Helping conservation initiatives turn contagious
New research shows that conservation initiatives often spread like disease, which helps scientists and policymakers to better design successful programs that are more likely to be adopted.In a st
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
Abstract: Environmental managers face difficult decisions when it comes to investing in conservation management. With insufficient staff and funds to deal with all management problems, where should they invest limited resources to achieve the best outcomes? These conservation decisions must be made in the face of spatially heterogeneous and dynamic threats and within a constrained budget. This problem – complex, dynamic and multifaceted – describes the reality of much conservation decision-making, and defines the problem faced by many managers of islands. With limited resources for such types of activities, it is crucial to prioritize how the resources are spent to increase the probability of achieving conservation objectives. Importantly, the data underpinning decision making must be reliable and of suitable resolution to enable appropriate management plans to be put into place. Amelia will discuss the twists and turns of amassing data for 200 islands in the Great Barrier Reef and 600 islands in Western Australia. She will show how basic and applied research can be used to guide actual conservation decisions being made in these two regions.
Bio: Amelia Completed her PhD at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in 2013. Her PhD research focused on the effects of suspended sediment on early life history stages of coral reef fish. Seeking to learn more about conservation decision making, Amelia spent the last three years working at the Centre as a postdoctoral researcher, focusing on the prioritization of management actions on islands in Western Australia and Queensland. The aim of this work is to create a decision support software to aid managers in objective decision making about where to allocate resources to achieve the greatest gains in biodiversity protection. Amelia’s broader research focuses on connecting ecological and spatial data to assess responses of coastal and marine systems to threats, in order to determine ecological ramifications of ecosystem degradation. She uses this ecological information to aid in decision making about management interventions. Amelia is now commencing a postdoc at the University of Queensland, where she is examining the ecological and economic trade-offs between logging and fisheries.
New research shows that conservation initiatives often spread like disease, which helps scientists and policymakers to better design successful programs that are more likely to be adopted.In a st
Millions of people across the globe are suffering from malnutrition despite some of the most nutritious fish species in the world being caught near their homes, according to new research published in
An internationally respected group of scientists is calling on world leaders to urgently accelerate efforts to tackle climate change.Almost every aspect of the environment and ecology is changing
Scientists say bolder actions to protect coral reefs from the effects of global warming will benefit all ecosystems, including those on land.In an article published in Nature today two researcher
Abstract: Because coastal fisheries have been a major provider of food and economic growth in modern human history, the inherent characteristics of fish populations have been studied by researchers f
Abstract Climate change is the fastest-growing global threat to the world's natural and cultural heritage. No systematic approach to assess climate vulnerability of protected areas and their communit
Abstract: This presentation will provide an updated prognosis of the overgrazing collapse of kelp beds driven by the range-extending sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii) and outline antidotes cur
Abstract: Disturbances are fundamental to structuring many ecosystems, yet climate-driven alterations to disturbance regimes may prevent recovery in many biomes. Coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef
Abstract: Outbreaks of the corallivorous Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS; Acanthaster cf. solaris) have been responsible for 40% of the decline in coral cover on the GBR over the last 35 years. With
Abstract: Complex interdependencies between social and ecological dynamics underpin many important environmental problems. To account for these complex dynamics, over the past several years my collea
Abstract: Coral reef restoration is gaining momentum globally in response to the threat of climate change and associated coral bleaching. In Australia, as part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptatio
Abstract:Developing global environmental policies, and implementing these at a local level has proven extremely challenging. I will present research using ethnographic techniques and multi-level
Partner Research Institutions
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au