Jessica Melbourne-Thomas

Jessica Melbourne-Thomas
Jess Melbourne-Thomas
Residence Australia
Nationality Australia
Other names Jess Melbourne-Thomas
Alma mater University of Tasmania
University of Oxford
Scientific career
Fields Marine ecology, Ecosystem modelling
Institutions Australian Antarctic Division

Jessica Melbourne-Thomas is a marine ecologist and ecosystem modeller with the Australian Antarctic Division and Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC, Australia.[1] Her research focuses on climate change and its affects on conservation and sustainable utilisation of marine biota.

Early life and education

Melbourne-Thomas completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Tasmania in 2002. She then moved to the UK to the University of Oxford to undertake her Rhodes Scholarship from 2003-2005 working on coral community dynamics.[2][3] In 2010 she completed her PhD, which developed modelling tools to assisted managers in their management of corals reefs, at the University of Tasmania.[4]

Career

Melbourne-Thomas is an ecosystem modeller.[1] Her research focuses on the development of ecological models to facilitate strategic studies of ecosystem dynamics and methods for achieving conservation and sustainable utilisation of marine biota. She is project leader for the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre project on status and trends in ecosystems,[5] and was a lead author for the IPCC's Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.[6][7]

Melbourne-Thomas is highly engaged in the translation of science into decision-making, including through outreach to end-users and policy briefings. She is a co-presenter for the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Open2Study entitled Marine and Antarctic Science.[8] She was named Tasmania’s Young Tall Poppy of the Year in 2015.[9]

Melbourne-Thomas was also the co-founder, along with business entrepreneur Fabian Dattner, of the first Homeward Bound Voyage, which is an Australian-led, global initiative to foster women's leadership in Science.[1][10][11] Recognizing the difficulties women in science careers have in obtaining funding, balancing the demands of families and careers, the initiative is privately funded.[12] Her role was to coordinate the science program for the 2016 Homeward Bound program.[13] When challenges prevented the group of 76 global women scientists of varying specialties from sailing out of Australia, Melbourne-Thomas worked to reorganize the launch out of Ushuaia, Argentina.[12][14] After completion of the research trip, applications were opened for a second voyage and the team was finalized in 2017. They will sail on the second expedition in 2018.[14]

She was one of 12 noted female scientists to be featured as a constellation on the ceiling of the Grand Central Station (New York City) as part of GE's Balance the Equation Initiative.[15][16]

Melbourne-Thomas has been published in ICES Journal of Marine Science,[17] Ecological Modelling,[18] Diseases of Aquatic Organisms,[19] Polar Biology,[20] Global Change Biology,[21] Ecology & Society[22] Ecological Applications,[23] Journal of Marine Systems,[24] and PLoS One.[25]

Awards and honors

  • 2003-2005: Rhodes Scholarship[2][26]
  • 2015: Tasmania’s Young Tall Poppy of the Year[9]
  • 2017: Women's Agenda Leadership Awards (finalist)[27]
  • 2017: Science and Technology Australia, 30 Superstars of STEM[28]

