Expert Profile
Joleah Lamb
Assistant Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Joleah Lamb's research focuses on natural buffers for mitigating infectious diseases that threaten coral reefs in coastal regions.
Areas of Expertise
- Coral Reefs Ecosystems
- Conservation Biology
- Ocean Health
- Ocean Pollution
- Disease Ecology
- Marine Protected Areas
Biography
Dr. Lamb is currently a NatureNet Fellow at Cornell University with The Nature Conservancy and holds a PhD in Tropical Marine Ecology and Fisheries Biology from James Cook University in Australia. As a marine disease ecologist, her current research focuses on identifying and assessing natural buffers for mitigating infectious diseases that threaten coral reefs and human livelihoods in developing coastal regions. To do this she employs a variety of field-based sampling methods, remote sensing tools and microbial sequencing techniques.
Dr. Lamb’s previous research revealed the impacts of marine-based industries on the development of diseases that devastate reef-building corals – including dredging for coastal development and natural resource extraction, mass tourism, and fishing. She also examined whether existing coral reef management strategies are effective for mitigating marine diseases, such as the use of marine protected areas. Her research on the Great Barrier Reef lead to the first study to demonstrate that marine protected areas are effective for mitigating coral disease outbreaks by directly displacing human activities.
Aligning with the many goals of the CCRES project, Dr. Lamb is ultimately interested in promoting the conservation of ecosystem health by valuing the economic benefits of services provided by nature and offering practical solutions for managing the balance between development and the maintenance of natural areas. She has extensive experience working on coral reefs in Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and the Philippines.
Media
Media Appearances
Gov. Newsom signs new law taking aim at single-use plastics
KCBS Radio, 7/1/2022
The Surprising Scale of the Seagrass Sanitation Service
Hakai Magazine, 5/4/2022
The thick of it: Delving into the neglected global impacts of human waste
Mongabay, 1/11/2022
Half of the World’s Coastal Sewage Pollution Flows from Few Dozen Places
Scientific American, 11/12/2021
Marine researchers focus on the tiniest victims of Orange County oil spill
Los Angeles Times, 10/9/2021
Wildlife official: 4 oiled birds collected so far in OC spill, 1 euthanized
Spectrum News 1, 10/4/2021
Articles
Coastal urbanization influences human pathogens and microdebris contamination in seafood
Science of The Total Environment, 1/1/1970
Science-based solutions to plastic pollution
One Earth, 1/1/1970
Plastics and Shallow Water Coral Reefs: Synthesis of the Science for Policy-Makers,
UN Environment Programme, 1/1/1970
Social–environmental drivers inform strategic management of coral reefs in the Anthropocene
Nature Ecology & Evolution volume, 1/1/1970
Reduced diversity and stability of coral-associated bacterial communities and suppressed immune function precedes disease onset in corals
Royal Society Open Science, 1/1/1970
Education
James Cook University
PhD, Marine Biology, 2014
James Cook University
MS, Tropical Marine Ecology & Fisheries Biology, 2009
University of Oregon
BS, Biology, 2005
Accomplishments
- Early Career Fellow
- Outstanding Science & Engineering Early Career Alumni Award
- University Dean's Scholar