Laura Dee, Ph.D.
Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
St. Paul, MN 55108; (203)-213-6956
Email: ledee@umn.edu; Website: LauraEDee.com
RESEARCH INTERESTS
ecosystem services; human-natural systems; sustainability; climate change and ecosystem services;
conservation ecology; functional ecology; bio-economic modeling; decision-making under
uncertainty
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Supervisors: Dr. Peter B. Reich & Dr. Steve Polasky
October 2015-Present
EDUCATION
University of California, Santa Barbara
PhD, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management
2010- 2015
Emphasis: Ecology & Natural Resource Management
Advisor: Dr. Steven Gaines
Committee: Dr. David Tilman, Dr. Christopher Costello, Dr. Bruce Kendall, Dr. Jennifer Caselle
MA, Department of Economics
Brown University
BS, Marine Biology
2015
December 2008
Honors, 3.8 GPA
FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS, & GRANTS (Over $330,000 USD total)
Yale University Gaylord Donnelley Postdoctoral Environmental Fellowship* ($104,000) 2015
(*declined for UMN postdoc)
The Synthesis Centre for Biodiversity Science, sDiv (P.I.; 25,300 EU)
2014-2015
"Can ecological network information improve the efficacy of biodiversity conservation for ecosystem
services in the face of unavoidable uncertainty?”
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship ($95,500)
2011-2014
NSF Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide Fellowship ($5,000)
2014
ARC Centre of Excellence in Environmental Decisions Fellowship (7,000 ASD)
2013-2014
Student travel awards, Bren School, UCSB ($4,500)
2012, 2014, 2015
Chateaubriand Fellowship, French Embassy (7,000 EU)
2013
Kingfisher Foundation grant for outreach & open access publishing ($2,500)
2013
Student award, International Society for Reef Studies ($1,050)
2012
Dr. Daniel Vapnek Fisheries Fellowship, Bren School, UCSB ($20,000)
2010 & 2015
Royce Fellowship, Brown University ($5,000)
2007-2008
Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award, Brown University ($5,000)
2007-2008
Starr Fellowship, Brown University ($5,000)
2007
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
* = undergraduate co-author, ** = masters student co-author, *** = Ph.D. student co-author
1. Boersma, K.S., Dee, L.E., Miller, S.J., Bogan, M., Lytle, D.A., Gitelman, A.I. In Press. Linking multidimensional functional diversity to ecological theory: A graphical hypothesis-driven framework. Ecology.
2. Papastamatiou, Y.P., Watanabe, Y.Y., Bradley, D., Dee, L.E., Weng, K., Lowe, C.G., Caselle, J.E. (2015)
Active while cooling: daily routines of an ectothermic marine predator. PloS One 10 (6), e0127807.
3. Dee, L.E., Horrii, S.**, D.J. Thornhill. (2014) Conservation and management of the trade in ornamental
coral-reef wildlife: successes, shortcomings, and future challenges. Biological Conservation 169: 225-237.
4. Balvanera, P., Siddique, I., Dee, L.E., Paquette, A., et al. (2014) Linking biodiversity and ecosystem
services: current uncertainties and the necessary next step. BioScience 64(1):49-57.
5. Byrnes, J.K., Gamfeldt, L., Isbell, F., Lefcheck, J.S., Griffin, J.N., Hector, A., Cardinale, B.J., Hooper, D.U.,
Dee, L.E., Duffy, J.E. (2014) Investigating the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem
multifunctionality: Challenges and solutions. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 5: 111–124.
6. Fujita, R., Thornhill, D. J., Karr, K., Cooper, C. H., Dee, L. E. (2014) Assessing and managing data-limited
ornamental fisheries in coral reefs. Fish and Fisheries 15: 661–675. 7. Dee, L.E., Gerber, L. (2012) Applications of Decision Theory to Conservation Planning and Management.
Nature Education Knowledge 3 (3):11.
8. Dee, L.E., Witman, J.D., Brandt, M. (2012) Refugia and top-down control of the pencil urchin Eucidaris
galapagensis in the Galápagos Marine Reserve, J. Experimental Marine Biol & Ecol, 416:135-143.
BOOK CHAPTERS
9. Balvanera, P., Quijas, S., Martín-López, B., Barrios, E., Dee, L., Isbell, F., Durance, I., White, P., Blanchard,
R. and de Groot, R. (2015): ‘The links between biodiversity and ecosystem services’ in Potschin, M.,
Haines-Young, R., Fish, R. and Turner, R.K. (eds) Routledge Handbook of Ecosystem Services. Routledge,
London and New York.
PUBLICATIONS SUBMITTED, IN REVIEW & IN REVISION
10. Dee, L.E, Miller, S.J., Peavey, L.E., Bradley, D.***, Gentry, R.***, Startz, D., Gaines, S., Lester, S.
Functional diversity of catch mitigates negative effects of temperature variability on fisheries yields.
Proceeding of the Royal Society B, submitted.
11. Dee, L.E., De Lara, M., Costello, C., Gaines, S.D. To what extent do ecosystem services motivate protecting
biodiversity? Ecology Letters, submitted.
