Associate Professor, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre
E-mail: jblythe2@brocku.ca
Twitter: @_JessicaBlythe
Please find my Google Scholar profile here
Education
Ph.D. University of Victoria (Geography)
M.A. York University (Geography)
B.Sc. (Honours) Memorial University (Marine Biology)
About Jessica:
I grew up in St. John’s Newfoundland during the collapse of the North Atlantic cod stocks. Looking back, this experience inspired many of my research interests. Trained as a human geographer, my research explores how various groups of people experience social-ecological change and what explains their differential capacities to respond.
I currently work across three research themes:
1. Transformations to Sustainability
This research thread examines the conditions under which transformations to more sustainable and equitable futures may occur. We ask questions such as: what institutional processes enable sustainability transformations? And what kinds of risks associated with societal transformation?
Blythe, J., Silver, J., Evans, L., Armitage, D., Bennett, N. J., Moore, M. L., … & Brown, K. (2018). The dark side of transformation: Latent risks in contemporary sustainability discourse. Antipode, 50(5), 1206-1223.
Bennett, N. J., Blythe, J., Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M., Singh, G. G., & Sumaila, U. R. (2019). Just transformations to sustainability. Sustainability, 11(14), 3881.
Blythe, J., Cohen, P., Abernethy, K., & Evans, L. (2017). Navigating the transformation to community-based resource management. In Governing the Coastal Commons (pp. 141-156). Routledge.
Blythe, J., Nash, K., Yates, J., & Cumming, G. (2017). Feedbacks as a bridging concept for advancing transdisciplinary sustainability research. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 26, 114-119.
2. Equitable Ocean Governance
My second theme explores how the costs and benefits of various ocean governance arrangements are unevenly distributed across people and places.
Blythe, J., Armitage, D., Alonso, G., Campbell, D., Dias, A. C. E., Epstein, G., … & Nayak, P. (2019). Frontiers in coastal well-being and ecosystem services research: A systematic review. Ocean & Coastal Management, 105028.
Bennett, N. J., Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M., Blythe, J., Silver, J. J., Singh, G., Andrews, N., … & Gelcich, S. (2019). Towards a sustainable and equitable blue economy. Nature Sustainability, 1-3.
Blythe, J., Cohen, P., Eriksson, H., Cinner, J., Boso, D., Schwarz, A. M., & Andrew, N. (2017). Strengthening post-hoc analysis of community-based fisheries management through the social-ecological systems framework. Marine Policy, 82, 50-58.
3. Climate Change Adaptation
My third research theme examines how adaptation to climate change can promote equity, reduce vulnerability and foster social-ecological sustainability. Under this theme, we explore questions such as: what explains the differential capacities to translate adaptative capacity into adaption actions?
Blythe, J., Murray, G., & Flaherty, M. (2014). Strengthening threatened communities through adaptation: insights from coastal Mozambique. Ecology and Society, 19(2).
Whitney, C. K., Bennett, N. J., Ban, N. C., Allison, E. H., Armitage, D., Blythe, J. L., … & Perry, I. (2017). Adaptive capacity: from assessment to action in coastal social-ecological systems. Ecology & Society 22 (2)
Bennett, N. J., Blythe, J., Tyler, S., & Ban, N. C. (2016). Communities and change in the Anthropocene: understanding social-ecological vulnerability and planning adaptations to multiple interacting exposures. Regional Environmental Change, 16(4), 907-926.
More About Jessica
Jessica is the faculty lead on the Niagara Adapts Innovative Partnership project.
- June 17, 2019: Brock partners with seven municipalities to tackle climate change
- April 25, 2019: ‘The scale of climate change can feel scary, so we asked 5 climate scientists to break it down’
- January 11, 2019: The meaning of environmental words matter int he age of “fake news” (Originally published in The Conversation on January 10, 2019)
Blythe, J., Armitage, D., Alonso, G., Campbell, D., Dias, A. C. E., Epstein, G., … & Nayak, P. (2019). Frontiers in coastal well-being and ecosystem services research: A systematic review. Ocean & Coastal Management, 105028
Bennett, N. J., Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M., Blythe, J., Silver, J. J., Singh, G., Andrews, N., … & Gelcich, S. (2019). Towards a sustainable and equitable blue economy. Nature Sustainability, 1-3.
