Joy Buswell Zedler (born 1943) is an American

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

and professor of

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

(UW), holding the title of

Aldo Leopold Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 – April 21, 1948) was an American writer, philosopher, naturalist, scientist, ecologist, forester, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his ...

Chair of Restoration Ecology. In addition to

restoration ecology Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrupt ...

, she specializes in the ecology of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s, rare species, interactions between native and introduced species, and

adaptive management Adaptive management, also known as adaptive resource management or adaptive environmental assessment and management, is a structured, iterative process of robust decision making in the face of uncertainty, with an aim to reducing uncertainty over ...

Career

After earning a PhD in botany at UW, Zedler in 1969 moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California, as her husband took a job at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

(SDSU). She became an SDSU faculty member and joined activist Mike McCoy in preventing the

Tijuana River Estuary The Tijuana River Estuary is an intertidal coastal wetland at the mouth of the Tijuana River in San Diego County, California, in the United States bordering Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It is the location of the Tijuana River National Estuarin ...

from being developed into a marina. 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. She also in 1998 became director of research for the UW Arboretum. She served in this capacity for 18 years, launching studies into invasive species, including how native plants are able to defend their ecosystems. She was the co-author of a 2010s plan to restore the

Mesopotamian Marshes The Mesopotamian Marshes, also known as the Iraqi Marshes, are a wetland area located in Southern Iraq and in southwestern Iran. The marshes are primarily located on the floodplains of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers bound by the cities of Basra, ...

. 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 Denitrification is a microbially facilitated process where nitrate (NO3−) is reduced and ultimately produces molecular nitrogen (N2) through a series of intermediate gaseous nitrogen oxide products. Facultative anaerobic bacteria perform denitr ...

rate, which may raise the level of

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...

s in water over the amount safe for children and pregnant women. She has noted that even after wetland restoration efforts, much of the

abundance Abundance may refer to: In science and technology * Abundance (economics), the opposite of scarcities * Abundance (ecology), the relative representation of a species in a community * Abundance (programming language), a Forth-like computer prog ...

and biodiversity cannot fully recover from damage. A fellow of the

Society of Wetland Scientists The Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) is an international, professional non-profit organization devoted to promoting understanding, conservation, protection, restoration, science-based management, and sustainability of wetlands. Society membersh ...

and the

Ecological Society of America The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...

, Zedler edits the journals ''

Restoration Ecology Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrupt ...

'' and '' Ecosystem Health and Sustainability''. She is a former member of the board of directors of

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

, the

Environmental Defense Fund Environmental Defense Fund or EDF (formerly known as Environmental Defense) is a United States-based nonprofit environmental advocacy group. The group is known for its work on issues including global warming, ecosystem restoration, oceans, and hu ...

, and the Wisconsin State Natural Areas Preservation Council.

Honors

* 2001 – William A. Niering Outstanding Educator Award,

Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation The Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) is a private, nonprofit organization that was created in 1971. At that time, the members of two regionally based organizations, the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS) and the New England ...

* Zedler Marsh, part of

Los Cerritos Wetlands Los Cerritos Wetlands is located in both Los Angeles County and Orange County in the cities of Long Beach, California, and Seal Beach, California. The San Gabriel River, historically and currently flows through the Los Cerritos Wetlands Complex ...

, is named in her honor.

Selected publications

;Journal articles * * * ;Books * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zedler, Joy 1943 births Living people American ecologists Women ecologists American women biologists Fellows of the Ecological Society of America University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty San Diego State University faculty American women academics 21st-century American women