Selected works and publications

  • Melbourne-Thomas, J.; Wotherspoon, S.; Raymond, B.; Constable, A. (November 2012). "Comprehensive evaluation of model uncertainty in qualitative network analyses". Ecological Monographs. 82 (4): 505–519. doi:10.1890/12-0207.1.
  • Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Constable, Andrew; Wotherspoon, Simon; Raymond, Ben; Ropert-Coudert, Yan (6 February 2013). "Testing Paradigms of Ecosystem Change under Climate Warming in Antarctica". PLoS ONE. 8 (2): e55093. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055093.
  • Constable, Andrew J.; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Corney, Stuart P.; Arrigo, Kevin R.; Barbraud, Christophe; Barnes, David K. A.; Bindoff, Nathaniel L.; Boyd, Philip W.; Brandt, Angelika; Costa, Daniel P.; Davidson, Andrew T.; Ducklow, Hugh W.; Emmerson, Louise; Fukuchi, Mitsuo; Gutt, Julian; Hindell, Mark A.; Hofmann, Eileen E.; Hosie, Graham W.; Iida, Takahiro; Jacob, Sarah; Johnston, Nadine M.; Kawaguchi, So; Kokubun, Nobuo; Koubbi, Philippe; Lea, Mary-Anne; Makhado, Azwianewi; Massom, Rob A.; Meiners, Klaus; Meredith, Michael P.; Murphy, Eugene J.; Nicol, Stephen; Reid, Keith; Richerson, Kate; Riddle, Martin J.; Rintoul, Stephen R.; Smith, Walker O.; Southwell, Colin; Stark, Jonathon S.; Sumner, Michael; Swadling, Kerrie M.; Takahashi, Kunio T.; Trathan, Phil N.; Welsford, Dirk C.; Weimerskirch, Henri; Westwood, Karen J.; Wienecke, Barbara C.; Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter; Wright, Simon W.; Xavier, Jose C.; Ziegler, Philippe (October 2014). "Climate change and Southern Ocean ecosystems I: how changes in physical habitats directly affect marine biota". Global Change Biology. 20 (10): 3004–3025. doi:10.1111/gcb.12623.
  • Marzloff, Martin Pierre; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Hamon, Katell G.; Hoshino, Eriko; Jennings, Sarah; van Putten, Ingrid E.; Pecl, Gretta T. (July 2016). "Modelling marine community responses to climate-driven species redistribution to guide monitoring and adaptive ecosystem-based management". Global Change Biology. 22 (7): 2462–2474. doi:10.1111/gcb.13285.
  • Constable, Andrew J.; Costa, Daniel P.; Schofield, Oscar; Newman, Louise; Urban, Edward R.; Fulton, Elizabeth A.; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Ballerini, Tosca; Boyd, Philip W.; Brandt, Angelika; de la Mare, Willaim K.; Edwards, Martin; Eléaume, Marc; Emmerson, Louise; Fennel, Katja; Fielding, Sophie; Griffiths, Huw; Gutt, Julian; Hindell, Mark A.; Hofmann, Eileen E.; Jennings, Simon; La, Hyoung Sul; McCurdy, Andrea; Mitchell, B. Greg; Moltmann, Tim; Muelbert, Monica; Murphy, Eugene; Press, Anthony J.; Raymond, Ben; Reid, Keith; Reiss, Christian; Rice, Jake; Salter, Ian; Smith, David C.; Song, Sun; Southwell, Colin; Swadling, Kerrie M.; Van de Putte, Anton; Willis, Zdenka (September 2016). "Developing priority variables ("ecosystem Essential Ocean Variables" — eEOVs) for observing dynamics and change in Southern Ocean ecosystems". Journal of Marine Systems. 161: 26–41. doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2016.05.003.
  • Melbourne-Thomas, J.; Corney, S. P.; Trebilco, R.; Meiners, K. M.; Stevens, R. P.; Kawaguchi, S.; Sumner, M. D.; Constable, A. J. (4 October 2016). "Under ice habitats for Antarctic krill larvae: Could less mean more under climate warming?". Geophysical Research Letters. 43 (19): 10, 322–10, 327. doi:10.1002/2016GL070846.
  • Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Constable, Andrew J; Fulton, Elizabeth A; Corney, Stuart P; Trebilco, Rowan; Hobday, Alistair J; Blanchard, Julia L; Boschetti, Fabio; Bustamante, Rodrigo H; Cropp, Roger; Everett, Jason D; Fleming, Aysha; Galton-Fenzi, Ben; Goldsworthy, Simon D; Lenton, Andrew; Lara-Lopez, Ana; Little, Rich; Marzloff, Martin P; Matear, Richard; Mongin, Mathieu; Plagányi, Eva; Proctor, Roger; Risbey, James S; Robson, Barbara J; Smith, David C; Sumner, Michael D; van Putten, E Ingrid; Travers-Trolet, Morgane (1 December 2017). "Integrated modelling to support decision-making for marine social–ecological systems in Australia". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 74 (9): 2298–2308. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsx078.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sci-Tech 100 2018: The Thought Leaders". Silicon Republic. 2017-12-18. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  2. 1 2 "Jess Melbourne-Thomas Profile". The Rhodes Project. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  3. ↑ "Dr Jess Melbourne-Thomas". Science & Technology Australia. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  4. ↑ "Dr Jessica Melbourne-Thomas". Australia Antarctic Division. Australian Government. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  5. ↑ Bagri, Neha Thirani. "The largest all-female expedition to Antarctica, aiming to combat sexism in the sciences, has set sail". Quartz. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  6. ↑ "Modelling marine futures with maths". The University of Tasmania. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  7. ↑ "Australia: Ecosystems Expert to Compile Collective Climate Change Knowledge". Mena Report. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2018 – via HighBeam Research. (Subscription required (help)).
