The Environmental Significance of Biodiversity

Shahid Naeem is professor and chair of Columbia University's Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology. He leads a research group studying the ecological consequences of biodiversity loss and has been actively involved in bringing the science of biodiversity to conservation, restoration, and policy development. In particular, his work has demonstrated how an ecosystem's loss of species affects its ability to resist invasion by other species, its production and nutrient cycling, and its overall stability. Naeem is coauthor of Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, and Human Wellbeing: An Ecological and Economic Perspective. He earned a PhD in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley, and has held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington. Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture.