Canty, Steven
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center staff
0000-0001-9927-7736
Canty, Steven
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center staff
Steve Canty is the director of the MarineGEO program, based at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). MarineGEO is a pan-Smithsonian Institution initiative that partners around the world dedicated to tracking the vital signs of coastal marine life, diagnosing the causes of change, and informing science-based solutions to build coastal resilience, using standardized and coordinated methods. The groups research focuses on the biodiversity of coastal systems nearshore because this is where biodiversity and people are concentrated and interact most.
Positions
- Director, Marine Global Earth Observatory , Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network 2025 -
- Research Biologist, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 2022 - 2025
- Seascapes Advisor, Working Land and Seascapes, Smithsonian Institution 2017 - 2023
- Program coordinator, NMNH - Smithsonian Marine Station , National Museum of Natural History 2015 - 2022
Geographic Focus
- Belize Country
- Caribbean Transnational Region
- Guatemala Country
- Honduras Country
- Mexico Country
- Puerto Rico State or Province
- South America Continent
Background And Education
Education And Training
- Ph.D. in Environmental Biology, Manchester Metropolitan University 2014 - 2021
- M.S. in Environmental Science and Sustainability Studies, Lund University , Centre for Sustainability Studies 2005 - 2007
- B.S. in Marine Biology, Swansea University , Department of Biology 1998 - 2001
Research And Grants
Investigator On
- Mangrove and seagrass carbon storage estimates for Belize awarded by Pew Charitable Trusts 2020 -
- Mangrove restoration and the potential of blue carbon in the Mesoamerican reef ecoregion awarded by Getch Foundation 2019 -
- Promoting mangrove management in the MAR awarded by The Summit Foundation 2019 -
- Connectivity within the MAR awarded by RARE Inc.
- Fish Forever in the MAR: Managed Access and No-Take Reserves through a New Municipal Network Model awarded by RARE Inc.
- Global FinPrint Honduras awarded by Florida International University
- Integrating Ecology and Population Connectivity into Marine Area Management for the Mesoamerican Reef awarded by RARE Inc.
- Integrating Ecology and Population Connectivity into Marine Area Management for the Mesoamerican Reef awarded by RARE Inc.
- Integrating Ecology and Population Connectivity into Marine Area Management for the Mesoamerican Reef awarded by RARE Inc.
- Science to Enable Marine Conservation in the MAR awarded by The Summit Foundation
Publications
Selected Publications
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Academic Article
- Evaluating tools for the spatial management of fisheries. Journal of Applied Ecology. 1-8. 2018
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Article
- Yadao-Evans, Whitney, Lopez, Diana E., Aigrette, Lalao, Arce-Peña, Norma, Beeston, Mark, Canty, Steven W. J., De Silva, Shenelly, Grimm, Kerry E., Hamilton, Jill, House, Jenny, Howard, Jennifer, James, Robyn, Lawless, Sarah, Mangubhai, Sangeeta, McDougall, Cynthia, Montgomery, Kaela, Naggea, Josheena, Nightingale, Maeve, Pidgeon, Emily, Rahman, Serina, Westerman, Kame, Yaakub, Siti Maryam, and Ying, Lynette. 2025. "Advancing interdisciplinary science of gender is key to the success of blue carbon initiatives." Nature Communications, 16, (1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65593-3. 2025
- Viquez, Yonathan, Das, Barnali, Kotikot, Susan M., Baloukas, Eleftheria, Canty, Steven W. J., Cissell, Jordan R., Romero-Gonzalez, Tania, Connette, Grant, and Collin, Rachel. 2025. "Application of open access data for documenting mangrove cover, cover change, and uncertainty in Panama." Bulletin of Marine Science, 101, (3) 1475–1495. https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.2024.0001. 2025
