Jessica Walsh
j.walsh@zoo.cam.ac.uk
Tel:
+44 (0)1223 769018
Before starting my PhD in 2011 at the University of Cambridge, I worked at the Spatial Ecology Lab, University of Queensland, Australia, as a research assistant and as an undergraduate, undertaking several research projects. During these projects, I studied the impacts of exotic species on islands, the cost-effectiveness of fox control for the conservation of a threatened endemic Australian bird, the malleefowl, and the effectiveness of threatened species recovery plans.
Research Interests
In general, I am interested in the conservation of biodiversity and the global environmental challenges associated with increased consumption and economic growth. Saving threatened species from extinction through the mitigation of environmental threats requires the use of best practice cost-effective management interventions. If we are to succeed, we must integrate scientific evidence and socio-economic factors into solutions and collaborate with land owners, local communities, conservation practitioners and politicians during the decision making stages.
Under the supervision of Prof. William Sutherland, I am investigating how to overcome key barriers which often prevent the use of best practice management in conservation projects, such as limited accessibility to scientific evidence. I aim to understand how we can increase the practicality and use of evidence in conservation decision making. Finally, I plan to demonstrate how evidence-based conservation can be integrated into decision support tools, to prioritise which interventions will achieve the greatest conservation outcome cost-effectively.
While evidence-based principles are applicable to all conservation problems, I will focus my studies on the control and management of invasive species.
My research will improve our understanding of how to bridge the gap between scientific research and the application of effective conservation practices.
My PhD is funded jointly by the UK Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, with additional funds provided through the John Stanley Gardiner Memorial Studentship.
Publications
Walsh, J.C., Wilson, K.A., Benshemesh, J. and Possingham, H. P. (in review) Unexpected outcomes of invasive predator control: the importance of evaluating conservation management actions.
Walsh, J.C., Watson, J.E.M., Bottrill, M.C., Joseph, L.N. and Possingham, H.P. (in press) Trends and biases in the listing and recovery planning of threatened species: an Australian case study. Oryx.
Walsh, J.C., Venter, O., Watson, J.E.M., Fuller, R., Blackburn, T. and Possingham, H.P. (in press) Exotics and endemics: Factors that increase the impacts of exotic species on islands. Global Ecology and Biogeography.
Bottrill, M.C. Walsh, J.C., Watson J.E.M., Joseph, L.N., Ortega-Argueta, A. and Possingham, H.P. (2011) Does recovery planning improve the status of threatened species? Biological Conservation, 144 (5), 1595-1601.
Watson, J.E.M., Bottrill, M.C., Walsh, J.C., Joseph, L.N. and Possingham, H.P. (2010) Evaluating threatened species recovery planning in Australia. Report prepared for the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Commonwealth of Australia. 158pp.
