Professor
Professor
PhD Zoology Duke University, 1987
B.S. Biology Stanford University, 1982
Conservation Biology, Pollination, Agroecology, Entomology
As a conservation biologist, I seek mechanisms for slowing or preventing the loss of biodiversity, which is one of the greatest environmental challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Estimates of the magnitude of species extinction vary greatly, but one thing is clear – current rates of extinction far exceed those of past major extinction spasms. Largely, this is due to human influence: through resource consumption and land use, humans now dominate all global environmental systems.
Human-caused extinctions not only terminate the existence of countless organisms that evolved over hundreds of millions of years, but in so doing threaten the life support systems on which we depend. Herein lie two fundamentally different, but complementary imperatives for protecting biodiversity: the intrinsic value of the multiplicity of life forms and the evolutionary processes that produced them, and the utilitarian value that the diversity of life provides for our own well-being.
These two value systems lead to quite different, yet complementary, conservation strategies. In the “protected area” strategy, the goal is to conserve as many species as efficiently as possible within a network of reserves. While such protected areas may also provide services to humanity, the main impetus for their creation is the intrinsic value of the biodiversity they contain. In the “ecosystem service” strategy, the goal is to identify and conserve the species that provide important benefits to humans, in the places where these services are most needed. In my research, I work on both of these strategies, because I find that their underlying value-systems are equally compelling, and that together they work in a complementary fashion, often in different parts of landscapes, to reconcile human resource use with biodiversity conservation. A central goal in my approach is to provide information, techniques or tools of use to real-world situations. Each research project, therefore, is designed around a specific applied problem, and then draws broader, generalizable principles from these specific applications.
Learn more about our research by visiting our lab website.
Ponisio, L., L.K M'Gonigle and C. Kremen. 2015. On-farm habitat restoration counters biotic homogenization in intensively-managed agriculture. Global Change Biology. Doi: 10.1111/gcb.13117
Sardinas, H. S., K. Tom, L. C. Ponisio, A. Rominger, and C. Kremen. 2015. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) pollination in California’s Central Valley is limited by native bee nest site location. Ecological Applications. Doi: 10.1890/15-0033.1
Kremen, C. 2015. Reframing the land-sparing/land-sharing debate for biodiversity conservation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Doi: 10.1111/nyas.12845 [Faculty of 1000: Rated as Exceptional]
Kremen, C, and L. K. M'Gonigle. 2015. Small-scale restoration in intensive agricultural landscapes supports more specialized and less mobile pollinator species. Journal of Applied Ecology, 52: 602-610. [Selected as Editor’s Choice]
M’Gonigle, L. K., L. Ponisio, K. Cutler, and C. Kremen. 2015. Habitat restoration promotes pollinator persistence and colonization in intensively-managed agriculture. Ecological Applications, 25:1557–1565.
Karp, D.S., S. Gennet, C. Kilonzo, M. Partyka, N. Chaumont, E.R. Atwill, & C. Kremen. 2015. Comanaging fresh produce for nature conservation and food safety. Proceedings National Academy of Sciences. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1508435112
Sardinas, H.S., and C. Kremen. 2015. Pollination services from field-scale agricultural diversification may be context-dependent. Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment, 207: 17-25.
Ponisio, L.C., L. K. M’Gonigle, K.C. Mace, J. Palomino, P. de Valpine, and C. Kremen. 2015. Diversification practices reduce organic to conventional yield gap. Proc. R. Soc. B, 282: 20141396.
Harmon-Threatt, A.N. and C. Kremen. 2015. Bumble bees selectively use native and exotic species to maintain nutritional intake across highly variable and invaded local floral resource pools. Ecological Entomology, Doi: 10.1111/een.12211.
Garibaldi, L. A., L. G. Carvalheiro, S. D. Leonhardt, M.A. Aizen, B. R. Blaauw, R. Isaacs, M. Kuhlmann, D. Kleijn, A. M. Klein, C. Kremen, L. Morandin, J. Scheper, and R. Winfree. 2014. From research to action: enhancing crop yield through wild pollinators. Frontiers in Ecology, 12(8): 439-447.
Frishkoff, L. O., D. S. Karp, L. K. M’Gonigle, C.D Mendenhall, J. Zook, C. Kremen, E. A. Hadly, and G.C. Daily. 2014. Loss of avian phylogenic diversity in neotropical agricultural systems. Science, 345(6202): 1343-1346.