12. Pau, S. & Dee, L.E. Remote sensing of dominant species for quantifying ecosystem services. Remote
Sensing for Ecology & Conservation, in review.
13. Runting, R., Bryan, B., Dee, L.E., Hamel, P., Wilson, K., Possingham, H., Mandle, L., et al. Incorporating
climate change into ecosystem service assessments and decisions: A review. Global Change Biology,
submitted.
14. O’Connor, M.I., Gonzalez, A., Byrnes, J.E.K., Cardinale, B., Duffy, J.E., Gamfeldt, L., Griffin, J., Hooper,
D. Hungate, B., Paquette, A., Thompson, P., Dee, L.E., Dolan, K. Towards a predictive biodiversity and
ecosystem functioning relationship. Oikos, revise & resubmit.
WORKING PAPERS (FULL DRAFT TO BE SUBMITTED BY MAY 1, 2016)
15. Dee, L.E, Runting, R., Masyek, F.***, Gaines, S.D., Wilson, K. Incidental benefits at no added cost: when
do management actions align ecosystem service and biodiversity conservation goals? In prep. for
Conservation Biology.
16. Landsberg, C.J.*, Dee, L.E., Karr, K., D. J. Thornhill. Assessing the vulnerability of fish in the marine
aquarium trade. In prep. for Marine Policy.
17. Dee, L.E., Allesina, S., Thompson, R., Possingham, H., et al. Operationalizing network theory for ecosystem
service assessments. In prep. for Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
18. Xiao, H.***, Chades, I., Dee, L.E., Sabbadin, R., Peyrard, N., McDonald-Madden, E. Conservation for
biodiversity or ecosystem services? A novel approach to investigate how ecosystem network structure
influences management selection. In prep. for PNAS.
PUBLICATIONS IN PREPARATION
19. Dee, L.E., Polasky, S., Reich, P.B. Climate change impacts on ecosystem services from the Boreal forest.
20. Dee, L.E., Boersma, K., Helmstedt, K., Miller, S.J., Polasky, S., Reich, P.B. Quantifying the functional
resistance of ecosystem services.
21. Auclair, E.***, Dee, L.E., Caselle, J., Sabbadin, R., Peyrard, N. Learning ecological networks from time
series using dynamic Bayesian belief networks.
REPORTS
Thornhill, D.J., Landesberg, C.J., Dee, L.E., Haney, J.C., Male T. Creating a sustainable inventory of marine
life: Recommendations to Petco Animal Supplies based on reef fish vulnerability. Nov. 13, 2013 to
Petco Animal Supplies, Inc.
TEACHING & ADVISING
Mentored over 15 Students
Ecology of managed systems, Teaching Assistant, Bren School, UCSB
Conservation planning to provide ecosystem services, Guest Lecturer, UCSB
Environmental Modeling, Teaching Assistant, UCSB
Principles of Ecology, Teaching Assistant, Brown University
2010-Present
2014, 2015
2011
2010
2008
Advisor for Masters group projects at the Bren School, UCSB
Sustainability Trajectories to reform the coral reef wildlife trade
Spatial Planning and Bio-Economic Analysis of Offshore Aquaculture in Mexico
2011-2012
2010-2011
RELEVANT RESEARCH & WORK EXPERIENCE
Graduate student researcher, Palmyra Atoll. PI: Dr. Jennifer Caselle
-Examined drivers of coral reef resilience; participate in Reefs Tomorrow Initiative
Participant, Mathematics of Bio-Economics Trimester
Institute Henri Poincare, Paris, France
2011-2015
Dimensions of Biodiversity - Distributed Graduate Seminar
NSF-funded graduate seminar involving workshops, papers, networks of collaborations
2011-2012
Researcher and Field Assistant, Kiritimati Atoll, Kiribati. PI: Dr. Julia Baum
-Surveyed fish and coral communities for social-ecological monitoring and impacts of fishing
Researcher and Technician, Sustainable Fisheries Group, UCSB
2013
2010
2009-2010
-Researched fisheries management, spatial planning, and scoped fisheries reform programs in Indonesia
Research Assistant, Dr. Jon Witman, Brown University
-Investigated effects of fishing on ecological communities in Galápagos, Ecuador
2007-2009
Research Assistant, Dr. Katherine Smith, Brown University
2008-2009
-Researched international pet trade to create consumer education and decision guide: ecohealthypets.com
INVITED & ORGANIZED WORKSHOPS
Working group, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
“Biodiversity & Functioning of Ecosystems: Translating Models into Reality”
2011
Workshop organizer, Bren School, UC Santa Barbara
“Biodiversity and fisheries across scales: how consistent is the relationship?”
Mathematics of Ecological Economics, Paris, France
2012
Risk and learning in biodiversity management, Paris, France
2013
2013
Working group, Environmental Decision Group (UQ), Hobart, Australia
2014
“Qualitative modeling techniques and applications for ecosystem management”
Working group organizer and lead-PI, sDiv, Leipzig, Germany
2015-2016
“Can ecological network information improve the efficacy of biodiversity conservation for ecosystem
services in the face of unavoidable uncertainty?”