- Punalekar, Suvarna M., Nowakowski, A. J., Canty, Steven W. J., Fergus, Craig, Huang, Qiongyu, Songer, Melissa, and Connette, Grant M. 2025. "Characterizing Role of Spatial Features in Improving Mangrove Classification—A Case Study over the Mesoamerican Reef Region." Remote Sensing, 17, (16). https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17162837. 2025
- Canty, Steven W. J., Cifuentes-Jara, Miguel, Herrera-Silveira, Jorge, Morrissette, Hannah K., Cissell, Jordan R., Acosta-Velázquez, Joanna, Cherrington, Emil, Feller, Ilka C., Friess, Daniel A., Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Simpson, LoraeT, and Teutli-Hernandez, Claudia. 2025. "Implications of improved remote sensing capabilities on blue carbon quantification." Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109275. 2025
- Bonilla Anariba, Sara E., Sanders, Arie, and Canty, Steven W. J. 2025. "Promoting gender equity in marine protected areas: A self-assessment tool." Marine Policy, 173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106526. 2025
- Kotikot, Susan M., Spencer, Olivia, Cissell, Jordan R., Connette, Grant, Smithwick, Erica A. H., Durdall, Allie, Grimes, Kristin W., Stewart, Heather A., Tzadik, Orian, and Canty, Steven W. J. 2024. "Building a mangrove ecosystem monitoring tool for managers using Sentinel-2 imagery in Google Earth Engine." Ocean & Coastal Management, 256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107307. 2024
- Canty, Steven W. J., Nowakowski, A. J., Cox, Courtney E., Valdivia, Abel, Holstein, Daniel M., Limer, Benjamin, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Craig, Nicole, Drysdale, Ian, Giro, Ana, Soto, Mélina, and McField, Melanie. 2024. "Interplay of management and environmental drivers shifts size structure of reef fish communities." Global Change Biology, 30, (4). https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17257. 2024
- Gatt, Yasmine M., Walton, Rowana W., Andradi-Brown, Dominic A., Spalding, Mark D., Acosta-Velázquez, Joanna, Adame, Maria Fernanda, Barros, Francisco, Beeston, Mark A., Bernardino, Angelo Fraga, Buelow, Christina A., Cadier, Charles, Vela, Alejandra Calzada Vazquez, Canty, Steven W. J., Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid, Gomes, Luiz Eduardo de Oliveira, Duncan, Clare, Eger, Aaron M., Enright, James A., Frausto-Illescas, Tannia C., Friess, Daniel A., Glass, Leah, Grimsditch, Gabriel, Hagger, Valerie, Hein, Margaux Y., Herrera-Silveira, Jorge A. et al. 2024. "The Mangrove Restoration Tracker Tool: Meeting local practitioner needs and tracking progress toward global targets." One Earth, 7, (11). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.09.004. 2024
- Cheng, Samantha H., Costedoat, Sebastien, Sigouin, Amanda, Calistro, Gabriel F., Chamberlain, Catherine J., Lichtenthal, Peter, Mills, Morena, Nowakowski, A. Justin, Sterling, Eleanor J., Tinsman, Jen, Wiggins, Meredith, Brancalion, Pedro H. S., Canty, Steven W. J., Fritts-Penniman, Allison, Jagadish, Arundhati, Jones, Kelly, Mascia, Michael B., Porzecanski, Ana, Zganjar, Chris, and Brenes, Carlos L. Muñoz. 2023. "Assessing evidence on the impacts of nature-based interventions for climate change mitigation: a systematic map of primary and secondary research from subtropical and tropical terrestrial regions." Environmental Evidence, 12, (1) 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-023-00312-3. 2023
- Morrissette, Hannah K., Baez, Stacy K., Beers, Lisa, Bood, Nadia, Martinez, Ninon D., Novelo, Kevin, Andrews, Gilbert, Balan, Luis, Beers, C. S., Betancourt, Sumeet A., Blanco, Reynel, Bowden, Eeryn, Burns-Perez, Virginia, Carcamo, Mercedes, Chevez, Luis, Crooks, Stephen, Feller, Ilka C., Galvez, Galento, Garbutt, Kent, Gongora, Ronny, Grijalva, Edalmi, Lefcheck, Jonathan, Mahung, Alwyn, Mattis, Colin, McKoy, Tre et al. 2023. "Belize Blue Carbon: Establishing a national carbon stock estimate for mangrove ecosystems." Science of The Total Environment, 870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161829. 2023
- Nowakowski, A. Justin, Canty, Steven W. J., Bennett, Nathan J., Cox, Courtney E., Valdivia, Abel, Deichmann, Jessica L., Akre, Thomas S., Bonilla-Anariba, Sara E., Costedoat, Sebastien, and McField, Melanie. 2023. "Co-benefits of marine protected areas for nature and people." Nature Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01150-4. 2023
