted research on population ecology, conservation decision-making, and the application of innovative quantitative methods in conservation biology. [1]

Contents

Gerber is a Professor of Conservation Science and Founding Director of the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO) [2] at Arizona State University. [3] She is also a Fellow in the Institute for the Future of Innovation in Society, [4] an Honors faculty in the Barrett Honors College, an Affiliate Faculty in Applied Mathematics for Social Sciences and an Affiliate Faculty in the School of Public Affairs within the same institution. [1]

Gerber looks to inform policy and sustain biodiversity through her research in conservation ecology, and environmental leadership and communication. She has provided insights on global change and biodiversity, interviewing with The Economist , [5] The New York Times , [6] Time , [7] Reuters , [8] Science , [9] National Geographic , [10] The Washington Post , [11] and ABC News , [12] and has also contributed to general audience platforms such as The Conversation , [13] and Pacific Standard . [14]

Gerber is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, [15] the Ecological Society of America, [16] an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, [17] and a Lead Author of the UN Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. [18] Since 2016, she has been a Member of the Red List Committee for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature [19] and participated in the Natural Capital Coalition Biodiversity Project Steering Group from 2016 to 2019. [15] In 2018, she joined the Scientific Advisory Board for the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galápagos Islands, and since 2019, she has also serves as a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Defenders of Wildlife. [20]

Early life and education

Gerber earned her bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology from Mills College and went on to obtain an MMA in marine policy and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from University of Washington, [21] where she focused on the dynamics of endangered species populations and exploring the challenges of conserving biodiversity in a changing world. With support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, her PhD work focused on the development of quantitative criteria for decision-making under the Endangered Species Act. [1]

Gerber joined the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis as a postdoctoral researcher in 1999, where she looked at recovery of endangered species and design of marine reserves. [1]

Career and research

Research and scientific works

After completing her Ph.D., Gerber pursued a career in academia and conservation science. Her research has encompassed topics from assessing population viability and species recovery to incorporating economic considerations into conservation planning. Her research has produced insights into the effective allocation of limited resources for conservation efforts; the evaluation of conservation interventions, and the identification of priority areas for biodiversity conservation. [22]

Gerber has published over 150 peer-reviewed publications. [21]

Gerber was recognized as a Tenure Exemplar Professor at Arizona State University in 2006. [23] She is an Affiliated Scholar of Arizona State University's Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes [24] and serves on the Arizona State University President's Council on Women in Leadership. She became a Full Professor in 2013 and established the Arizona State University CBO in 2014. [3] The Center works with researchers from across the university, looking to encourage discoveries that conserve and sustain biodiversity and link those innovations to decision-making. [2] She has also established new approaches for academic and public engagement [1] and is a National Science Foundation Science of Science and Innovation Policy program grant holder. [25]

One of Gerber's notable contributions to the field of conservation biology is her development of quantitative methods for decision-making in conservation. Gerber has developed approaches to conservation and management such as conservation priority setting, ecosystem-based management, adaptive monitoring and management, endangered species recovery plans, and estimating extinction risk. She combines theories of behavioral ecology with quantitative approaches of demography to examine how reproductive behavior impacts the extinction risks for marine mammals. [26] In this work, she has focused her research on the importance of biological uncertainty in environmental decision-making. [22]

Science and policy

Gerber has worked to bridge the gap between science and policy-making processes. She has served as an advisor and consultant for governmental and non-governmental organizations, providing guidance on conservation strategies, biodiversity management, and environmental policy.

Gerber has been an advocate for evidence-based decision-making and has collaborated with policymakers to develop science-informed policies and regulations. Her efforts have contributed to the development of sustainable conservation practices and the protection of vulnerable species and ecosystems. In 2021 she provided expert testimony for U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in a hearing, “Examining Biodiversity Loss: Drivers, Impacts, and Potential Solutions.” [27]

In collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, she produced a handbook designed to teach field biologists how to make use of population and demographic analysis. [28] She has also analyzed the health and sustainability of seafood, [29] and organized a series of events to educate the general public in how to make more sustainable choices. In 2019, she was recognized as a pioneer in recovering the endangered white abalone by establishing a restoration program. [15]

Gerber served on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services [30] and coauthored the global assessment of biodiversity, evaluating the world's status in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals, Aichi Biodiversity Targets and Paris Agreement. [31] In recent years, she has expressed concerns regarding the impact of the first Trump Administration on the United States Environmental Protection Agency as well. [7] [32]

In 2017 Gerber moved to Ecuador as a Fulbright Program scholar in the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. [33] Here she looked to understand how local people promote and protect biodiversity. She focused on incentives to protect wildlife in the Galápagos Islands and was awarded a grant from the Lenfest Ocean Program in 2019 to work with the Galápagos National Park to effectively manage the Galápagos Marine Reserve. [34] [35] [36]

While governmental funding is available to protect biodiversity, it is insufficient and not distributed evenly amongst different species; [37] Gerber showed that more than a quarter of investment into protecting species goes to only 139 plants and animals in the US. [5] [38] She has worked with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to create a tool to compare funding allocations and the consequences of resource allocation strategies. [39] The Recovery Prioritization Explorer [40] was created as part of a SESYNC Endangered Species Act Decision Support Venture. [41] [8] [42]

Teaching and mentoring

In addition to her research and policy work, Gerber has served as a Professor and Supervisor at ASU since 2001. [43]

Awards and honors

Personal life

Gerber is an advocate for environmental education and actively engages in outreach activities. [46]

