Dr Christopher Baker
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Biological Sciences
Possingham Lab
Researcher biography
My research interests are about using mathematical models to help improve management. The focus of my work has been about the application of optimal control theory to invasive species management and in developing ecosystem models to predict how management actions will affect different species in an ecosystem. I am also working on developing management strategies for treatment-resistant disease, modelling the effect of management on coral reefs, and on developing plant spread models for revegetation projects. Over the next three years I will be working on developing mathematical models of environmental systems and using them to inform management. These will include case studies at Booderee National Park, Macquarie Island, Lord Howe Island, Santa Rosa Island and Santa Cruz Island.
Book Chapter
Lohr, Cheryl A., Baker, Christopher M., Bode, Michael and Pressey, Robert L. (2018). What's next on the list? Prioritising management actions on Australia's islands. Australian island arks : conservation, management and opportunities. (pp. 71-83) edited by Dorian Moro, Derek Ball and Sally Bryant. Clayton South, VIC Australia: CSIRO Publishing. doi: 10.1071/9781486306619
Journal Articles
Hudgins, Emma J., Hanson, Jeffrey O., MacQuarrie, Chris J. K., Yemshanov, Denys, Baker, Christopher M., Chadès, Iadine, Holden, Matthew H., McDonald‐Madden, Eve and Bennett, Joseph R. (2024). Spread management priorities to limit emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) impacts on United States street trees. Conservation Science and Practice, 6 (3) e13087. doi: 10.1111/csp2.13087
Monsalve-Bravo, Gloria M., Lawson, Brodie A. J., Drovandi, Christopher, Burrage, Kevin, Brown, Kevin S, Baker, Christopher M., Vollert, Sarah A., Mengersen, Kerrie, McDonald-Madden, Eve and Adams, Matthew P. (2022). Analysis of sloppiness in model simulations: unveiling parameter uncertainty when mathematical models are fitted to data. Science Advances, 8 (38) eabm5952, 1-19. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abm5952
Plein, Michaela, O'Brien, Katherine R., Holden, Matthew H., Adams, Matthew P., Baker, Christopher M., Bean, Nigel G., Sisson, Scott A., Bode, Michael, Mengersen, Kerrie L. and McDonald‐Madden, Eve (2022). Modeling total predation to avoid perverse outcomes from cat control in a data‐poor island ecosystem. Conservation Biology, 36 (5) e13916. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13916
Baker, Christopher M., Campbell, Patricia T., Chades, Iadine, Dean, Angela J., Hester, Susan M., Holden, Matthew H., McCaw, James M., McVernon, Jodie, Moss, Robert, Shearer, Freya M. and Possingham, Hugh P. (2022). From climate change to pandemics: decision science can help scientists have impact. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10 792749. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2022.792749
Bergstrom, Dana M., Wienecke, Barbara C., van den Hoff, John, Hughes, Lesley, Lindenmayer, David B., Ainsworth, Tracy D., Baker, Christopher M., Bland, Lucie, Bowman, David M. J. S., Brooks, Shaun T., Canadell, Josep G., Constable, Andrew J., Dafforn, Katherine A., Depledge, Michael H., Dickson, Catherine R., Duke, Norman C., Helmstedt, Kate J., Holz, Andrés, Johnson, Craig R., McGeoch, Melodie A., Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica, Morgain, Rachel, Nicholson, Emily, Prober, Suzanne M., Raymond, Ben, Ritchie, Euan G., Robinson, Sharon A., Ruthrof, Katinka X., Setterfield, Samantha A. ... Shaw, Justine D. (2021). Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic. Global Change Biology, 27 (9), 1692-1703. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15539
Baker, Christopher M., Plein, Michaela, Shaikh, Rabith and Bode, Michael (2020). Simultaneous invasive alien predator eradication delivers the best outcomes for protected island species. Biological Invasions, 22 (3), 1085-1095. doi: 10.1007/s10530-019-02161-z
Adams, Matthew P., Sisson, Scott A., Helmstedt, Kate J., Baker, Christopher M., Michaela Plein, Holden, Matthew H., Holloway, Jacinta, Mengersen, Kerrie L. and McDonald-Madden, Eve (2020). Informing management decisions for ecological networks, using dynamic models calibrated to noisy time-series data. Ecology Letters, 23 (4) ele.13465, 607-619. doi: 10.1111/ele.13465
Baker, Christopher M., Diele, Fasma, Lacitignola, Deborah, Marangi, Carmela and Martiradonna, Angela (2019). Optimal control of invasive species through a dynamical systems approach. Nonlinear Analysis: Real World Applications, 49, 45-70. doi: 10.1016/j.nonrwa.2019.02.007
Ryan, Gerard E. and Baker, Christopher M. (2019). Corrigendum to “A general method for assessing the risks and benefits of secrecy in conserving ‘Lazarus species” (Biological Conservation (2016) 203 (186–187), (S000632071630430X) (10.1016/j.biocon.2016.09.022)). Biological Conservation, 230, 47-47. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2018.12.003
