SYMP 15
Coupled Natural and Human Systems Science: The Need, Challenges and Rewards

Wednesday, August 12, 2015: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
309, Baltimore Convention Center
Organizer:
Paul R. Armsworth, University of Tennessee
Co-organizers:
Heather M. Leslie, Brown University; and James R. Watson, Stockholm University
Moderator:
Peter Kareiva, The Nature Conservancy
Ecologists need to embrace coupled natural and human systems approaches in their science if they are to provide much needed guidance on how we can sustain and improve the livelihoods of rapidly growing human populations without compromising the integrity of the ecosystems on which they depend. A coupled natural and human systems approach is vital for understanding ecosystem dynamics given the pervasive influence of humans on the planet. Coupled natural and human systems approaches focus on quantifying feedbacks within and between ecosystems and social systems. Research that embraces inter-dependencies between natural and human systems, contrasts with the trend in many ecological studies that treat humans as somehow separate from ecosystems (i.e., as an exogenous driver to be managed) or even, as inconsequential to ecosystem structure and functioning. These more traditional approaches to ecological research simply do not match up with the reality facing decision makers engaged in environmental management in our human-dominated world. The interdisciplinary science of coupled natural and human systems, also referred to as sustainability science, is a rapidly emerging field, with particularly strong roots in ecology. This symposium will synthesize the current state-of-the-art in coupled systems research and highlight new theoretical advances, particularly those related to network analysis, agent-based models, and evolutionary optimization techniques. The symposium will demonstrate the relevance of a coupled systems approach to environmental policy and management through case studies drawn from diverse ecosystems, including montane forests, tropical islands and coastal marine systems, and diverse countries and cultures including Brazil, China, French Polynesia, Mexico and the US. In terms of interdisciplinary connections, ecologists will highlight connections between ecology and economics, anthropology, sociology, history, and other disciplines. Ecologists will share their experiences of how taking a systems approach that integrates across disciplinary boundaries challenged them to ask new questions, to consider new kinds of data and to employ new analytical tools. The symposium will demonstrate how, by taking a coupled natural and human systems approach, our understanding of ecosystem dynamics is enriched. The symposium will also highlight how a systems approach that integrates stakeholders’ perspectives directly into the research process enables ecological science to inform effective solutions for policy and practice.
2:00 PM
 Cooperation in coupled natural-human systems: Its emergence and importance
James R. Watson, Oregon State University; Jameal F. Samhouri, NOAA Fisheries; John Lynham, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa,; Erol Akcay, University of Pennsylvania; Emma Fuller, Princeton University; Andrew Tilman, Princeton University; Michelle Barnes-Mauthe, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa,; Emily Klein, Princeton University; Matthieu Barbier, Princeton University; Simon A. Levin, Princeton University
2:30 PM
 Ecological networks of French Polynesia: A new way to study sustainability during a millenium of human presence
Jennifer A. Dunne, Santa Fe Institute; Neo D. Martinez, University of Arizona; Jennifer Kahn, College of William and Mary; Patrick Kirch, University of California; Neil Davies, University of California, Berkeley
3:00 PM
3:40 PM
 Terrestrial protected area design through the coupled natural and human systems lens
Paul R. Armsworth, University of Tennessee; Seonghoon Cho, University of Tennessee; Joe Hughes, University of Tennessee; Daniel J. Hayes, University of Maine; Gwen D. Iacona, University of Queensland; Taeyoung Kim, University of Tennessee; Eric R. Larson, Shedd Aquarium; Nathan Sutton, University of Tennessee
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