College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Aquatic Ecologist, U.S. Forest Service

Biography: Dr. MacKenzie is an aquatic ecologist working for the US Forest Service in Hilo, Hawaii.  During his 20 year career, he has studied the ecological and biogeochemical function of streams, wetlands, and mangroves in the United States and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. His published work includes quantifying the habitat value, biogeochemical cycles, and hydrological cycles of aquatic ecosystems as well as the impacts of invasive species, land-use change, and climate change to those systems. Currently, he has been working on a USAID funded collaboration between CIFOR and the US Forest Service called the Sustainable Wetland Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP). This global program helps countries quantify ecosystem services of mangroves and tropical wetlands, assesses the impacts of land use on those services, and more recently has been developing strategies to increase the resilience of mangroves to climate change and other stressors.