image: Steve Canty, new director of the Smithsonian's Marine Global Earth Observatory
Credit: Shelby Brown, Smithsonian Institution
Steve Canty has been appointed the new director of the Smithsonian’s Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO) network, effective Sept. 8. Headquartered at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Maryland, MarineGEO is dedicated to understanding what makes coastal ecosystems work, and how to keep them working for billions of people who rely on them for their food, homes or livelihoods.
A marine biologist, Canty has worked for the Smithsonian since 2015. He began at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, Florida, part of the National Museum of Natural History and a MarineGEO partner. While there he headed the station’s Marine Conservation Program, where he worked with communities in Latin America and the Caribbean to promote effective management of marine resources, including mangroves, seagrasses and small-scale fisheries.
Canty joined SERC in 2022, where he continued his community-focused research as head of the Marine Conservation Lab. His lab has worked with the countries of Belize, Panama and Honduras to help shape their “nationally determined contributions” for reducing greenhouse gases as required under the Paris Agreement. This work included creating national estimates for the carbon stored in the mangroves of Belize and Panama.
“MarineGEO is more than a network of observatories—it is a community of people committed to protecting coastal ecosystems for generations to come,” said Ellen Stofan, Under Secretary for Science and Research at the Smithsonian. “Scientists and communities bring their expertise and passion, and together we elevate local science onto a global stage. This is how we transform knowledge into impact.”
“One of the Smithsonian’s strengths is its global reach and vast network of partnerships,” said William “Monty” Graham, director of SERC who served on the selection committee. “Steve brings that global perspective with him to MarineGEO. But his real superpower is being able to work with local communities to meet their specific cultural and geopolitical needs across this global network. We are very happy to welcome Steve to his new role.”
“I have had the pleasure of knowing and collaborating with Steve in the Mesoamerican Reef ecoregion for several years,” said María José González, executive director of the Mesoamerican Reef Fund that has partnered with Canty on much of his work in the region. “His expertise and scientific rigor in applied marine science are truly inspiring. Also admirable is the fact that he is always willing to share information and knowledge with others to achieve lasting conservation results on the ground.”
MarineGEO currently includes 24 core partners who conduct standardized monitoring across different nearshore habitats and nearly 400 project partners who have participated in network projects. Partners come from more than 55 countries on six continents.
Canty said he anticipates building on MarineGEO’s strengths of global partnerships; standardized methods that allow for consistent data collection across sites; and coordinated experiments across large geographic scales. Created in 2013, MarineGEO focuses on research that documents patterns and causes of change in how coastal ecosystems work. Canty hopes to expand how MarineGEO can work with communities to co-develop solutions at local, national, regional and international scales.
“Going forward, we will improve how we integrate science into decision making, allowing us to shift our research toward a more active role in protection and restoration of coastal environments,” Canty said. “Doing so will improve our engagement with a range of ocean advocates and stakeholders and provide opportunities to train the next generation of marine biologists and conservationists.”
“I look forward to working with Dr. Canty to implement his new ideas and approaches in marine sciences,” said Aldo Croquer, a MarineGEO partner and marine ecologist with The Nature Conservancy’s Central Caribbean Program. “Bringing Dr. Canty into MarineGEO will strengthen our network while fostering and harvesting honest and transparent partnerships across the regions. I am sure that under Dr. Canty’s administration, local scientists will be empowered, and our monitoring networks will be boosted.”
Canty is originally from England, but he has lived and worked in many places, including seven years in Honduras. He earned a doctorate in environmental biology from Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom, a Master of Science in environmental studies and sustainability science from Lund University, Sweden, and a Bachelor of Science in marine biology from the University of Wales, Swansea. Canty will replace Emmett Duffy, the founding director of MarineGEO, who will work with Canty to ensure a smooth transition until retiring as MarineGEO chief scientist Dec. 12.
About MarineGEO
Led by the Smithsonian’s Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network, the Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO) program is a global network and a platform that uses standardized, interoperable methods for collaborative, large-scale research aimed at understanding change in “ecosystems on the edge”—on the edge of land and sea, and on the edge of transformative change. MarineGEO’s coalition of partners uses both long-term tracking of nature’s vital signs and large-scale experiments and data syntheses. The research seeks to diagnose the causes of coastal change to co-develop solutions for maintaining and increasing marine biodiversity and enhancing coastal resilience. For more information, visit MarineGEO’s website: https://marinegeo.si.edu/
About the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is doing the science that will bring us to a more resilient future, where people and the planet can thrive together. From its headquarters on Chesapeake Bay, SERC leads research on coastal ecosystems, studying the most critical issues facing the planet today: sustainable food, biosecurity, pollution, conservation and global change. SERC scientists work alongside communities in the U.S. and abroad, sharing their findings with policymakers and stakeholders so they can make decisions based on sound science. Learn more on SERC’s website: https://serc.si.edu
About Smithsonian Science
For over 175 years, the Smithsonian has been a leader in the pursuit and sharing of knowledge worldwide. While our iconic museums are well known, the Smithsonian also powers a global scientific research, outreach and education infrastructure. Our world-renowned scientists collaborate across research disciplines, tackling questions as vast as the mysteries of the cosmos and as intricate as ecosystem resilience. But most importantly, many of the Smithsonian’s discoveries about Earth and our universe lead directly to viable solutions for people and our world. Explore further on the Smithsonian Science website: https://science.si.edu/