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Ivette Perfecto

Ivette Perfecto
Bunyan Bryant Collegiate Professor of Environmental Justice
Ecosystem Science and Management
Food Systems
Conservation + Restoration
[email protected]
(734) 604-4331
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3541 Dana
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Perfecto Lab
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Perfecto Lab

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About

Ivette Perfecto is the Bunyan Bryant Collegiate Professor of Environmental Justice. She is an interdisciplinary scholar that works in agroecology with a focus on the intersection between biodiversity, agriculture, and food sovereignty. Her research examines arthropod-mediated ecosystem services in agricultural and agroforestry systems with an emphasis on understanding ecological interactions that result in autonomous pest control and reduction of pesticide use. She also works on the spatial ecology of the coffee agroecosystem and is interested more broadly in the links between small-scale sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, and food sovereignty in Latin America. Currently, she is conducting research in Mexico and Puerto Rico. She is co-author of four books, Breakfast of Biodiversity, Nature’s Matrix: Linking Agriculture, Conservation and Food Sovereignty, Coffee Agroecology, and Ecological Complexity and Agroecology.

Professor Perfecto is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, as well as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Senior Fellow of the Ecological Society of America. She also received an Honorary Doctoral Degree (honoris causa) in Education from the Universidad Sagrado Corazón, her alma mater in Puerto Rico. She was one the lead authors of the International Assessment of Science, Technology and Knowledge for Development (IAASTD). She is a long-time member of Science for the People and the New World Agriculture and Ecology Group (NWAEG).

Publications

Vandermeer, J. and I. Perfecto. 2023. Intransitivity as a dynamic assembly engine of competitive communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 120 (15) e2217372120. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.221737212

Perfecto, I. and S. M. Philpott. 2023. Ants and ecosystem functions and services in urban areas: reflection on a diverse literature. Myrmecological News 33: 103-122. dio.org/10.25849/myrmecol.news_033:103

Shepon, A, T. Wu, C. Kremen, T. Dayan, I. Perfecto, C. Golden. 2023. Exploring future food systems in the context of emerging zoonotic diseases using scenario exploration. Lancet Planetary Health 7(4): E329-E335. doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00007-4

Aponte*, B. and I. Perfecto. 2023. Shaded-coffee agroecosystem supports high levels of ant biodiversity regardless of shade tree species planted by farmers. Ecosphere 14(2): e-4442. doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4442

Hajian-Forooshani*, Z., I. Perfecto, J. Vandermeer. 2023. Novel community assembly and the control of fungal pathogen in coffee agroecosystems. Biological Control 117: 105099. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2022.105099

Avelino, J., S. Gagliardi, I. Perfecto., M. Isaac, T. Liebig, J. Vandermeer, I. Merle, Z. Haijian-Forooshni*, N. Motisi. 2023. Tree effects on coffee leaf rust at field and landscape scale. Plant Disease 107(2): 1804-FE. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-08-21-1804-FE

Morris*, J and I. Perfecto. 2022. A dominant non-consumptive effect mediates pest control and multi-predator interactions in a coffee agroecosystem. Ecological Applications 32(7):e2653. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2653

Hsieh*, H.Y., J. Vandermeer and I. Perfecto. 2022. Higher order interactions affect survival and sex ratio of a predatory beetle. Science Reports 12: 19378 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-23763-z

Mayorga*, I., J. L. Vargas*, Z. Hajian-Forooshani*, J. Lugo Perez, J. Vandermeer, I. Perfecto. 2022. Tradeoffs and synergies among ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, and food security in coffee agroforestry. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 5: https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2022.690164

Capnerhurst*, H., A. P. Fischer, and I. Perfecto. 2022. Invasion adaptation: A socio-ecological assessment of cherry growers’ adaptation potential to spotted wing drosophila. Human Ecology 50(4): 711-723.

Vandermeer, J., J. Flores*, J. Longmeyer*, I. Perfecto. 2022. Spatiotemporal foraging dynamics of Solenopsis invicta and the spatial structure of interspecific competition. Environmental Entomology https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvac058

Anjos, D., A. Tena, V.J. Arleu, R. Carvalho, H. M. Torezan-Silingardi, K. Del-Claro, I. Perfecto. 2022. Global effects of ants on pest control: boosted in agroforestry. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 287: 20221316 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1316

Li*, K. Hajian-Forooshani*, C. Su*, I. Perfecto and J. Vandermeer. 2022. Climate change and resistant varieties mediate critical transition in coffee rust disease. Scientific Reports 12: 1564 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05362-0

Benitez, M., J. A. Rosell, I. Perfecto. 2022. Mathematical modelling and complex systems in agroecology (Editorial). Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 560. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.829551

Iverson*, A., R. Burham, I. Perfecto, N. Vandenberg* and J. Vandermeer. 2022. A tropical lady beetle, Diomus lupusapudoves (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), deceives potential enemies to predate an ant-protected coffee pest through putative chemical mimicry. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science 42(1): 947-953. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-021-00621-5

Research

2021-2026: Transformative Food Systems Fellows Program: Cultivating Resilient Agriculture (USDA-NIFA- Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (NNF) Grants Program, Jennifer Blesh, Brendan O’Neil, Meha Jain and Lesli Hoey, Co-PIs

2019-2023: Fusing satellite and drone data with GIS to create new analytical decision support tools for varying farm types (USDA-NIFA) Kevin Atkins, PI, Ivette Perfecto, Co-PI.

