Dr Caitie Kuempel

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

School of Biological Sciences

Hoegh-Guldberg Lab

ECR Representative – Education

Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science

c.kuempel@uq.edu.au

Possingham Lab

Researcher biography

Dr Caitie Kuempel is a conservation scientist working at the interface of science and policy. She is passionate about finding ways to meet the needs of the growing human population while minimising impacts on the environment – particularly in the world’s oceans. Caitie completed her PhD at The University of Queensland in protected area design and evaluation, followed by a post-doctoral position at NCEAS UC Santa Barbara quantifying, mapping and comparing the environmental impacts of major food systems across the land and sea. She currently holds a joint post-doctoral fellowship with The University of Queensland and the World Wildlife Fund exploring ways to manage and monitor climate resilient reefs to benefit people and nature. Caitie also holds degrees in marine biology (M.S. Northeastern University, 2013), environmental science (B.S., University of Iowa, 2012) and French (B.A., University of Iowa, 2012).

Featured projects	Duration
2021 CBCS small grant scheme awardees announced

Publications

Journal Articles (40)

Conference Paper (1)

Thesis (1)

Journal Articles

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Thomas, Jacqueline, Wenger, Amelia, Jupiter, Stacy D., Suárez-Castro, Andrés F., Nasim, Nabeela, Klein, Carissa and Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove (2024). A spatial framework for improved sanitation to support coral reef conservation. Environmental Pollution, 342 123003, 123003. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.123003

Froehlich, Halley E., Montgomery, Jamie C., Williams, David R., O'Hara, Casey, Kuempel, Caitlin D. and Halpern, Benjamin S. (2023). Biological life‐history and farming scenarios of marine aquaculture to help reduce wild marine fishing pressure. Fish and Fisheries, 24 (6), 1034-1047. doi: 10.1111/faf.12783

Halpern, Benjamin S., Frazier, Melanie, Rayner, Paul-Eric, Clawson, Gage, Blanchard, Julia L., Cottrell, Richard S., Froehlich, Halley E., Gephart, Jessica A., Jacobsen, Nis Sand, Kuempel, Caitlin D., Moran, Daniel, Nash, Kirsty L. and Williams, David R. (2023). Reply to: The environmental footprint of fisheries. Nature Sustainability, 6 (11), 1314-1315. doi: 10.1038/s41893-023-01223-4

Adams, Vanessa M., Chauvenet, Alienor L. M., Stoudmann, Natasha, Gurney, Georgina G., Brockington, Dan and Kuempel, Caitlin D. (2023). Multiple-use protected areas are critical to equitable and effective conservation. One Earth, 6 (9), 1173-1189. doi: 10.1016/j.oneear.2023.08.011

Wakwella, Ama, Wenger, Amelia, Jenkins, Aaron, Lamb, Joleah, Kuempel, Caitlin D., Claar, Danielle, Corbin, Chris, Falinski, Kim, Rivera, Antonella, Grantham, Hedley S. and Jupiter, Stacy D. (2023). Integrated watershed management solutions for healthy coastal ecosystems and people. Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures, 1 e27, 1-41. doi: 10.1017/cft.2023.15

Kuempel, Caitlin D. (2023). Sedimentation sifted out of pollution priorities. Science, 379 (6637), 1098-1099. doi: 10.1126/science.adh2147

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Frazier, Melanie, Verstaen, Juliette, Rayner, Paul-Eric, Blanchard, Julia L., Cottrell, Richard S., Froehlich, Halley E., Gephart, Jessica A., Jacobsen, Nis Sand, McIntyre, Peter B., Metian, Marc, Moran, Daniel, Nash, Kirsty L., Többen, Johannes, Williams, David R. and Halpern, Benjamin S. (2023). Environmental footprints of farmed chicken and salmon bridge the land and sea. Current Biology, 33 (5), 990-997.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.037

Vella, Tia, Roberson, Leslie, Kuempel, Caitie and Klein, Carissa (2023). Quantifying the accessibility of sustainable seafood in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research, 74 (15), 1340-1354. doi: 10.1071/mf23054

