Publications by Jon Lefcheck

IAN is committed to producing practical, user-centered communications that foster a better understanding of science and enable readers to pursue new opportunities in research, education, and environmental problem-solving. Our publications synthesize scientific findings using effective science communication techniques.

Overcome imposter syndrome: Contribute to working groups and build strong networks (Page 1)

Overcome imposter syndrome: Contribute to working groups and build strong networks

Bates AE, Davies MA, Stuart-Smith RD, Lazzari N, Lefcheck JS, Ling SD, Mellin C, Mouillot D, Bernard ATF, Bennett S, Brown CJ, Burrows MT, Butler CL, Cinner J, Clausius E, Cooper A, Costello MJ, Denis-Roy L, Edgar GJ, Fuchs YH, Johnson OJ, Gordó-Vilaseca C, Hautecoeur C, Harper LM, Heather FJ, Jones TR, Markey AC, Oh E, Rose M, Ruiz-Ruiz PA, Sanabria-Fernandez JA, Schuster JM, Schmid JK, Baker SC ·
2024

Scientific working groups bring together experts from different disciplines and perspectives to tackle the “wicked problems” facing natural systems and society. Yet participants can feel overwhelmed or inadequate in groups within academic environments, which tends to be most acute at early career stages and in people from systematically marginalized backgrounds.

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Interplay of management and environmental drivers shifts size structure of reef fish communities (Page 1)

Interplay of management and environmental drivers shifts size structure of reef fish communities

Canty SWJ, Nowakowski AJ, Cox CE, Valdivia A, Holstein DM, Limer B, Lefcheck JS, Craig N, Drysdale I, Giro A, Soto M, McField M ·
2024

Countries are expanding marine protected area (MPA) networks to mitigate fisheries declines and support marine biodiversity. However, MPA impact evaluations typically assess total fish biomass. Here, we examine how fish biomass disaggregated by adult and juvenile life stages responds to environmental drivers, including sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and human footprint, and multiple management types at 139 reef sites in the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) region.

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Herbivory limits success of vegetation restoration globally (Page 1)

Herbivory limits success of vegetation restoration globally

Changlin Xu, Brian R. Silliman, Jianshe Chen, Xincheng Li, Mads S. Thomsen, Qun Zhang, Juhyung Lee, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Pedro Daleo, Brent B. Hughes, Holly P. Jones, Rong Wang, Shaopeng Wang, Carter S. Smith, Xinqiang Xi, Andrew H. Altieri, Johan van de Koppel, Todd M. Palmer, Lingli Liu, Jihua Wu, Bo Li, and Qiang He ·
2023

Restoring vegetation in degraded ecosystems is an increasingly common practice for promoting biodiversity and ecological function, but successful implementation is hampered by an incomplete understanding of the processes that limit restoration success. By synthesizing terrestrial and aquatic studies globally (2594 experimental tests from 610 articles), we reveal substantial herbivore control of vegetation under restoration.

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Rise of Ruppia in Chesapeake Bay: Climate change–driven turnover of foundation species creates new threats and management opportunities (Page 1)

Rise of Ruppia in Chesapeake Bay: Climate change–driven turnover of foundation species creates new threats and management opportunities

Hensela MJS, Patricka CJ, Ortha RJ, Wilcoxa DJ, Dennison WC, Gurbiszc C , Hannamd MP, Landrye JB, Moorea KA, Murphyf RR , Testag JM, Wellerh DE, Lefchecki JS ·
2023

Global change has converted many structurally complex and ecologically and eco- nomically valuable coastlines to bare substrate. In the structural habitats that remain, climate-tolerant and opportunistic species are increasing in response to environmental extremes and variability. The shifting of dominant foundation species identity with climate change poses a unique conservation challenge because species vary in their responses to environmental stressors and to management.

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Data synthesis for environmental management: A case study of Chesapeake Bay (Page 1)

Data synthesis for environmental management: A case study of Chesapeake Bay

Orth RJ, Dennison WC, Wilcox DJ, Batiuk RA, Landry JB, Gurbisz C, Keisman J, Hannam M, Lefcheck JS, Murphy RR, Moore KA, Patrick CJ, Testa JM, Weller DE, Merrittj MF, Hobaugh P ·
2022

Synthesizing large, complex data sets to inform resource managers towards effective environmental stewardship is a universal challenge. In Chesapeake Bay, a well-studied and intensively monitored estuary in North America, the challenge of synthesizing data on water quality and land use as factors related to a key habitat, submerged aquatic vegetation, was tackled by a team of scientists and resource managers operating at multiple levels of governance (state, federal).

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