- Amaral, Cibele, Poulter, Benjamin, Lagomasino, David, Fatoyinbo, Temilola, Taillie, Paul, Lizcano, Gil, Canty, Steven, Silveira, Jorge Alfredo Herrera, Teutli-Hernández, Claudia, Cifuentes-Jara, Miguel, Charles, Sean Patrick, Moreno, Claudia Shantal, González-Trujillo, Juan David, and Roman-Cuesta, Rosa. 2023. "Drivers of mangrove vulnerability and resilience to tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Basin." Science of The Total Environment, 898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165413. 2023
- Johnson, Gabriel, Canty, Steven W. J., Lichter‐Marck, Isaac H., Wagner, Warren, and Wen, Jun. 2023. "Ethanol preservation and pretreatments facilitate quality DNA extractions in recalcitrant plant species." Applications in Plant Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1002/aps3.11519. 2023
- Grimm, Kerry E., Archibald, Jessica L., Bonilla-Anariba, Sara, Bood, Nadia, and Canty, Steven W. J. 2023. "Framework for fostering just and equitable seagrass policy, management, and social-ecological outcomes: Lessons learned from Belizean marine resource managers." Marine Policy, 152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105606. 2023
- Buelow, Christina A., Connolly, Rod M., Turschwell, Mischa P., Adame, Maria F., Ahmadia, Gabby N., Andradi-Brown, Dominic A., Bunting, Pete, Canty, Steven W. J., Dunic, Jillian C., Friess, Daniel A., Lee, Shing Yip, Lovelock, Catherine E., McClure, Eva C., Pearson, Ryan M., Sievers, Michael, Sousa, Ana I., Worthington, Thomas A., and Brown, Christopher J. 2022. "Ambitious global targets for mangrove and seagrass recovery." Current Biology, 32, (7) 1641–1649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.013. 2022
- Canty, Steven W. J. and Deichmann, Jessica L. 2022. "Do small-scale fisheries have the capacity to provide food security to coastal populations?" Fish and Fisheries, https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12643. 2022
- Muñoz-Abril, Laia, Torres, Maria de Lourdes, Valle, Carlos A., Rubianes-Landázuri, Francisco, Galván-Magaña, Felipe, Canty, Steven W. J., Terán, Martin A., Brandt, Margarita, Chaves, Jaime A., and Grewe, Peter M. 2022. "Lack of genetic differentiation in yellowfin tuna has conservation implications in the Eastern Pacific Ocean." PLOS ONE, 17, (8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272713. 2022
- Canty, Steven W. J., Kennedy, John Paul, Fox, Graeme, Matterson, Kenan, Gonzalez, Vanessa L., Nunez-Vallecillo, Mayra L., Preziosi, Richard F., and Rowntree, Jennifer K. 2022. "Mangrove diversity is more than fringe deep." Scientific Reports, 12, (1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05847-y. 2022
- Canty, Steven W. J., Nowakowski, A. J., Connette, Grant M., Deichmann, Jessica L., Songer, Melissa, Chiaravalloti, Rafael, Dodge, Molly, Feistner, Anna T. C., Fergus, Craig, Hall, Jefferson S., Komatsu, Kimberly J., Linares‐Palomino, Reynaldo, McField, Melanie, Ogburn, Matthew B., Velez‐Zuazo, Ximena, and Akre, Thomas S. 2022. "Mapping a conservation research network to the Sustainable Development Goals." Conservation Science and Practice, https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12731. 2022
- Bennett, Nathan J., Dodge, Molly, Akre, Thomas S., Canty, Steven W. J., Chiaravalloti, Rafael, Dayer, Ashley A., Deichmann, Jessica L., Gill, David, McField, Melanie, McNamara, James, Murphy, Shannon E., Nowakowski, A. J., and Songer, Melissa. 2022. "Social science for conservation in working landscapes and seascapes." Frontiers in Conservation Science, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2022.954930. 2022
- Berger, Madeline, Canty, Steven W. J., Tuholske, Cascade, and Halpern, Benjamin S. 2022. "Sources and discharge of nitrogen pollution from agriculture and wastewater in the Mesoamerican Reef region." Ocean & Coastal Management, 227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106269. 2022