Halpern, Benjamin S., Frazier, Melanie, Verstaen, Juliette, Rayner, Paul-Eric, Clawson, Gage, Blanchard, Julia L., Cottrell, Richard S., Froehlich, Halley E., Gephart, Jessica A., Jacobsen, Nis S., Kuempel, Caitlin D., McIntyre, Peter B., Metian, Marc, Moran, Daniel, Nash, Kirsty L., Többen, Johannes and Williams, David R. (2022). The environmental footprint of global food production. Nature Sustainability, 5 (12), 1027-1039. doi: 10.1038/s41893-022-00965-x

Roberson, L. A., Beyer, H. L., O'Hara, C., Watson, J. E. M., Dunn, D. C., Halpern, B. S., Klein, C. J., Frazier, M. R., Kuempel, C. D., Williams, B., Grantham, H. S., Montgomery, J. C., Kark, S. and Runting, R. K. (2022). Multinational coordination required for conservation of over 90% of marine species (vol 27, pg 6206, 2021). Global Change Biology, 28 (22), 6834-6834. doi: 10.1111/gcb.16401

Klein, Carissa J., Kuempel, Caitlin D., Watson, Reg A., Teneva, Lida, Coll, Marta and Mora, Camilo (2022). Global fishing between jurisdictions with unequal fisheries management. Environmental Research Letters, 17 (11) 114004, 1-9. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac97ab

Beger, Maria, Metaxas, Anna, Balbar, Arieanna C., McGowan, Jennifer A., Daigle, Remi, Kuempel, Caitlin D., Treml, Eric A. and Possingham, Hugh P. (2022). Demystifying ecological connectivity for actionable spatial conservation planning. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 37 (12), 1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.09.002

Roberson, Leslie A., Beyer, Hawthorne L., O’Hara, Casey, Watson, James E. M., Dunn, Daniel C., Halpern, Benjamin S., Klein, Carissa J., Frazier, Melanie R., Kuempel, Caitlin D., Williams, Brooke, Grantham, Hedley S., Montgomery, Jamie C., Kark, Salit and Runting, Rebecca K. (2022). Multinational coordination required for conservation of over 90% of marine species. Global Change Biology, 27 (23), 6206-6216. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15844

Williams, Brooke A., Watson, James E. M., Beyer, Hawthorne L., Klein, Carissa J., Montgomery, Jamie, Runting, Rebecca K., Roberson, Leslie A., Halpern, Benjamin S, Grantham, Hedley S., Kuempel, Caitlin D., Frazier, Melanie, Venter, Oscar and Wenger, Amelia (2022). The global rarity of intact coastal regions. Conservation Biology, 36 (4) e13874, 1-12. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13874

Almaraz, Maya, Kuempel, Caitlin D., Salter, Andrew M. and Halpern, Benjamin S. (2022). The impact of excessive protein consumption on human wastewater nitrogen loading of US waters. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 20 (8), 452-458. doi: 10.1002/fee.2531

Clawson, Gage, Kuempel, Caitlin D., Frazier, Melanie, Blasco, Gordon, Cottrell, Richard S., Froehlich, Halley E., Metian, Marc, Nash, Kirsty L., Többen, Johannes, Verstaen, Juliette, Williams, David R. and Halpern, Benjamin S. (2022). Mapping the spatial distribution of global mariculture production. Aquaculture, 553 738066, 1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2022.738066

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Simmons, B. Alexander and Davey, Madeline (2022). Assessing the status of existing and tentative marine World Heritage areas reveals opportunities to better achieve World Heritage Convention goals. Journal of Environmental Management, 304 114276, 114276. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114276

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Tulloch, Vivitskaia J. D., Giffin, Alyssa L., Simmons, B. Alexander, Hagger, Valerie, Phua, Carol and Hoegh‐Guldberg, Ove (2021). Identifying management opportunities to combat climate, land, and marine threats across less climate exposed coral reefs. Conservation Biology, 36 (3) e13856, e13856. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13856

Suárez‐Castro, Andrés F., Beyer, Hawthorne L., Kuempel, Caitlin D., Linke, Simon, Borrelli, Pasquale and Hoegh‐Guldberg, Ove (2021). Global forest restoration opportunities to foster coral reef conservation. Global Change Biology, 27 (20) gcb.15811, 5238-5252. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15811