Winfree, R., N.M. Williams, J. Dushoff, and C. Kremen. 2014. Species abundance, not diet breadth, drives the persistence of the most linked pollinators as plant-pollinator networks disassemble. American Naturalist, 183: 600-611.
Garibaldi, L. A., I. Steffan-Dewenter, R. Winfree, M. A. Aizen, R. Bommarco, S. A. Cunningham, C. Kremen, et al. 2013. Wild Pollinators Enhance Fruit Set of Crops Regardless of Honey Bee Abundance. Science 339:1608-1611.
Kennedy, C., E. Lonsdorf, M. Neel, N. Williams, T. Ricketts, R. Winfree, R. Bommarco, C. Brittain, A. Burley, D. Cariveau, L. Carvalheiro, N. Chacoff, S. Cunningham, B. Danforth, J. Dudenhöffer, E. Elle, H. Gaines, C. Gratton, L. Garibaldi, A. Holzschuh, R. Isaacs, S. Javorek, S. Jha, A. Klein, K. Krewenka, Y. Mandelik, M. Mayfield, L. Morandin, L. Neame, M. Otieno, M. Park, S. Potts, M. Rundlöf, A. Saez, I. Steffan-Dewenter, H. Taki, J. Wilson, B. Viana, C. Westphal, S. Greenleaf, and C. Kremen. 2013. A global quantitative synthesis of local and landscape effects on wild bee pollinators in agroecosystems. Ecology Letters. 16: 584–599.
Brittain, C., N. Williams, C. Kremen, and A. M. Klein.2013. Synergistic effects of non-Apis bees and honey bees for pollination services. Proc R Soc B 280: 1471-2954
Morandin, L.A. and C. Kremen. 2013. Hedgerow restoration promotes pollinator populations and exports native bees to adjacent fields. Ecological Applications. 23:829-839.
Hanna, C., D. Foote, C. Kremen 2013. Invasive species management restores a plant–pollinator mutualism in Hawaii. Journal of Applied Ecology 50: 147–155.
Brittain, C., C. Kremen, and A.M. Klein. 2013. Biodiversity buffers pollination from changes in environmental conditions. Global Change Biology 19:540-547.
Jha, S. and C. Kremen. 2013. Resource diversity and landscape-level homogeneity drive native bee foraging. PNAS. 110:555-558.
Kremen, C., and A. Miles. 2012. Ecosystem services in biologically diversified versus conventional farming systems: benefits, externalities, and trade-offs. Ecology and Society 17(4): 40.
Kremen, C., A. Iles, and C. Bacon. 2012. Diversified farming systems: an agroecological, systems-based alternative to modern industrial agriculture. Ecology and Society 17(4): 44.
Chaplin-Kramer, R., and C. Kremen. 2012. Pest control experiments show benefits of complexity at landscape and local scales. Ecological Applications. 22:1936-1948.
Golden, C.D., B. Rasolofoniaina, E. Anjaranirina, L. Nicolas, L. Ravaoliny, C. Kremen. 2012. Rainforest Pharmacopeia in Madagascar Provides High Value for Current Local and Prospective Global Uses. PLoS ONE 7(7): e41221.
Williams, N. M., J. Regetz, and C. Kremen. 2012. Landscape-scale resources promote colony growth but not reproductive performance of bumblebees. Ecology 93: 1049-1058.
Klein, A.-M., C. Brittain, S. D. Hendrix, R. Thorp, N. Williams, and C. Kremen. 2012. Wild pollination services to California almond rely on semi-natural habitat. Journal of Applied Ecology. 49: 723-732.
Allnutt, T. F., T. R. McClanahan, S. Andrefouet, M. Baker, E. Lagabrielle, C. McClennen, A. J. M. Rakotomanjaka, T.F. Tiansarisoa, R. Watson, and C. Kremen. 2012. Comparison of Marine Spatial Planning Methods in Madagascar Demonstrates Value of Alternative Approaches. PLoS ONE 7(2): e28969.