- Moreno, Claudia Shantal, Roman-Cuesta, Rosa, Canty, Steven W. J., Herrera, Jorge, Teutli, Claudia, Muñiz-Castillo, Aarón Israel, McField, Melanie, Soto, Melina, do Amaral, Cibele, Paton, Steven, González-Trujillo, Juan David, Poulter, Benjamin, Schumacher, Melissa, and Durán-Díaz, Pamela. 2022. "Stakeholders' Perceptions of Nature-Based Solutions for Hurricane Risk Reduction Policies in the Mexican Caribbean." Land, 11, (10) 1701. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101701. 2022
- Cheng, Samantha H., Costedoat, Sebastien, Sterling, Eleanor J., Chamberlain, Catherine, Jagadish, Arundhati, Lichtenthal, Peter, Nowakowski, A. Justin, Taylor, Auset, Tinsman, Jen, Canty, Steven W. J., Holland, Margaret B., Jones, Kelly W., Mills, Morena, Morales-Hidalgo, David, Sprenkle-Hyppolite, Starry, Wiggins, Meredith, Mascia, Michael B., and Brenes, Carlos L. Munoz. 2022. "What evidence exists on the links between natural climate solutions and climate change mitigation outcomes in subtropical and tropical terrestrial regions? A systematic map protocol." Environmental Evidence, 11, (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13750-022-00268-w. 2022
- Simpson, Lorae T., Canty, Steven W. J., Cissell, Jordan R., Steinberg, M. K., Cherry, J. A., and Feller, Ilka C. 2021. "Bird rookery nutrient over-enrichment as a potential accelerant of mangrove cay decline in Belize." Oecologia, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-021-05056-w. 2021
- Yando, Erik S., Sloey, Taylor M., Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid, Rogers, Kerrylee, Abuchahla, Guilherme M. O., Cannicci, Stefano, Canty, Steven W. J., Jennerjahn, Tim C., Ogurcak, Danielle E., Adams, Janine B., Connolly, Rod M., Diele, Karen, Lee, Shing Yip, Rowntree, Jennifer K., Sharma, Sahadev, Cavanaugh, Kyle C., Cormier, Nicole, Feller, Ilka C., Fratini, Sara, Ouyang, Xiaoguang, Wee, Alison K. S., and Friess, Daniel A. 2021. "Conceptualizing ecosystem degradation using mangrove forests as a model system." Biological Conservation, 263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109355. 2021
- Canty, Steven W. J., Fox, Graeme, Rowntree, Jennifer K., and Preziosi, Richard F. 2021. "Genetic structure of a remnant Acropora cervicornis population." Scientific Reports, 11, (1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83112-4. 2021
- Cissell, Jordan R., Canty, Steven W. J., Steinberg, Michael K., and Simpson, Lorae T. 2021. "Mapping National Mangrove Cover for Belize Using Google Earth Engine and Sentinel-2 Imagery." Applied Sciences-Basel, 11, (9). https://doi.org/10.3390/app11094258. 2021
- Friess, Daniel A., Yando, Erik S., Abuchahla, Guilherme M. O., Adams, Janine B., Cannicci, Stefano, Canty, Steven W. J., Cavanaugh, Kyle C., Connolly, Rod M., Cormier, Nicole, Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid, Diele, Karen, Feller, Ilka C., Fratini, Sara, Jennerjahn, Tim C., Lee, Shing Yip, Ogurcak, Danielle E., Ouyang, Xiaoguang, Rogers, Kerrylee, Rowntree, Jennifer K., Sharma, Sahadev, Sloey, Taylor M., and Wee, Alison K. S. 2020. "Mangroves give cause for conservation optimism, for now." Current Biology, 30, (4) R153–R154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.12.054. 2020
- Deichmann, Jessica L., Canty, Steven W. J., Akre, Thomas S. B., and McField, Melanie. 2019. "Broadly defining "working lands"." Science, 363, (6431) 1046–1047. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw3007. 2019
- Canty, Steven, Funes, Manuela, Box, Stephen, Zylich, Kyrstn, Derrick, Brittany, Divovich, Esther, Lindop, Alasdair, Pauly, Daniel, and Zeller, Dirk. 2019. "The hidden value of artisanal fisheries in Honduras." Fisheries Management and Ecology, 26, (3) 249–259. https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12346. 2019
- Canty, Steven W. J., Preziosi, Richard F., and Rowntree, Jennifer K. 2018. "Dichotomy of mangrove management: A review of research and policy in the Mesoamerican reef region." Ocean & Coastal Management, 157 40–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.02.011. 2018
- Canty, Steven W. J., Truelove, Nathan K., Preziosi, Richard F., Chenery, Simon, Horstwood, Matthew A. S., and Box, Stephen J. 2018. "Evaluating tools for the spatial management of fisheries." Journal of Applied Ecology, 55, (6) 2997–3004. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13230. 2018
