John N. ("Jack") Kittinger

Dr. John N. (“Jack”) Kittinger is a human geographer and coastal ecologist whose expertise is principally in the human dimensions of marine ecosystems and applying social science research to contemporary challenges in marine resource management, planning and conservation.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawai‘i at M ā noa in 2010 in the Department of Geography, where his research focused on reconstructing long-term baselines of ecological change and understanding how different human interactions mediated environmental conditions in Hawaiian coral reef systems. This historical ecology research integrated quantitative social and ecological data in a “social-ecological systems” approach and drew largely on resilience theory.

After his Ph.D., he focused more fully on applied social science research to characterize patterns of human utilization of marine environments for natural resource management and conservation. His current research focuses primarily on two areas: 1) the resilience and vulnerability of social-ecological interactions through time (marine historical ecology); and 2) the human dimensions of coastal environments and marine governance systems. Dr. Kittinger’s research in both of these fields draws principally from theoretical frameworks in human-environmental relationships, social-ecological systems, and human ecology. He has worked primarily in tropical marine ecosystems and coastal communities in the Hawaiian archipelago, other Pacific Islands, and the US mainland.

Dr. Kittinger earned his B.S. in Biology with a minor in Marine Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his M.S. in Marine Science for the University of San Diego.  

Publications

McClenachan, L. E., and J. N. Kittinger. 2012. Multicentury trends and the sustainability of coral reef fisheries in Hawai'i and Florida. Fish and Fisheries: In press: DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-2979.2012.00465.x

Kittinger, J. N., J. M. Pandolfi, J. H. Blodgett, T. L. Hunt, K. Maly, L. E. McClenachan, J. K. Schultz, and B. A. Wilcox. 2011. Historical reconstruction reveals recovery in Hawaiian coral reefs. PLoS ONE 6(10). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0025460

Watson, T. K., J. N. Kittinger, J. S. Walters, and T. D. Schofield. 2011. Culture, conservation and conflict: Assessing the human dimensions of Hawaiian monk seal recovery. Aquatic Mammals 37:386-396. (Special Issue on Monk Seals)

Kittinger, J. N., A. Dowling, A. R. Purves, N. A. Milne, and P. Olsson. 2011. Marine protected areas, multiple-agency management, and monumental surprise in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Journal of Marine Biology 2011:1-17.  (Special Issue on Ecosystem-Based Management of the Pacific Islands) DOI:10.1155/2011/241374

Kittinger, J. N., and A. L. Ayers. 2010. Shoreline armoring, risk management, and coastal resilience under rising seas. Coastal Management 38:634-653. DOI: 10.1080/08920753.2010.529038

Kittinger, J. N., K. Coontz, Z. Yuan, D. Han, X. Zhao, and B. A. Wilcox. 2010. Towards holistic evaluation and assessment: linking ecosystems and human well-being for the Three Gorges Dam. EcoHealth 6(4):601-613. DOI:10.1007/s10393-010-0285-2 

Kittinger, J. N., K. N. Duin, and B. A. Wilcox. 2009. Commercial fishing, conservation and compatibility in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Marine Policy 34(2):208-217. DOI:10.1016/j.marpol.2009.06.007

Kittinger, J. N., D. J. Skillings, K. K. Carvalho, L. L. N. Reeve, M. Hutchinson, K. Cullison, J. Shackeroff, M. Chow, and J. Lemus. 2009. Reconciling ecosystem-based management and focal resource conservation in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Marine Sanctuaries Conservation Series ONMS-09-04. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Silver Spring, MD. [online]http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/conservation/welcome.html

Kittinger, J. N. 2008. The legal nexus in U.S. fisheries management: Application in the Hawaiian longline fishery litigation. University of Hawai‘i Law Review 30(1):269-293.

Powers, S.P. and J.N. Kittinger. 2002. Hydrodynamic mediation of predator-prey interactions: differential patterns of prey susceptibility and predator success explained by variation in water flow. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 273(2):171-187. DOI:10.1016/S0022-0981(02)00162-4