Joy Zedler
{{short description|American ecologist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Joy B. Zedler
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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1943}}
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| nationality = American
| fields = {{hlist|Restoration ecology|wetland ecology|adaptive management}}
| workplaces = University of Wisconsin–Madison
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Joy Buswell Zedler (born 1943){{cite news |url=http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US201300355709 |title=Vegetational response to microtopography on a central Wisconsin drained marsh |website=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |date=1968 |access-date=2023-04-05}} is an American ecologist and professor of botany at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW), holding the title of Aldo Leopold Chair of Restoration Ecology. In addition to restoration ecology, she specializes in the ecology of wetlands, rare species, interactions between native and introduced species, and adaptive management.{{cite web |url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/410785/When-we-can-say-a-wetland-is-dead |title=When we can say a wetland is dead? |last=Heidari |first=Farnaz |date=February 6, 2017 |work=Tehran Times |access-date=August 18, 2018}}
Career
After earning a PhD in botany at UW, Zedler in 1969 moved to San Diego, California, as her husband took a job at San Diego State University (SDSU).{{cite web|url=https://www.biohabitats.com/newsletter/coastal-habitat-restoration/expert-qa-dr-joy-zedler/|title=Expert Q&A: Dr. Joy Zedler|work=Biohabitats|publisher=Biohabitats|volume=8|issue=2|access-date=August 18, 2018}} She became an SDSU faculty member and joined activist Mike McCoy in preventing the Tijuana River Estuary from being developed into a marina.{{cite web|url=https://sandiegofreepress.org/2014/12/who-is-mike-mccoy/|title=Who is Mike McCoy?|last=Zaragoza|first=Barbara|date=December 10, 2014|work=San Diego Free Press|access-date=August 18, 2018}} She formed SDSU's Pacific Estuarine Research Laboratory.
In 1998, Zedler became the Aldo Leopold Professor of Restoration Ecology at UW. Zedler credited Leopold, who also worked at UW, with pioneering restoration ecology.{{cite web|url=https://news.wisc.edu/birthplace-of-ecological-restoration-celebrates-75-years/|title=Birthplace of ecological restoration celebrates 75 years|publisher=University of Wisconsin–Madison|last=Tenenbaum|first=David|date=June 17, 2009|access-date=August 18, 2018}}
She also in 1998 became director of research for the UW Arboretum.{{cite web|url=https://isthmus.com/news/cover-story/back-to-nature-at-the-uw-arboretum/|title=Back to nature at the UW Arboretum|last=Meine|first=Curt|date=May 29, 2009|work=Isthmus|access-date=August 18, 2018}} She served in this capacity for 18 years, launching studies into invasive species, including how native plants can defend their ecosystems.{{cite web|url=https://www.wisfarmer.com/story/news/2018/08/17/living-legacy-research-uw-arboretum/1025737002/|title=A living legacy of research at the UW Arboretum|last=Gordon|first=Scott|date=August 17, 2018|work=Wisconsin State Farmer|publisher=Gannett |access-date=August 18, 2018}} She was the co-author of a 2010s plan to restore the Mesopotamian Marshes.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/world/middleeast/restoring-iraqs-garden-of-eden.html|title=Restoring Iraq's Garden of Eden|last=Gies|first=Erica|date=April 17, 2013|work=The New York Times |access-date=August 18, 2018}}
Zedler has said that the most immediate impact of wetland destruction—in which "most losses are due to drainage for agriculture"—is a lower denitrification rate, which may raise the level of nitrates in water over the amount safe for children and pregnant women. She has noted that even after wetland restoration efforts, much of the abundance and biodiversity cannot fully recover from damage.{{cite web|url=https://www.wpr.org/wetland-restoration-business-wisconsin%E2%80%99s-growing-mitigation-industry|title=Wetland Restoration As A Business: Wisconsin's Growing Mitigation Industry|last=Kremer|first=Rick|date=April 7, 2017|work=Wisconsin Public Radio|access-date=August 18, 2018|archive-date=August 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819082835/https://www.wpr.org/wetland-restoration-business-wisconsin%E2%80%99s-growing-mitigation-industry|url-status=dead}}
A fellow of the Society of Wetland Scientists and the Ecological Society of America, Zedler edits the journals Restoration Ecology and Ecosystem Health and Sustainability. She is a former member of the board of directors of The Nature Conservancy, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Wisconsin State Natural Areas Preservation Council.
Honors
- 2001 – William A. Niering Outstanding Educator Award, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation{{cite web |url=https://www.erf.org/william-a-niering-award |title=William A. Niering Outstanding Educator Award |publisher=Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation |access-date=August 18, 2018}}
- Zedler Marsh, part of Los Cerritos Wetlands, is named in her honor.{{cite web|url=https://www.presstelegram.com/2013/11/07/re-imagining-the-los-cerritos-wetlands-in-long-beach/ |title=Re-imagining the Los Cerritos Wetlands in Long Beach |last=Scauzillo|first=Steve |date=November 7, 2013|work=Press-Telegram |access-date=August 18, 2018}}
Selected publications
;Journal articles
- {{cite journal|title=Progress in wetland restoration ecology|last=Zedler|first=Joy B.|date=October 1, 2000|journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution|volume=15|issue=10|pages=402–407|doi=10.1016/S0169-5347(00)01959-5|pmid=10998517|url=http://www.umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/pdf/Zedler_restoration.pdf}}
- {{cite journal|title=Causes and consequences of invasive plants in wetlands: opportunities, opportunists, and outcomes|last1=Zedler|first1=Joy B.|last2=Kercher|first2=Suzanne|date=September 1, 2004|journal=Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences|volume=23|issue=5|pages=431–452|publisher=Taylor & Francis|doi=10.1080/07352680490514673|bibcode=2004CRvPS..23..431Z |citeseerx=10.1.1.532.5239|s2cid=1837791}}
- {{cite journal|title=Wetland resources: status, trends, ecosystem services, and restorability|last1=Zedler|first1=Joy B.|last2=Kercher|first2=Suzanne|date=November 11, 2005|journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources|volume=30|pages=39–74|doi=10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144248|doi-access=free}}
;Books
- {{cite book|title=Tidal Wetland Restoration: A Scientific Perspective and Southern California Focus|last=Zedler|first=Joy B.|year=1996|publisher=California Sea Grant College System, University of California|isbn=9781888691023}}
- {{cite book|title=Handbook for Restoring Tidal Wetlands|last=Zedler|first=Joy B.|year=2000|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9781420036619}}
- {{cite book|title=Foundations of Restoration Ecology|editor-last1=Palmer|editor-first1=Margaret A.|editor-last2=Zedler|editor-first2=Joy B.|editor-last3=Falk|editor-first3=Donald A.|year=2016|publisher=Island Press|isbn=9781610916981}}
- {{cite book|title=The Ecology of Tijuana Estuary, California: A National Estuarine Research Reserve (Classic Reprint)|last=Zedler|first=Joy B.|year=2016|publisher=Fb&c Limited|isbn=9781334311000}}
References
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Category:American women ecologists
Category:Fellows of the Ecological Society of America
Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
Category:San Diego State University faculty