2019-2022: The ecology of critical transitions in pest control in the coffee agroecosystem (National Science Foundation) John Vandermeer, Co-PI

2017-2023: Understanding multifunctional landscapes within the Model Forest of Puerto Rico (USDA-NIFA), John Vandermeer and Javier Lugo, Co-PIs1989

2018-2023: Reimagining Puerto Rico’s energy and food systems through community engagement (Graham Sustainability Institute Transformation Grant) José Alfaro, John Vandermeer, Javier Lugo, Mariangie Ramos, Olgaly Ramos, Lorenzo Salecetti, Yanira Sanchez, Co-PIs

2018-2022: Evaluating Hurricane Damage and Resilience in Coffee Agroecosystems in Puerto Rico (USDA-NIFA) John Vandermeer and Javier Lugo, Co-PIs

Education

1989 Ph.D., Ecology and Natural Resources, University of Michigan

1982 M.S., Biology, University of Michigan

1977 B.S., Cum Laude, Biology, Universidad Sagrado Corazón, Puerto Rico

Affiliations

Sustainable Food Systems Initiative, University of Michigan

Program in the Environment, University of Michigan

In the News
Agroecology: A paradigm shift in the US food system
July 9, 2024

Agroecology: A paradigm shift in the U.S. food system

Agroecology is gaining momentum as a way to improve healthy food access and affordability, according to a University of Michigan researcher. Grounded in the principles of...

SEAS Professor Ivette Perfecto: Agriculture at a crossroads
April 2, 2024

SEAS Professor Ivette Perfecto: Agriculture at a crossroads

As part of the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) Faculty Speaker Series, Ivette Perfecto presented a synopsis of her research...

ncubator or barrier? Exploring the links between agriculture, biodiversity and the spread of pathogens
September 18, 2023

Incubator or barrier? Exploring the links between agriculture, biodiversity and the spread of pathogens

Many pathogens, including the virus that causes COVID-19, are thought to have originated in wild animals before spilling into human populations. Agriculture is often...

Perfecto named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
April 19, 2023

Perfecto named to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Seven University of Michigan faculty members, including Ivette Perfecto, have been named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for their significant contributions...

Perfecto
April 5, 2023

U-M researchers inform ecological theory with findings from decades of coffee farm fieldwork

Contact: Jim Erickson ANN ARBOR—University of Michigan ecologists Ivette Perfecto and John Vandermeer made their initial forays into agrosystems biodiversity research in...

TFS Fellows
December 13, 2022

Fellowship provides students with learning and training to transform food systems

The Transformative Food Systems (TFS) Fellowship at the University of Michigan (U-M) was created to attract student leaders who reflect the communities that are most...

 Professor Ivette Perfecto highlights the benefits of shaded coffee farms on biodiversity and farmer livelihoods in Latin America
November 11, 2022

Professor Ivette Perfecto highlights the benefits of shaded coffee farms on biodiversity, farmer livelihoods in Latin America

The University of Michigan recently held its fourth talk in the Real-World Perspectives on Poverty Solutions speaker series. Professor Ivette Perfecto of the U-M School...

Faculty Accolades
November 1, 2022

Faculty Accolades

News and updates about SEAS faculty.

In the Media
04/10/2025
Ivette Perfecto
SEAS Professor Ivette Perfecto selected to serve on National Academies' ad hoc committee on the status of insects in North America
02/07/2025
Ivette Perfecto
Insect drama in the coffee field (Indiana Public Media)
08/02/2024
Ivette Perfecto
Insect drama in the coffee field (Indiana Public Media)
01/31/2024
Ivette Perfecto
How Shade Coffee Aids Conservation (Smithsonian Magazine)
05/04/2022
Ivette Perfecto
Two faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences (University Record)
11/09/2021
Ivette Perfecto
Coffee as we know it is in danger. Can we breed a better cup? (Vox)
03/01/2020
Ivette Perfecto
John Vandermeer
Could an Invasive Snail Save Your Morning Coffee?
01/01/2020
Ivette Perfecto
John Vandermeer
Puerto Rico earthquake and aftermath: U-M experts can discuss
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