Dr Jessica Walsh

I am an interdisciplinary conservation scientist, with a focus on evaluating the effectiveness of conservation actions and improving environmental management and policy decisions. Currently, I am working on a collaborative project that aims to identify evidence-based management strategies for Australian temperate woodland birds. 

Previously at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, I developed a strategic prioritisation framework for Pacific salmon recovery and conservation, in collaboration with four First Nation communities, the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance, and the Pacific Salmon Foundation. I also reviewed the influences Pacific salmon have on the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, in an attempt to inform ecosystem-based fisheries management. 

During my first postdoctoral research position, I led an international team of fisheries scientists that evaluated assessment models and management strategies for data-limited fisheries. This work was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and administered through Conservation International. 

For my PhD, at the University of Cambridge, UK, I identified the barriers and solutions to implementing evidence-based conservation for nature reserves and protected areas in the UK and South Africa. All of my conservation research originated back at The University of Queensland, where I quantified the cost-effectiveness of fox control on malleefowl, and assessed the effectiveness of threatened species recovery planning in Australia.