Les Kaufman is an evolutionaryecologist specializing in the biology and conservation ofaquatic ecosystems. He has special expertise incoral reef biology, the evolution and ecology of tropical great lakes fishes, andecosystem-based management of marine resources.
Kaufman received hisBachelor of Science andPh.D. degrees inevolutionary ecology fromJohns Hopkins University, receiving his Ph.D. in 1980. He is based in Boston as a Professor of Biology in theBoston University Marine Program, and a Faculty Fellow in thePardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, where he leads interdisciplinary work on Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS). He conducted post-doctoral research at the HarvardMuseum of Comparative Zoology from 1980 to 1983, where he remains an Associate in Ichthyology. Kaufman worked full-time with theNew England Aquarium from 1983 through 1994, serving as Curator of Education, Curator of Exhibit Research and Development, and Chief Scientist. Since 2005 he has worked as a senior marine scientist and PI for the Marine Management Areas Science Program (www.science2action.org), and since 2012 as Marine Conservation Fellow in the Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science. Since 2010, he has also served on the advisory board of Healthy Reefs for Healthy People.[1][2]
Kaufman has conducted research on coral reefs all over the world, including in theCaribbean, theIndo-Pacific, and theRed Sea. He has published numerous scientific papers on the ecology of coral reefs, as well as on the conservation of marinebiodiversity. In addition to his research, Kaufman has been involved in numerous conservation initiatives, including working to establish marine protected areas and to reduce the impact ofoverfishing on coral reef ecosystems. He has received many honors and awards for his work, including a Pew Marine Conservation Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served as President of theInternational Society for Reef Studies.[3][4][5]
Kaufman is active in public education and outreach, occasionally involved in the production of popular articles, television, and radio for venues such as National Geographic, Ranger Rick, and the National Public Broadcasting System. He has taken part in foursaturation diving missions at theAquariusunderwater laboratory, where he has also performed underwater surgery on fish to implant electronic acoustic tags inside them.[6][7][8][9]
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