Working group, Centre of Excellence in Environmental Decisions, Brisbane, Australia
2015
“Network theory and conservation management of food webs and ecosystem services”
Time preferences for conservation, Montpellier, France
2015
Ecosystem Services Working Group, University of Minnesota
2016
PRESENTATIONS
Invited presentations
Dee, L.E. Biodiversity & ecosystem services: how does better information affect management decisions
& value? International Congress for Conservation Biology & European Congress for
Conservation Biology, Monpellier, France, Aug. 3, 2015.
Dee, L.E. Managing for ecosystem services in the face of variability and uncertainty: What is the role of
biodiversity? Rutgers University, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources,
Dec. 1, 2014.
Dee, L.E. Achieving ecosystem service and biodiversity conservation objectives in the face of
uncertainty, Centre of Excellence in Environmental Decisions, University of Queensland,
Australia, Nov. 11, 2014.
Dee, L.E. To what extent do ecosystem services motivate protecting biodiversity? CSIRO, Conservation
Decisions Group, Brisbane, Australia, Nov. 6, 2014.
Dee, L.E. Do ecosystem services motivate biodiversity protection? Institute for Applied Ecology,
University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia. September 26, 2014.
Dee, L.E., Costello, C., M. De Lara, Gaines, S. Do ecosystem services provide an economic incentive for
biodiversity protection? Institute Henri Poincare, Paris, France. March 8, 2013.
Dee, L.E. Top-down control and refugia in the Galápagos Marine Reserve. Department of Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology, Brown University. December 2008
Conference presentations
Dee, L.E., De Lara, M., Gaines, S.D., Costello, C. To what extent do ecosystem services provide an
economic incentive for protecting biodiversity? Ecological Society of America, Sacramento, CA,
August 14, 2014.
Dee, L.E., Horrii, S.S., Thornhill, D.J. Management of the trade in ornamental coral-reef wildlife:
successes, shortcomings, and future challenges. International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns,
Australia: July 9-13, 2012.
Dee, L.E., Miller, S.J., Peavey, L., Lester, S.E. Is biodiversity is a good predictor of fisheries production
in marine ecosystems? Ecological Society of America Meeting, Portland, OR: August 5-10, 2012.
Dee, L.E., Miller, S.J., Peavey, L.E., Lester, S.E., Startz, D., Bradley, D.E., et al. Does functional
diversity predict stability and levels of global fisheries yields in the face of temperature
variability? Western Society of Naturalists Meeting at SeaSide, CA: November 8-11, 2012.
Dee, L.E., J.D. Witman, and M. Brandt.Refugia and top-down of the pencil urchin Eucidaris
galapagensis in the Galápagos. Western Society of Naturalists, Monterey, CA. November 2009.
Dee, L.E., Smith, K.F. PetWatch: A consumer's guide and educational campaign promoting healthy pets
for families and the environment. Conservation Medicine Symposium, RI. April 2009.
Organized Symposia
"Synergies Between Ecology and Economics: Cross-Pollination and Gains from Trade," organizer, Ecological
Society of America Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, August 10, 2015.
“Complex systems modelling to support biodiversity conservation”, co-organizer, International Congress for
Conservation Biology & European Congress for Conservation Biology, Monpellier, France, Aug. 3, 2015.
OTHER LEADERSHIP, SERVICE, & TRAINING
Ph.D. program committee, Bren School, UCSB (2013-2014)
Dean’s advisory committee, Bren School, UCSB (2013-2014)
Chair of the student committee, Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium (2012-2014)
Colloquium committee, Bren School, UCSB (2013-2015)
Reviewer for Ecology Letters, Journal of Applied Ecology, Ecography, Coral Reefs, Frontiers in
Ecology and Evolution, Ecological Modeling, Journal of Complex Systems
• Structural equation modeling workshop (Universidad Nacional Autónoma Mexico, 2010).
• Communication training, Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea (COMPASS) (2011)
• Ocean policy course at Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford, University (2011)
• • • • • RELEVANT SKILLS:
Computer programs: R, LaTeX, MatLab, Microsoft software, JMP, STATA
Languages: English (native), French (proficient), Bahasa Indonesia (basic)
Other: Social Media (Twitter: @LauraEllenDee), SCUBA Diving Instructor (PADI) and AAUS Scientific
Diver (2005-Present)
REFERENCES
Steven Gaines, Ph.D.
Dean, Bren School, UCSB
gaines@bren.ucsb.edu; (805) 893-8062
David Tilman, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Minnesota
tilman@umn.edu; 612-625-5740
Jennifer Caselle, Ph.D.
Researcher, Marine Science Institute, UCSB
Jenn.caselle@ ucsb.edu; (805) 893-5144
Christopher Costello, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, Bren School, UCSB
costello@bren.ucsb.edu; (805) 893-5802
Bruce Kendall, Ph.D.
Professor, Bren School, UCSB
kendall@bren.ucsb.edu; (805) 893- 7539