Publications

For a complete list of Jane's publications, please see her Google Scholar profile. Her highest-cited paper has over 14,000 citations (Vitousek et al. 1997 ). She has 17 papers with over 1,000 citations each, and 32 papers with over 500 citations each. Some of her recent papers are below.

The paper, Human domination of Earth’s ecosystems by P. Vitousek, HA Mooney, J Lubchenco and JM Melillo, 1997, in Science, has been cited over 14,000 times. It was one of the first attempts to comprehensively evaluate and quantify the global impact of people on the planet, paving the way for concepts like the Anthropocene (coined by Paul Crutzen and Eugene F. Stoermer in 2000) and drawing attention to the urgent need for stewardship.

The seastar Pisaster ochraceous was the original keystone species (photo credit J. Lubchenco, Fogarty Creek, OR, 2025). After R.T. Paine proposed the keystone species concept, the term became so popular that it was often misused, causing confusion. The paper entitled Challenges in the quest for keystones: identifying keystone species is difficult—but essential to understanding how loss of species will affect ecosystems by ME Power et al. in BioScience brought new insights into keystone species across diverse ecosystems, clarifying what is and is not a keystone species, and reducing confusion. It has been cited over 2,000 times.

Recent publications:

Lubchenco, J. 2026. The High Seas Treaty spells hope for the ocean, but only if it is powered by science. Nat. Rev. Biodivers. 2, 2–3. ReadCube link: https://rdcu.be/eY7is
Tallis, H et al. 2024. Mainstreaming Nature in U.S. Federal Policy. Science. 385 (6708): 498-501. (don’t miss the Supplementary Materials)
Preston, BL et al. 2024, Global Change Research for a More Secure World. Eos. 105.

Osterblom, H et al. 2022. Scientific Mobilization of Keystone Actors for Biosphere Stewardship. Scientific Reports. 12:3802.

Nelson, A. and J. Lubchenco. 2022. Strengthening Scientific Integrity. Editorial. Science. Vol.375:247.

Grorud-Colvert, et al. 2021. The MPA Guide: a framework to achieve global goals for the ocean. Science. also see: The MPA Guide
Sala, E, et al. 2021. Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food, and climate. Nature.
Folke, C, et al. 2021. Our Future in the Anthropocene Biosphere. Ambio.
Liu, J, et al. 2021. Coupled Human and Natural Systems: the Evolution and Applications of an Integrated Framework. Ambio.
Lubchenco, J, Haugan, P, and M Pangestu. 2020. Five Priorities for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. Nature. 588:30-32.
Stuchtey, Martin R, et al. 2020. Ocean Solutions that Benefit People, Nature and the Economy. 148p. Report. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

The level of protection, and therefore the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas, will greatly influence the future state of the ocean. Past ocean ecosystems had abundant and diverse species and habitats. Over time, expanded and intensified human activities depleted and disrupted ocean ecosystems and reduced their services. MPAs, in conjunction with climate mitigation strategies and more sustainable uses of the ocean, can conserve and restore biodiversity and the resilient ecosystems needed for human well-being. Different levels of protection will result in different outcomes, if enabling conditions are satisfied. Image from Grorud-Colvert et al. 2021

Costello, C, L. et al. 2020. The Future of Food from the Sea. Nature. 588: 95-100
Steffen, W et al. 2020. The emergence and evolution of Earth System Science. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. Jan 2020, 1: 54-63.
Lubchenco, J and C. Rapley. 2020. “Our Moment of Truth: The Social Contract Realized?” Environmental Research Letters. 15:110201.
Hough-Guldberg, O, E. Northrop, and J. Lubchenco. 2019. The ocean is key to achieving climate and societal goals. Science. 365(6460): 1372-4.
Lubchenco, J. and S.D. Gaines. 2019. A New Narrative for the Ocean. Science. 364 (6444) p. 911

Chan, F et al. 2019. The dynamics and impact of ocean acidification and hypoxia. Oceanography. 32(3): 62-71
Menge, B.A et al. 2019. PISCO: Advances Made Through the Formation of a Large-Scale, Long-Term Consortium for Integrated Understanding of Coastal Ecosystem dynamics. Oceanography. 32(3):16-25.
Lubchenco, J et al. 2019. Connecting Science to Policy Makers, Managers, and Citizens. Oceanography. 32(3):106–115.

Recent Book:

Lubchenco, J. and P. M. Haugan, editors. 2023. The Blue Compendium: from Knowledge to Action for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. xii + 915 pages. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. ISBN 978-3-16276-3 for hard copy book; ISBN 978-3-031-16277-0 for Open Access e-book.

Recent Book Chapter:

Mattison, C. and J. Lubchenco. 2019. Clay, Coral, and Climate Change: Conserving the Seas through Ceramic Art. Pp 40-49 In J. S. Parsons, ed., Catalogue for Fragile Earth: The Naturalist Impulse in Contemporary Art, Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, CT; 120 pp.

Jane Lubchenco and Courtney Mattison in Washington D.C., 2012

The Blue Compendium, edited by J Lubchenco and PM Haugan, 2023, 2024, contains the Blue Papers and Special Reports commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy – most of which were published in one of the Nature journals – plus a synthesis report prepared for the Ocean Panel and the Ocean Panel’s own “Transformations for a Sustainable Ocean Economy” historic commitments.