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News from the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center
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A Tool to Save Species: SESYNC Science Team Leads Effort to Increase Transparency in Endangered Species Recovery
By Kate Weiss

On May 5, 2017, a National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) science team led by Leah Gerber and Mike Runge presented a tool to Senior Administrators of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that may help the agency prioritize endangered species recovery. USFWS works to protect 1,275 threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, and each of these species requires an associated species recovery plan. These plans outline actions, recovery criteria, and other guidelines for species recovery. However, funding limits how many and which recovery plans each of the eight regions USFWS oversees may focus on. 

Facing questions of how to best allocate these funds, the  Endangered Species Act (ESA) Decision-making team has been working with USFWS researchers, academics, and others to create a decision-support tool to help inform this complex decision-making process.

Read more on  SESYNC's website. 

Feeding a Hot, Hungry Planet
Creating sustainable food systems in the face of a changing climate isn't easy--but innovators around the world are making real progress

By Lisa Palmer, SESYNC Senior Fellow, in Scientific American

We need to move beyond thinking about the environment--our land, water and air--only as a source of inputs for the food system. Instead we need to recognize that global environmental changes can diminish yields, reduce the amount of food we produce, and affect how nutritious it is and where we produce it.

But just how does the experience of change prompt food systems actors and institutions to work toward solutions?

Read the rest at Scientific American.

SESYNC Welcomes New Staff
 
SESYNC Welcomes Benoit Parmentier, Data Scientist
 
Benoit Parmentier is a trained geographer whose research interests include land cover change, climate, Remote Sensing/GIS, and social sciences.  Benoit is from Belgium where he did his undergraduate studies and master in geography and Remote Sensing/Cartography. He holds a PhD in geography from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He later held positions of Postdoctoral Associate at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, and Postdoctoral Researcher and Research Associate at the Sustainability Solutions Initiative at the University of Maine. 

SESYNC Welcomes Elizabeth Herzfeldt-Kamprath, Multimedia Specialist
 
Elizabeth Herzfeldt-Kamprath joins SESYNC as the Multimedia Specialist, where her work will focus on creating video stories to help communicate the important work supported by SESYNC.  Herzfeldt-Kamprath is currently completing her Master of Fine Arts in Film & Electronic Media with a concentration on Environmental and Wildlife Filmmaking at American University. She has worked on films that focus on the Potomac River, solar co-ops, Albertan tar sands, and youth in Honduras. She is currently working on her thesis film featuring a bird rehabilitator in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Throughout her studies at American, Herzfeldt-Kamprath has participated in the Center for Environmental Filmmaking and is currently a scholar of the Center. 

Recent Publications

Allocating Environmental Water and Impact on Basin Unemployment: Role of A Diversified Economy. Led by Mahendran Roobavannan in  Ecological Economics as part of the SESYNC Pursuit,  Toward Socio-hydrologic Synthesis.

Ancient water supports today's energy needs. P ublished in Earth's Future by former SESYNC Sabbatical Fellow Paolo D'Odorico and current SESYNC Postdoc Jessica Gephart.

Double Movement in Hybrid Governance: Contestations in Market-oriented Agricultural Development.  Article led by SESYNC Research Scientist Kristal Jones in Sociology of Development.

Local neighbourhood and regional climatic contexts interact to explain tree performance. Led by SESYNC Postdoc Jenny Zambrano in  Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Interpreting beta-diversity components over time to conserve metacommunities in highly dynamic ecosystems. P ublished in Conservation Biology and led by SESYNC Postdoc Albert Ruhi.

An appeal for a code of conduct for marine conservation.  Article published in Marine Policy and co -authored by former SESYNC Postdoc David Gill. 

Null expectations for disease dynamics in shrinking habitat: dilution or amplification? Led by Christina Faust in Proceedings of the Royal Society B as part of the SESYNC Pursuit, Land Use Change and Infectious Diseases.

We're Hiring!

SESYNC seeks a Research Assistant who will contribute to multiple aspects of the Center's research mission. Job duties include: research computing support on statistical software; data management assistance for resident scientists; literature reviews; maintain catalogs of research findings and opportunities on our website.

Qualifying candidates will have a bachelor's in a science-related field (natural, social, or computer science); demonstrated excellence in interpersonal and written communications; coursework or hands-on experience with statistical software (e.g., Stata, SAS), programming language (e.g., R, python), or advanced spreadsheet use.

Please consider applying or share with colleagues! Applications are due July 14. Learn more about employment opportunities on our website: sesync.us/careers
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