Garibaldi, L., I. Steffan-Dewenter, C. Kremen, J. Morales, R. Bommarco, S. Cunningham, L. Carvalheiro, N. Chacoff, J. Dudenhöffer, S. Greenleaf, A. Holzschuh, R. Isaacs, K. Krewenka, Y. Mandelik, M. Mayfield, L. Morandin, S. Potts, T. Ricketts, H. Szentgyörgyi, B. Viana, C. Westphal, R. Winfree, and A. Klein. Stability of pollination services decreases with isolation from natural areas despite honey bee visits. 2011. Ecology Letters. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01669.x
Chaplin-Kramer, R., E.J. Blitzer, M.O’Rourke and C. Kremen. 2011. A meta-analysis of crop pest and natural enemy response to landscape complexity. Ecology Letters. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01642.x.
Kremen, C., Ullman, K. S. and Thorp, R. W. 2011. Evaluating the Quality of Citizen-Scientist Data on Pollinator Communities. Conservation Biology, 25: 607-617
Eilers, E.J., C. Kremen, S.S. Greenleaf, A.K.Garber, A.-M. Klein. 2011. Contribution of Pollinator-mediated Crops to Nutrients in the Human Food Supply. PLoS ONE 6: e21363.
Chaplin-Kramer, R., K. Tuxen-Bettman, and C. Kremen. 2011. Value of wildlands habitat for supplying pollination services to Californian agriculture. Rangelands 33:33-41.
Menz, M. H. M., R. D. Phillips, R. Winfree, C. Kremen, M. A. Aizen, S. D. Johnson, and K. W. Dixon. Reconnecting plants and pollinators: challenges in the restoration of pollination mutualisms. Trends in Plant Science. 16:4-12
Golden, C. D., L. C. H. Fernald, J. S. Brashares, B. J. R. Rasolofoniaina, and C. Kremen. 2011. Benefits of wildlife consumption to child nutrition in a biodiversity hotspot. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108:19653-19656.
Potts, S. G., J. C. Biesmeijer, C. Kremen, P. Neumann, O. Schweiger, and W. E. Kunin. 2010. Global pollinator declines: trends, impacts and drivers. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 24:345-353.
Winfree, R., and C. Kremen. 2009. Are ecosystem services stabilized by differences among species? A test using crop pollination. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 276:229-237.
Lonsdorf, E., C. Kremen, T. Ricketts, R. Winfree, N. Williams, and S. Greenleaf. 2009. Modelling pollination services across agricultural landscapes. Annals of Botany 103:1589-1600.
Klein, A. M., C. M. Mueller, P. Hoehn, and C. Kremen. 2009. Understanding the role of species richness for pollination services. Pages 195-208 in D. Bunker, A. Hector, M. Loreau, C. Perrings, and S. Naeem, editors. Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, and Human Wellbeing. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Kremen, C., A. Cameron, A. Moilanen, S. J. Phillips, C. D. Thomas, H. Beentje, J. Dransfield, B. L. Fisher, F. Glaw, T. C. Good, G. J. Harper, R. J. Hijmans, D. C. Lees, E. Louis, R. A. Nussbaum, C. J. Raxworthy, A. Razafimpahanana, G. E. Schatz, M. Vences, D. R. Vieites, P. C. Wright , and M. L. Zjhra. 2008. Aligning Conservation Priorities Across Taxa in Madagascar with High-Resolution Planning Tools. Science 320:222-225.
Ricketts, T. H., J. Regetz, I. Steffan-Dewenter, S. A. Cunningham, C. Kremen, A. Bogdanski, B. Gemmill-Herren, S. S. Greenleaf, A. M. Klein, M. M. Mayfield, L. A. Morandin, A. Ochieng, and B. F. Viana. 2008. Landscape effects on crop pollination services: are there general patterns? Ecology Letters 11:499-515.
Kremen C. and R. Chaplin. 2007. Insects as providers of ecosystem services: crop pollination and pest control. In Insect Conservation Biology: proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society's 23rd Symposium. (Stewart, A.J.A., New, T.R. and Lewis, O.T. (eds)) CABI Publishing, Wallingford, 349-382.
Kremen, C., N. M. Williams, M. A. Aizen, B. Gemmill-Harren, G. LeBuhn, R. Minckley, L. Packer, S. G. Potts, T. Roulston, I. Steffan-Dewenter, D. P. Vazquez, R. Winfree, L. Adams, E. E. Crone, S. S. Greenlead, T. H. Keitt, A. M. Klein, J. Regetz, and T. H. Ricketts. 2007. Pollination and other ecosystem services produced by mobile organisms: a conceptual framework for the effects of land-use change. Ecology Letters 10:299-314.