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Chauvenet, Alienor L. M., Symes, William S. and Possingham, Hugh P. (2021). Predicted protected area downsizing impedes conservation progress across terrestrial ecoregions in the tropics and subtropics. Conservation Science and Practice, 3 (11) e529, 1-12. doi: 10.1111/csp2.529

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Froehlich, Halley E. and Halpern, Benjamin S. (2021). An informed thought experiment exploring the potential for a paradigm shift in aquatic food production. Ocean and Coastal Management, 206 105574, 105574. doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105574

Cottrell, Richard S., Metian, Marc, Froehlich, Halley E., Blanchard, Julia L., Sand Jacobsen, Nis, McIntyre, Peter B., Nash, Kirsty L., Williams, David R., Bouwman, Lex, Gephart, Jessica A., Kuempel, Caitlin D., Moran, Daniel D., Troell, Max and Halpern, Benjamin S. (2021). Time to rethink trophic levels in aquaculture policy. Reviews in Aquaculture, 13 (3), 1583-1593. doi: 10.1111/raq.12535

Adams, Vanessa M., Dimitrova, Nadya, Possingham, Hugh P., Allan, James R., Kuempel, Caitlin D., Peterson, Nate, Kaiye, Alu, Keako, Malcolm and Tulloch, Vivitskaia J. D. (2021). Scheduling incremental actions to build a comprehensive national protected area network for Papua New Guinea. Conservation Science and Practice, 3 (2) e354. doi: 10.1111/csp2.354

Halpern, Benjamin S., Cottrell, Richard S., Blanchard, Julia L., Bouwman, Lex, Froehlich, Halley E., Gephart, Jessica A., Jacobsen, Nis Sand, Kuempel, Caitlin D., McIntyre, Peter B., Metian, Marc, Moran, Daniel D., Nash, Kirsty L., Többen, Johannes and Williams, David R. (2020). Erratum: Opinion: Putting all foods on the same table: Achieving sustainable food systems requires full accounting (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America(2019)116(18152–18156)Doi: 10.1073/pnas.1913308116). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117 (28). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2011873117

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Frazier, Melanie, Nash, Kirsty L., Jacobsen, Nis Sand, Williams, David R., Blanchard, Julia L., Cottrell, Richard S., McIntyre, Peter B., Moran, Daniel, Bouwman, Lex, Froehlich, Halley E., Gephart, Jessica A., Metian, Marc, Többen, Johannes and Halpern, Benjamin S. (2020). Integrating Life Cycle and Impact Assessments to Map Food's Cumulative Environmental Footprint. One Earth, 3 (1), 65-78. doi: 10.1016/j.oneear.2020.06.014

Daigle, Rémi M., Metaxas, Anna, Balbar, Arieanna C., McGowan, Jennifer, Treml, Eric A., Kuempel, Caitlin D., Possingham, Hugh P. and Beger, Maria (2020). Operationalizing ecological connectivity in spatial conservation planning with Marxan connect. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 11 (4) 2041-210X.13349, 570-579. doi: 10.1111/2041-210X.13349

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Chauvenet, Alienor L.M., Possingham, Hugh P. and Adams, Vanessa M. (2020). Evidence-based guidelines for prioritizing investments to meet international conservation objectives. One Earth, 2 (1), 55-63. doi: 10.1016/j.oneear.2019.12.013

Halpern, Benjamin S., Cottrell, Richard S., Blanchard, Julia L., Bouwman, Lex, Froehlich, Halley E., Gephart, Jessica A., Sand Jacobsen, Nis, Kuempel, Caitlin D., McIntyre, Peter B., Metian, Marc, Moran, Daniel D., Nash, Kirsty L., Többen, Johannes and Williams, David R. (2019). Putting all foods on the same table: achieving sustainable food systems requires full accounting. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116 (37), 18152-18156. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1913308116

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Jones, Kendall R., Watson, James E.M. and Possingham, Hugh P. (2019). Quantifying biases in marine‐protected‐area placement relative to abatable threats. Conservation Biology, 33 (6) cobi.13340, 1350-1359. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13340