Baker, Christopher M., Bode, Michael, Dexter, Nick, Lindenmayer, David B., Foster, Claire, MacGregor, Christopher, Plein, Michaela and McDonald-Madden, Eve (2019). A novel approach to assessing the ecosystem-wide impacts of reintroductions. Ecological Applications, 29 (1) e01811, e01811. doi: 10.1002/eap.1811
Baker, Christopher M., Bower, Sue, Tartaglia, Elena, Bode, Michael, Bower, Hank and Pressey, Robert L. (2018). Modelling the spread and control of cherry guava on Lord Howe Island. Biological Conservation, 227, 252-258. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2018.09.017
Baker, Christopher M., Diele, Fasma, Marangi, Carmela, Martiradonna, Angela and Ragni, Stefania (2018). Optimal spatiotemporal effort allocation for invasive species removal incorporating a removal handling time and budget. Natural Resource Modeling, 31 (4) e12190, e12190. doi: 10.1111/nrm.12190
Baker, Christopher M., Holden, Matthew H., Plein, Michaela, McCarthy, Michael A. and Possingham, Hugh P. (2018). Informing network management using fuzzy cognitive maps. Biological Conservation, 224, 122-128. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2018.05.031
Pesendorfer, Mario B., Baker, Christopher M., Stringer, Martin, Mcdonald-Madden, Eve, Bode, Michael, Mceachern, A. Kathryn, Morrison, Scott A. and Sillett, T. Scott (2018). Oak habitat recovery on California's largest islands: Scenarios for the role of corvid seed dispersal. Journal of Applied Ecology, 55 (3), 1185-1194. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.13041
Baker, Christopher M., Ferrari, Matthew J. and Shea, Katriona (2018). Beyond dose: pulsed antibiotic treatment schedules can maintain individual benefit while reducing resistance. Scientific Reports, 8 (1) 5866, 5866. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-24006-w
Baker, Christopher M., Armsworth, Paul R. and Lenhart, Suzanne M. (2017). Handling overheads: optimal multi-method invasive species control. Theoretical Ecology, 10 (4), 493-501. doi: 10.1007/s12080-017-0344-1
Baker, Christopher M., Hodgson, Jarrod C., Tartaglia, Elena and Clarke, Rohan H. (2017). Modelling tropical fire ant (Solenopsis Geminata) dynamics and detection to inform an eradication project. Biological Invasions, 19 (10), 2959-2970. doi: 10.1007/s10530-017-1499-9
Rout, Tracy M., Baker, Christopher M., Huxtable, Steward and Wintle, Brendan A. (2017). Monitoring, imperfect detection, and risk optimization of a Tasmanian devil insurance population. Conservation Biology, 32 (2), 267-275. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12975
Baker, Christopher M., Gordon, Ascelin and Bode, Michael (2017). Ensemble ecosystem modeling for predicting ecosystem response to predator reintroduction. Conservation Biology, 31 (2), 376-384. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12798
Bode, Michael , Baker, Christopher M., Benshemesh, Joe , Burnard, Tim , Rumpff, Libby , Hauser, Cindy E. , Lahoz‐Monfort, José J. and Wintle, Brendan A. (2016). Revealing beliefs: using ensemble ecosystem modelling to extrapolate expert beliefs to novel ecological scenarios. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 8 (8), 1012-1021. doi: 10.1111/2041-210X.12703
Ryan, Gerard E. and Baker, Christopher M. (2016). A general method for assessing the risks and benefits of secrecy in conserving 'Lazarus species'. Biological Conservation, 203, 186-187. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.09.022
Baker, Christopher (2016). Target the Source: Optimal Spatiotemporal Resource Allocation for Invasive Species Control. Conservation Letters, 10 (1), 41-48. doi: 10.1111/conl.12236
Baker, Christopher M. and Bode, Michael (2016). Placing invasive species management in a spatiotemporal context. Ecological Applications, 26 (3), 712-725. doi: 10.1890/15-0095
Baker, Christopher, Bode, Michael and McCarthy, Michael (2016). Models that predict ecosystem impacts of reintroductions should consider uncertainty and distinguish between direct and indirect effects. Biological Conservation, 196, 211-212. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.01.023
Baker, C. M., Hughes, B. D. and Landman, K. A. (2015). Length-based connectivity metrics and their ecological interpretation. Ecological Indicators, 58, 192-198. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.05.046
Bode, Michael, Baker, Christopher M. and Plein, Michaela (2015). Eradicating down the food chain: optimal multispecies eradication schedules for a commonly encountered invaded island ecosystem. Journal of Applied Ecology, 52 (3), 571-579. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12429
Baker, Christopher M., Hughes, Barry D. and Landman, Kerry A. (2013). Random walks in nonuniform environments with local dynamic interactions. Physical Review E, 88 (4) 042113. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.88.042113
Baker, Christopher M. and Bode, Michael (2013). Spatial control of invasive species in conservation landscapes. Computational Management Science, 10 (4), 331-351. doi: 10.1007/s10287-013-0196-0