Gerber has two daughters. In her article for Animal Político, she shared a meaningful encounter with nature while studying sea lions in the Gulf of California. A friendly dolphin's persistent attention led to the realization of her pregnancy, which was playfully suggested by a Mexican fisherman. This incident sparked her reflection on the connection between the dolphin and the fisherman. She emphasized the connection to biodiversity and the importance of conservation for ecosystem services, species protection, and human well-being. [47]

Selected articles

Related Research Articles

<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

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<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, destroyed or transformed. 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, support the provision of ecosystem services and support local economies. The United Nations has named 2021-2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Species translocation</span> Human relocation of plants or animals

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Leah Gerber | Conservation Innovation Lab".
  2. 1 2 "Center for Biodiversity Outcomes".
  3. 1 2 "People | Center for Biodiversity Outcomes".
  4. ↑ "Fellows | Institute for the Future of Innovation in Society". ifis.asu.edu.
  5. 1 2 "How to preserve nature on a tight budget". The Economist.
  6. ↑ Einhorn, Catrin (September 29, 2021). "Protected Too Late: U.S. Officials Report More Than 20 Extinctions". The New York Times– via NYTimes.com.
  7. 1 2 "Trump Administration's Changes to The Endangered Species Act Risks Pushing More Species To Extinction". Time. August 14, 2019.
  8. 1 2 "How a math formula could decide fate of endangered U.S. species". Reuters. June 19, 2017 – via www.reuters.com.
  9. ↑ "Researchers Propose Putting a Price on Whales". www.science.org.
  10. ↑ "Japan Halts Whaling Program in Response to International Court Ruling". History. April 2, 2014. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Researchers propose putting a price on whales". The Washington Post .
  12. ↑ "Whales not to blame for fish depletion". ABC Radio National. February 21, 2009.
  13. ↑ Gerber, Leah; Male, Timothy (October 19, 2018). "New data tool can help scientists use limited funds to protect the greatest number of endangered species". The Conversation.
  14. ↑ Gerber, Leah R. (June 14, 2017). "Can Monk Seals Find a Berth on Noah's Ark?". Pacific Standard.
  15. 1 2 3 "News | Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation".
  16. 1 2 "ESA Fellows – The Ecological Society of America".
  17. 1 2 "FELLOWS". Earth Leadership.
  18. ↑ "Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services | IPBES secretariat". www.ipbes.net. May 17, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Annual Report 2018 – Darwin Foundation" (PDF).
  20. ↑ "Science Advisors | Defenders of Wildlife". defenders.org.
  21. 1 2 3 "Person | Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation".
  22. 1 2 "Leah R. Gerber". scholar.google.com.
  23. 1 2 "Faculty exemplars represent ASU's best". ASU News. September 14, 2007.
  24. ↑ "Gerber, Leah".
  25. ↑ "NSF Award Search: Award # 1661406 – The behavioral and institutional determinants of public value knowledge outcomes in conservation science". www.nsf.gov.
  26. 1 2 "NSF Award Search: Award # 0347960 – CAREER: Integrating Behavior and Demography in Marine Mammal Conservation". www.nsf.gov.
  27. ↑ "Examining Biodiversity Loss: Drivers, Impacts, and Potential Solutions – Hearings – U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works".
  28. ↑ "A Practical Handbook for Population Viability Analysis" (PDF).
  29. ↑ Gerber, Leah R; Karimi, Roxanne; Fitzgerald, Timothy P (November 16, 2012). "Sustaining seafood for public health". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 10 (9): 487–493. Bibcode:2012FrEE...10..487G. doi:10.1890/120003 – via CrossRef.
  30. ↑ "Leah Gerber | IPBES secretariat". www.ipbes.net.
  31. ↑ "Why biodiversity matters". ASU News. May 6, 2019.
  32. ↑ "With new revisions to the ESA, Trump is putting endangered species at risk".
  33. ↑ "Leah Gerber | Fulbright Scholar Program". fulbrightscholars.org.
  34. ↑ "New Research to Inform Management in the Galápagos Marine Reserve". pew.org. November 14, 2019.
  35. ↑ "University of San Francisco de Quito | Fulbright Scholar Program". fulbrightscholars.org.
  36. ↑ Gerber, Leah R.; Quiroga, Diego (October 20, 2017). Sills, Jennifer (ed.). "Incentives for Galápagos protection". Science. 358 (6361): 313–314. Bibcode:2017Sci...358..313G. doi:10.1126/science.aar2049. PMID   29051370. S2CID   206665344 – via CrossRef.
  37. ↑ Gerber, Leah R. (March 29, 2016). "Conservation triage or injurious neglect in endangered species recovery". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 113 (13): 3563–3566. Bibcode:2016PNAS..113.3563G. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1525085113 . PMC   4822619 . PMID   26976572.
  38. ↑ "U.S. needs Robin Hood approach to saving endangered species, researcher argues". www.science.org.
  39. ↑ "Casting Biodiversity Conservation as a Budget Allocation Problem". Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science.
  40. ↑ "Recovery Prioritization Explorer".
  41. ↑ "Endangered Species Act Decision Making | SESYNC". www.sesync.org.
  42. ↑ "New tool helps align investment with objectives in biodiversity conservation". ScienceDaily.
  43. ↑ "Conservation Innovation Lab – People". www.conservationinnovationlab.com.
  44. ↑ "ASU's Leah Gerber named Fellow of Ecological Society of America". ASU News. February 6, 2017.
  45. ↑ "TOP 200 APPLICANTS – 100&Change" (PDF).
  46. ↑ Lab, C. I. (May 31, 2013). "#reachingoutsci series | Conservation Innovation Lab".
  47. ↑ "News | Center for Biodiversity Outcomes".
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