Bennett, N. J., Blythe, J., Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M., Singh, G. G., & Sumaila, U. R. (2019). Just transformations to sustainability. Sustainability, 11(4), 3881.
Diedrich A, Blythe J, Petersen E, Euriga E, Fatchiya A, Shimada T, & Jones C (2019). Socio-economic drivers of adoption of small-scale aquaculture in Indonesia. Sustainability 11(6): 1543.
Blythe J, Silver J, Evans L, Armitage D, Bennett N, Moore M-L, Morrison T, & Brown K (2018) The dark side of transformation: latent risks in contemporary sustainability discourse. Antipode 50(5)
Blythe J, Nash K, Yates J, & Cumming G (2017) Feedbacks as a bridging concept for advancing transdisciplinary sustainability science. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 26: 114-119
Blythe J, Cohen P, Eriksson H, Cinner J, Boso D, Schwarz A-M, & Andrew N (2017) Strengthening post-hoc analysis of community-based fisheries management through the social-ecological systems framework. Marine Policy 82: 50-58
Blythe J, Sulu R, Harohau D, Weeks R, Schwarz A-M, Mills D, & Phillips M (2017) Social dynamics shaping the diffusion of sustainable aquaculture innovations in Solomon Islands. Sustainability 9(1): 126
Blythe J, Cohen P, Abernethy K, & Evans L (2017) Navigating the transformation to community-based resource management. In, Governing the Coastal Commons: Communities, Resilience and Transformation. Armitage D, Charles A, & Berkes F (eds.)
Gurney G, Blythe J, Adams H, Adger N, Curnock M, Faulkner L, James T & Marshall N (2017) Redefining community based on place attachment in a connected world. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114 (38): 10077-10082
Whitney C, Bennett N, Ban N, Allison E, Armitage D, Blythe J, Burt J, Cheung W, Finkbeiner E, Kaplan-Hallam M, Perry I, Turner N & Yumagulova L (2017) Adaptive capacity: from assessment to action in social-ecological systems. Ecology & Society 22(2): 22
Bennett N, Blythe J, Tyler S, & Ban N (2016) Communities and change in the Anthropocene: understanding vulnerability and planning adaptations to multiple interacting exposures. Regional Environmental Change 16(4): 907-926
Cinner J, Pratchett M, Graham N, Messmer V, Fuentes M, Ainsworth T, Ban N, Bay L, Blythe J, et al. (2016) A framework for understanding climate change impacts on coral reef social-ecological systems. Regional Environmental Change: 1-14
Blythe J (2015) Resilience and social thresholds in small-scale fishing communities. Sustainability Science 10(1):157-165
Blythe J, Flaherty M, & Murray G (2015) Vulnerability of coastal livelihoods to shrimp farming: insights from Mozambique. Ambio 44:275-284
Blythe J, Murray G, & Flaherty M (2014) Strengthening threatened communities through adaptation: insights from coastal Mozambique. Ecology & Society 19(2): 6
Blythe J, Murray G, & Flaherty M (2013) Historical perspectives and recent trends in the coastal Mozambican fishery. Ecology & Society 18(4): 65
Blythe J (2013) Social-ecological analysis of integrated agriculture-aquaculture in Dedza, Malawi. Environment, Development, and Sustainability 15(4):1143-1155
Hervey A & Blythe J (2013) Reducing climate change vulnerability in Mozambique: from policy to practice. In, Climate Governance in the Developing World. Held D, Roger C, & Nag E-M (eds.) Polity Press, London, UK, pp. 238-257
BlytheJ, Laurel B, & Brown J (2007) Diel changes in behaviour and habitat use by age-O Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) in the laboratory and field. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 351: 267-275
Kaunda E, Blythe J, Kang’ombe J, & Jere W (2007) Effect of clear plastic pond sheeting on water temperatures and growth of Tilapia rendalli in earthen ponds. Aquaculture Research 38: 1113-1116
