About

Marc J S Hensel is a Research Assistant Professor in Coastal Ecology within the Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences at the University of Florida, part of the UF/IFAS Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. His research focuses on the effects of global change on foundation species and keystone interactions that influence biodiversity and climate resilience. He integrates natural history, field experiments, and quantitative techniques to connect patterns and processes across scales in coastal ecosystems located in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and throughout the US Atlantic coast. Hensel's lab conducts projects that describe biodiversity's role in climate resilience, utilize predictive modeling to evaluate coastal management effectiveness, quantify the effects of climate-shifting species on food webs, and investigate how megafauna control coastal Florida plant communities. His work aims to deepen understanding of ecological dynamics in coastal environments and inform strategies for ecosystem management and conservation.

Research topics

• Biology
• Environmental science
• Ecology
• Oceanography
• Natural resource economics
• Geography
• Business
• Environmental planning
• Environmental resource management
• Geology

Selected publications

• Rise of<i>Ruppia</i>in Chesapeake Bay: Climate change–driven turnover of foundation species creates new threats and management opportunities

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2023 · 34 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Ecology
  • Environmental science
  • Oceanography

  ) that has likewise benefited from large-scale nutrient reductions. However, this phase shift in dominant seagrass identity now presents two significant shifts for management: Widgeongrass meadows are not only responsible for rapid, extensive recoveries but also for the largest crashes over the last four decades; and, while adapted to high temperatures, are much more susceptible than eelgrass to nutrient pulses driven by springtime runoff. Thus, by selecting for rapid post-disturbance recolonization but low resistance to punctuated freshwater flow disturbance, climate change could threaten the Chesapeake Bay seagrass' ability to provide consistent fishery habitat and sustain functioning over time. We demonstrate that understanding the dynamics of the next generation of foundation species is a critical management priority, because shifts from relatively stable habitat to high interannual variability can have far-reaching consequences across marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

  DOI

• A general pattern of trade-offs between ecosystem resistance and resilience to tropical cyclones

  Science Advances · 2022 · 64 citations

  • Ecology
  • Environmental science
  • Oceanography

  = 26 storms occurring between 1985 and 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere to predict how coastal ecosystems will respond to future disturbance regimes. Data were grouped by ecosystems (fresh water, salt water, terrestrial, and wetland) and response categories (biogeochemistry, hydrography, mobile biota, sedentary fauna, and vascular plants). We observed a repeated pattern of trade-offs between resistance and resilience across analyses. These patterns are likely the outcomes of evolutionary adaptation, they conform to disturbance theories, and they indicate that consistent rules may govern ecosystem susceptibility to tropical cyclones.

  DOI

• Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment

  Biological Conservation · 2021 · 168 citations

  • Environmental planning
  • Environmental resource management
  • Geography
  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Brian R. Silliman

  Duke University

  19 shared

• Jarrett E. K. Byrnes

  8 shared

• Enie Hensel

  William & Mary

  7 shared

• Robin Elahi

  Pacific University

  5 shared

• Carter S. Smith

  Duke University

  5 shared

• Qiang He

  Sichuan University

  5 shared

• Cai Ladd

  Swansea University

  4 shared

• Stuart R. Jenkins

  4 shared

Similar researchers at University of Florida

• Steven T DeKoskyh-162
• Matthew Farrerh-133
• George Christouh-133
• Mark A Atkinsonh-129
• Christiaan Leeuwenburghh-125