  8. ↑ "Marine and Antarctic Science (Marine)". Open 2 Study. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  9. 1 2 "2015 Tasmanian Tall Poppy Winners". AIPS. 2015.
  10. ↑ Amatulli, Jenna (3 December 2016). "Largest Ever All-Female Expedition Sets Sail For Antarctica". Huffington Post.
  11. ↑ "Homeward Bound Vogue Game Changers 2018 - Vogue Australia". Vogue. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
  12. 1 2 "Largest all-women expedition heads to Antarctica". BBC. London, England. 1 December 2016. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017.
  13. ↑ Scott, Katy (22 June 2017). "How women in science are setting themselves up to save our planet". CNN. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
  14. 1 2 Burgos, Alejandra (26 July 2017). "Antártida, mujeres y liderazgo" [Antarctica, women and leadership]. El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018.
  15. ↑ "Rewriting The Stars: Women Scientists Shine Amid Grand Central's Constellations - GE Reports". GE Reports. 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  16. ↑ Syckle, Katie Van. "Female Scientists Will Be Honored in a Light Show at Grand Central". The Cut. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  17. ↑ Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Constable, Andrew J; Fulton, Elizabeth A; Corney, Stuart P; Trebilco, Rowan; Hobday, Alistair J; Blanchard, Julia L; Boschetti, Fabio; Bustamante, Rodrigo H (2017-05-26). "Integrated modelling to support decision-making for marine social–ecological systems in Australia". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 74 (9): 2298–2308. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsx078. ISSN 1054-3139.
  18. ↑ Goedegebuure, Merel; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Corney, Stuart P.; Hindell, Mark A.; Constable, Andrew J. (September 2017). "Beyond big fish: The case for more detailed representations of top predators in marine ecosystem models". Ecological Modelling. 359: 182–192. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.04.004. ISSN 0304-3800.
  19. ↑ Haapkylä, Jessica; Unsworth, Richard K. F.; Seymour, Adrian S.; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Flavell, Mike; Willis, Bette L.; Smith, David J. (2009-11-16). "Spatio-temporal coral disease dynamics in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia". Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 87 (1–2): 105–115. doi:10.3354/dao02160. ISSN 0177-5103.
  20. ↑ Subramaniam, Roshni C.; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Davidson, Andrew T.; Corney, Stuart P. (2016-06-11). "Mechanisms driving Antarctic microbial community responses to ocean acidification: a network modelling approach". Polar Biology. 40 (3): 727–734. doi:10.1007/s00300-016-1989-8. ISSN 0722-4060.
  21. ↑ Marzloff, Martin Pierre; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Hamon, Katell G.; Hoshino, Eriko; Jennings, Sarah; Van Putten, Ingrid E.; Pecl, Gretta T. (2017-02-17). "Modelling marine community responses to climate-driven species redistribution to guide monitoring and adaptive ecosystem-based management". Global Change Biology. 23 (3): 1360–1360. doi:10.1111/gcb.13607. ISSN 1354-1013.
  22. ↑ Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Johnson, Craig R.; Perez, Pascal; Eustache, Jeremy; Fulton, Elizabeth A.; Cleland, Deborah (September 2011). "Coupling Biophysical and Socioeconomic Models for Coral Reef Systems in Quintana Roo, Mexican Caribbean". Ecology & Society. 16 (3): 1–20 – via EBSCOhost.
  23. ↑ Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Johnson, Craig R.; Fung, Tak; Seymour, Robert M.; Chérubin, Laurent M.; Arias-González, J. Ernesto; Fulton, Elizabeth A. (June 2011). "Regional-scale scenario modeling for coral reefs: a decision support tool to inform management of a complex system". Ecological Applications. 21 (4): 1380–1398. doi:10.1890/09-1564.1. ISSN 1051-0761.
  24. ↑ Constable, Andrew J.; Costa, Daniel P.; Schofield, Oscar; Newman, Louise; Urban, Edward R.; Fulton, Elizabeth A.; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Ballerini, Tosca; Boyd, Philip W. (September 2016). "Developing priority variables ("ecosystem Essential Ocean Variables" — eEOVs) for observing dynamics and change in Southern Ocean ecosystems". Journal of Marine Systems. 161: 26–41. doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2016.05.003. ISSN 0924-7963.
  25. ↑ Gurney, Georgina G.; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Geronimo, Rollan C.; Aliño, Perry M.; Johnson, Craig R. (2013-11-18). "Modelling Coral Reef Futures to Inform Management: Can Reducing Local-Scale Stressors Conserve Reefs under Climate Change?". PLOS ONE. 8 (11): e80137. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080137. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3832406. PMID 24260347.
  26. ↑ "Dr Jess Melbourne-Thomas". scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  27. ↑ "Meet the finalists of the 2017 Women's Agenda Leadership Awards". Women's Agenda. 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  28. ↑ McCormack, Ange (2017-07-03). "Government names 30 amazing women doing groundbreaking work in STEM". triple j. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
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