Jantke, Kerstin, Kuempel, Caitlin D., McGowan, Jennifer, Chauvenet, Alienor L. M. and Possingham, Hugh P. (2018). Metrics for evaluating representation target achievement in protected area networks. Diversity and Distributions, 25 (2), 170-175. doi: 10.1111/ddi.12853

Jones, Kendall R., Klein, Carissa J., Halpern, Benjamin S., Venter, Oscar, Grantham, Hedley, Kuempel, Caitlin D., Shumway, Nicole, Friedlander, Alan M., Possingham, Hugh P. and Watson, James E. M. (2018). The location and protection status of earth's diminishing marine wilderness. Current Biology, 28 (15), 2506-2512.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.010

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Adams, Vanessa M., Possingham, Hugh P. and Bode, Michael (2018). Bigger or better: the relative benefits of protected area network expansion and enforcement for the conservation of an exploited species. Conservation Letters, 11 (3) e12433, e12433. doi: 10.1111/conl.12433

Hardy, Margaret C., Desselle, Mathilde R., the 2016 Catch a Rising Star Consortium, Allen, Jennifer, Andrews, Katherine T., Barrington, Dani J., Borg, Danielle, Butler, Kaylene, Colvin, Rebecca, Cooper, Tarni Louisa, Furlong, Emily, Hugo, Honor, Johnston, Elecia, Iacona, Gwenllian, Kenkel, Carly, Kuempel, Caitlin, Khosla, Amie, Langbecker, Danette, Liddle, Jacki, Lucia, Diana, Lussini, Vanessa, Nazareth, Lynn, Peel, Alison, Saunders, Megan, Smith, Meaghan and Velasquez, Johana Tello (2017). Engaging rural Australian communities in national science week helps increase visibility for women researchers. Royal Society Open Science, 4 (10) 170548, 170548. doi: 10.1098/rsos.170548

Campbell, Justin E., Altieri, Andrew H., Johnston, Lane N., Kuempel, Caitlin D., Paperno, Richard, Paul, Valerie J. and Duffy, J. Emmett (2017). Herbivore community determines the magnitude and mechanism of nutrient effects on subtropical and tropical seagrasses. Journal of Ecology, 106 (1), 401-412. doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12862

Kuempel, Caitlin, Di Marco, Moreno, Watson, James Edward and Possingham, Hugh (2017). Achieving the targets of global conventions. Decision Point Online (100), 16-16.

Chauvenet, Alienor L. M., Kuempel, Caitlin D., McGowan, Jennifer, Beger, Maria and Possingham, Hugh P. (2017). Methods for calculating protection equality for conservation planning. PLoS One, 12 (2) e0171591, e0171591. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171591

Kuempel, Caitlin D. and Altieri, Andrew H. (2017). The emergent role of small-bodied herbivores in pre-empting phase shifts on degraded coral reefs. Scientific Reports, 7 (1) 39670, 39670. doi: 10.1038/srep39670

Kuempel, Caitlin D., Chauvenet, Alienor L. M. and Possingham, Hugh P. (2016). Equitable representation of ecoregions is slowly improving despite strategic planning shortfalls. Conservation Letters, 9 (6), 422-428. doi: 10.1111/conl.12298

Nelson, Hannah R., Kuempel, Caitlin D. and Altieri, Andrew H. (2016). The resilience of reef invertebrate biodiversity to coral mortality. Ecosphere, 7 (7) e01399, 1-14. doi: 10.1002/ecs2.1399

Conference Paper

Chauvenet, Alienor L.M., Watson, James E.M., Adams, Vanessa M., Di Marco, Moreno, Venter, Oscar, Davis, Katrina J., Mappin, Bonnie, Klein, Carissa J., Kuempel, Caitlin D. and Possingham, Hugh P. (2020). To achieve big wins for terrestrial conservation, prioritize protection of ecoregions closest to meeting targets. Cambridge, MA, United States: Cell Press. doi: 10.1016/j.oneear.2020.04.013

Thesis

Kuempel, Caitlin Danielle (2018). Evaluating trade-offs between quantitative and qualitative protected area objectives. PhD Thesis, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2018.631