Lead PI for the VCR LTER, Director of ERI, Professor

My research focuses on the effects of environmental change, particularly climate change, land-use change, and species invasions on coastal marine ecosystems. For the last 20 years, my group has studied seagrass restoration and resilience in the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER. We are especially interested in ‘blue carbon’ sequestration in coastal habitats and the impacts of marine heatwaves on seagrass ecosystems. In addition to Virginia’s Eastern Shore, my team has worked in New England, Florida, Bermuda, Denmark, New Zealand, and Mozambique. Much of my work involves interdisciplinary collaborations with partners in oceanography, geomorphology, hydrology, economics, engineering, ethics, religious studies, law, architecture, and data science. These studies focus on climate change and on the resilience of ecosystems and communities, especially in the context of decisions for equitable climate mitigation and adaptation.

Education:
Ph.D., Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University
B.A.,  Ecology, Connecticut College

Appointments:
2020 Elected Senior Fellow, UVA Society of Fellows
2008 – present: Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, UVA
2004 – present: Lead PI, Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research
2017 – present: Director, Environmental Resilience Institute, University of Virginia
2014 – 2018: Associate Vice President for Research, Sustainability, and Resilience
2002 – 2008: Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, UVA
1996 – 2002: Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, UVA
1992 – 1995: Post-doctoral Fellow, U.S. National Science Foundation and Danish National Science Foundation

Phone: (434)-924-0558 ext 636
Email: kjm4k@virginia.edu
Twitter: @Karen_McG2