I am a seagrass and coastal ecosystems ecologist. My research facilitates the protection, conservation, biological diversity, rehabilitation, management and sustainable development of seagrass resources. I am particularly interested in the status and condition of seagrass resources across a range of scales (from local to global), understanding the role of disturbance, determining thresholds of concern and investigating resilience of seagrass ecosystems. I am also interested in the relationship between seagrass and associated fauna, the impacts of declining water quality and climate change.

Experience

• 1998 to 2012 - Principal Scientist, QLD DAFF (Cairns)
• 1992 to 1998 - Biologist, QLD DPI&F (Cairns)
• 1990 to 1992 - Technical Officer, QLD DPI&F (Cairns)
• 1986 to 1989 - Research Assistant, James Cook University (Townsville)

Research Disciplines

• Environmental management (4104)
• Ecological applications (4102)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Marine systems and management (1805)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Carter A, McKenna S, Rasheed M, Collier C, McKenzie L, Pitcher R and Coles R (in press) Synthesizing 35?years of seagrass spatial data from the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Queensland, Australia. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, , DOI:10.1002/lol2.10193.
• Collier C, Langlois L, McMahon K, Udy J, Rasheed M, Lawrence E, Carter A, Fraser M and McKenzie L (2021) What lies beneath: predicting seagrass below-ground biomass from above-ground biomass, environmental conditions and seagrass community composition. Ecological Indicators, 121, Article: 107156, DOI:10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107156.
• McKenzie L, Yoshida R, Aini J, Andrefouet S, Colin P, Cullen-Unsworth L, Hughes A, Payri C, Rota M, Shaw C, Skelton P, Tsuda R, Vuki V and Unsworth R (2021) Seagrass ecosystems of the Pacific Island countries and territories: a global bright spot. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 167, Article: 112308, DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112308.
• McKenzie L, Yoshida R, Aini J, Andrefouet S, Colin P, Cullen-Unsworth L, Hughes A, Payri C, Rota M, Shaw C, Tsuda R, Vuki V and Unsworth R (2021) Seagrass ecosystem contributions to people's quality of life in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 167, Article: 112307, DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112307.
• Adams M, Koh E, Vilas M, Collier C, Lambert V, Sisson S, Quiroz M, McDonald-Madden E, McKenzie L and O'Brien K (2020) Predicting seagrass decline due to cumulative stressors. Environmental Modelling & Software, 130, Article: 104717, DOI:10.1016/j.envsoft.2020.104717.
• Collier C, Carter A, Rasheed M, McKenzie L, Udy J, Coles R, Brodie J, Waycott M, O’Brien K, Saunders M, Adams M, Martin K, Honchin C, Petus C and Lawrence E (2020) An evidence-based approach for setting desired state in a complex Great Barrier Reef seagrass ecosystem: a case study from Cleveland Bay. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 7, Article: 100042, DOI:10.1016/j.indic.2020.100042.
• McKenzie L and Yoshida R (2020) Over a decade monitoring Fiji's seagrass condition demonstrates resilience to anthropogenic pressures and extreme climate events. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 160, Article: 111636, DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111636.
• McKenzie L, Nordlund L, Jones B, Cullen-Unsworth L, Roelfsema C and Unsworth R (2020) The global distribution of seagrass meadows. Environmental Research Letters, 15 (7), Article: 074041, DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/ab7d06.
• Putman N, Prathep A, Orth R, Norlund L, Norderhaug K, McKenzie L, Montes E, Wernberg T, Miloslavich P, Mieszkowska N, Samper-Villarreal J, Nakaoka M, Serrao E, Short F, Pinto I, Steinberg P, Stuart-Smith R, van Keulen M, Wang M, Weatherdon L, Unsworth R, Yaakub S, Marsh H, Waycott M, Cullen-Unsworth L, van Tussenbroek B, Duffy J, Benedetti-Cecchi L, Trinanes J, Muller-Karger F, Ambo-Rappe R, Boström C, Buschmann A, Macreadie P, Byrnes J, Creed J, Hu C, Krumhansl K, Krause-Jensen D, Konar B, Johnson C, Coles R, Huang X, Diaz-Pulido G, Goni G, Fortes M, Edgar G, Duarte C and Hurd C (2019) Toward a coordinated global observing system for seagrasses and marine macroalgae. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, Article: 317, pp. 1-26, DOI:10.3389/fmars.2019.00317.
• Unsworth R, McKenzie L, Collier C, Cullen-Unsworth L, Duarte C, Eklöf J, Jarvis J, Jones B and Nordlund L (2019) Global challenges for seagrass conservation. Ambio, 48, pp. 801-815, DOI:10.1007/s13280-018-1115-y.
• Grech A, Hanert E, McKenzie L, Rasheed M, Thomas C, Tol S, Wang M, Waycott M, Wolter J and Coles R (2018) Predicting the cumulative effect of multiple disturbances on seagrass connectivity. Global Change Biology, 24 (7), pp. 3093-3104, DOI:10.1111/gcb.14127.
• Jones B, Unsworth R, McKenzie L, Yoshida R and Cullen-Unsworth L (2018) Crowdsourcing conservation: the role of citizen science in securing a future for seagrass. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 134, pp. 210-215, DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.005.

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 51+ research outputs authored by Mr Len McKenzie from 2007 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.