- Chollett, Iliana, Canty, Steven W. J., Box, Stephen J., and Mumby, Peter J. 2014. "Adapting to the impacts of global change on an artisanal coral reef fishery." Ecological Economics, 102 118–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.03.010. 2014
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Chapter
- Canty, Steven and Wolfe, Jaxine. 2024. "Coastal Carbon Network." In The State of the World's Mangroves 2024. Leal, Maricé and Spalding, Mark D., editors. 52. Global Mangrove Alliance/Global Mangrove Watch. (https://doi.org/10.5479/10088/119867) 2024
- Punalekar, Suvarna and Canty, Steven. 2024. "Connecting across Scales." In The State of the World's Mangroves 2024. Leal, Maricé and Spalding, Mark D., editors. 51–54. Global Mangrove Alliance/Global Mangrove Watch. (https://doi.org/10.5479/10088/119867) 2024
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Dataset
- Bennett, Nathan, Dodge, Molly, Akre, Thomas S., Canty, Steven W. J., Chiaravalloti, Rafael, Dayer, Ashley, Deichmann, Jessica L., Gill, David, McField, Melanie, McNamara, James, Murphy, Shannon, Nowakowski, A. Justin, and Songer, Melissa A. 2023. [Dataset] Bennett et al 2022_Ciencias sociales para la conervacion en paisajes terrestres y marinos laborables.pdf. [920124-Bytes] Distributed by Edgewater, Maryland: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. https://doi.org/10.25573/SERC.22325083.V1. 2023
- Morrissette, Hannah, Baez, Stacy K., Schile-Beers, Lisa M., Bood, Nadia, Martinez, Ninon D., Novelo, Kevin, Andrews, Gilbert, Balan, Luis, Beers, C. Scott, Betancourt, Sumeet A., Blanco, Reynel, Bowden, Eeryn, Burns-Perez, Virginia, Carcamo, Mercedes, Chevez, Luis, Crooks, Stephen, Feller, Ilka C., Galvez, Galento, Garbutt, Kent, Gongora, Ronny, Grijalva, Edalmi, Lefcheck, Jonathan S., Mahung, Alwyn, Mattis, Colin, McKoy, Tre et al. 2023. [Dataset] Dataset: National total ecosystem carbon stock for the mangroves of Belize. Distributed by Edgewater, Maryland: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. https://doi.org/10.25573/SERC.21298338.V2. 2023
- Canty, Steven W. J., Cissell, Jordan R., and Steinberg, Michael. 2022. [Dataset] Mangrove maps of the Mesoamerican reef region. Distributed by National Museum of Natural History. https://doi.org/10.25573/DATA.19391447.V1. 2022
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Report
- Grimm, Kerry, Spalding, Mark, Leal, Marice, Kincaid, Kate, Aigrette, Lalao, Amoah-Quiminee, Peace, Amoras, Laercio, Amouine, Didier, Areki, Francis, Arends, Wilfrido, Argueta, José María, Arrieta-Giron, Camilo A., Astra, Apri Susanto, Atuga, Gilbert Nyabochwa, Barillo, Marito, Anariba, Sara Bonilla, Botelho, Manoel, Cabanban, Annadel S., Caceros, Eder, Caicedo, Dalila, Calzada, Alejandra, Canty, Steven, Cardenas, Sandra, Patiño, Guillermo Ricardo Carrera, Castro-Gomez, Julian et al. 2024. Including Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) in Mangrove Conservation & Restoration. A Best-Practice Guide for Practitioners and Researchers. www.mangrovealliance.org: Global Mangrove Alliance. https://doi.org/10.5479/10088/118227. 2024
Editor Of
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Book
- Rivas, Ana Beatriz, González, Claudio, Canty, Steven, Rodríguez Olivet, Carlos, Flamenco, Ximena, González, María José, and Escobedo, Mario, editors. 2020. Estrategia Regional de Manejo, Conservación, Restauración y Monitoreo de Manglares en el Arrecife Mesoamericano. 2020-2025. Guatemala City: Mesoamerican Reef Fund. https://doi.org/10.5479/10088/107486. 2020
- Rivas, Ana Beatriz, González, Claudio, Canty, Steven, Rodríguez Olivet, Carlos, Flamenco, Ximena, González, María José, and Escobedo, Mario, editors. 2020. Regional Strategy for Mangrove Management, Conservation, Restoration and Monitoring in the Mesoamerican Reef 2020-2025. Guatemala City: Mesoamerican Reef Fund. https://doi.org/10.5479/10088/107481. 2020
Contact
Location
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Academic Department
