Jennifer E. Smith is an American marine ecologist and coral reef expert who works at the

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is the center for oceanography and Earth science at the University of California, San Diego. Its main campus is located in La Jolla, with additional facilities in Point Loma. Founded in 1903 and incorpo ...

. Her research investigates how physical and biological processes impact the function of marine communities.

Early life and education

Smith was an undergraduate student at the

California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt or Humboldt) is a public university in Arcata, California. It is one of three polytechnic universities in the California State University (CSU) system and the northernmost c ...

, where she majored in zoology. She moved to the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...

for her doctoral research, which investigated

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in fresh water or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompass ...

s and the impacts of nutrients and invasive species on community structure supervised by Tropical reefs are increasingly dominated by algal blooms, with different types of algal blooms emerging on different reefs in the Hawaiian Islands. She identified that non-indigenous marine algae require strategic management to avoid dominating over native plants.

Research and career

After her PhD, Smith was appointed a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

at the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System is a public college and university system in Hawaii. The system confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven community colleges, an employment training center, ...

, where she worked on the causes of macroalgal blooms on Maui. Smith joined the

in 2005. She was appointed an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

in 2008 and an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in 2014. Her research investigates coral reef ecology and how various biological processes impact benthic communities. Specifically, she is interested in diversity within coral reef communities, and how to better understand coral reef restoration. She has visited the same coral reefs every year for over a decade, allowing her to better understand how they change over time. She also identified that adding a small amount of ''

Asparagopsis ''Asparagopsis'' is a genus of edible red algae, red macroalgae (Rhodophyta). The species ''Asparagopsis taxiformis'' is found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions, while ''Asparagopsis armata'' is found in temperate climate, warm tem ...

'' to cattle feed can reduce the methane emissions from dairy cows. Smith studied corals in the remote central Pacific and identified that in the absence of human disturbance, coral reefs were relatively resilient to climate-associated impacts.

Selected publications

* ''Global analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of primary producers in freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems'' * ''Baselines and degradation of coral reefs in the Northern Line Islands'' * ''High-frequency dynamics of ocean pH: a multi-ecosystem comparison''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jennifer E. Living people California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Scripps Institution of Oceanography faculty 1972 births