Williams N. & Kremen C. 2007. Floral resource distribution among habitats determines productivity of a solitary bee, Osmia lignaria, in a mosaic agricultural landscape. Ecological Applications. 17:910-921
Winfree, R., N. M. Williams, J. Dushoff and C. Kremen. 2007. Wild bees provide insurance against ongoing honey bee losses. Ecology Letters. 10:1105-1113
Greenleaf, S., N. Williams, R. Winfree, & Kremen C. 2007. Bee foraging ranges and their relationships to body size. Oecologia. 153:589-596.
Winfree R., Griswold T. & Kremen C. (2007). Effect of human disturbance on bee communities in a forested ecosystem. Conservation Biology 21:213-223.
Klein A.M., Vaissière B., Cane J.H., Steffan-Dewenter I., Cunningham S.A., Kremen C. & Tscharntke T. (2007). Importance of crop pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 274: 303-313.
Zhang,W., T. H. Ricketts ; C. Kremen , K.Carney & S. M. Swinton. 2007, Ecosystem Services and Dis-services to Agriculture. Ecological Economics. 64, 253-260.
Greenleaf, S. S. and C. Kremen (2006). Wild bees enhance honey bees' pollination of hybrid sunflower. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103: 13890-13895.
Kremen, C. 2005. Managing for ecosystem services: what do we need to know about their ecology? Ecology Letters, 8:468-479.
Larsen, T. H., N. M. Williams and C. Kremen. 2005. Extinction order and altered community structure rapidly disrupt ecosystem functioning. Ecology Letters, 8:538-547.
Kremen, C., N. M. Williams, R. L. Bugg, J. P. Fay and R. W. Thorp. 2004. The area requirements of an ecosystem service: crop pollination by native bee communities in California. Ecology Letters, 7:1109-1119.
Kremen, C., Williams, N. M. and R. W. Thorp. 2002. Crop pollination from native bees at risk from agricultural intensification. PNAS 99:16812-16816. (Selected as “Editor’s Choice”, Science, 12/20/2002).
Kremen, C. Niles, J., Dalton, M., Daily, G., Ehrlich, P., Fay, P., Grewal, D. and R. P. Guillery. 2000. Economic incentives for rain forest conservation across scales. Science, 288, 1828-1832.
Kremen, C., Razafimahatratra, V., Guillery, R. P., Rakotomalala, J., Weiss, A., and J. Ratsitsompatrarivo. 1999. Designing a new national park in Madagascar based on biological and socio-economic data. Conservation Biology, 13,1055-1068.
Kremen, C., Lance, K. and I. Raymond. 1998. Interdisciplinary tools for monitoring conservation impacts in Madagascar. Conservation Biology, 12, 549-563.
Kremen, C., Colwell, R., Erwin, T. L., Murphy, D. D., Noss, R. F. and S. Muttulingam. 1993. Terrestrial arthropod assemblages: their use as indicators for biological inventory and monitoring programs. Conservation Biology, 7, 796-808.
Kremen, C. 1992. Assessing indicator species assemblages for natural areas monitoring: guidelines from a study of rain forest butterflies in Madagascar. Ecological Applications, 2, 203-217.
- Honorable John C. Pritzlaff Conservation Award, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 2014
- California Academy of Sciences Fellow, 2013
- Dept. of Pesticide Regulation Integrated Pest Management Innovator Award (with Rachel Long, Lora Morandin and John Anderson), 2013
- MacArthur Foundation Fellow, 2007-2012
- Distinguished Alumni Award, Durham Academy, Durham, NC, 2009
- Special Achievement in GIS Award from Environmental Systems Research Institute (to the REBIOMA Project), 2007
- Hellman Faculty Fellow, University of California, 2007-2008
- Chancellor’s Partnership Fellow, University of California, 2007-2008
- Presidential Chairs Fellow, University of California, 2005-2006
- 158 - Biodiversity Conservation in Working Landscapes
- H196 - HONORS RESEARCH
- 199 - SUPERV INDEP STUDY
- 277 - Advanced Topics in Conservation Biology
- 281 - Sustainable Food and Agriculture Systems
- 298 - DIRECT GROUP STUDY
- 299 - INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH
Contact details
Claire Kremen
On request
CV 130 Mulford Hall
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-3114