Jessica Melbourne-Thomas

Jessica Melbourne-Thomas is a marine, Antarctic and climate change scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia. Her research focuses on climate change, its effects on the marine environment, and how to adapt and response to these changes.

Jessica Melbourne-Thomas
NationalityAustralia
Other namesJess Melbourne-Thomas
Alma materUniversity of Tasmania
University of Oxford
Scientific career
FieldsMarine ecology, Ecosystem modelling
InstitutionsCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

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.[1][2] In 2010 she completed her PhD, which developed modelling tools to assist managers in their management of coral reefs, at the University of Tasmania.[3]

Career

Melbourne-Thomas is a marine ecologist and knowledge broker.[4] Her research focuses on bridging the gap between complex scientific research and decision-making for sustainability, particularly in relation to climate change adaptation. She worked as an ecosystem modeller and science communicator with the Australian Antarctic Division,[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 science communication and 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 was one of Science and Technology Australia's first 30 Superstars of STEM.[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.[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 is the 2020 Tasmanian Australian of the Year.

Melbourne-Thomas has been published in ICES Journal of Marine Science,[17] Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature ecology & evolution, Frontiers in Marine Science, Global Change Biology,[18] Ecology & Society[19] Ecological Applications,[20] Journal of Marine Systems,[21] and PLoS One.[22]

Awards and honors

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. PMC 3566216. PMID 23405116.
  • 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. PMID 24802817.
  • 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. PMID 26990671.
  • 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. "Jess Melbourne-Thomas Profile". The Rhodes Project. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  2. "Dr Jess Melbourne-Thomas". Science & Technology Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  3. "Dr Jessica Melbourne-Thomas". Australia Antarctic Division. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  4. "Dr Jessica Melbourne-Thomas". CSIRO. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  5. "Female scientist Tas Aussie of the Year". Canberra Times. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  6. "Modelling marine futures with maths". The University of Tasmania. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  7. "Australia: Ecosystems Expert to Compile Collective Climate Change Knowledge". Mena Report. 21 August 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018 – via HighBeam Research.
  8. "Marine and Antarctic Science (Marine)". Open 2 Study. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  9. "2015 Tasmanian Tall Poppy Winners". AIPS. 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  10. "Largest Ever All-Female Expedition Sets Sail For Antarctica". 3 December 2016.
  11. "Homeward Bound Vogue Game Changers 2018 - Vogue Australia". Vogue. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  12. "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 11 July 2018.
  14. 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. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  16. Syckle, Katie Van. "Female Scientists Will Be Honored in a Light Show at Grand Central". The Cut. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  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 (26 May 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. ISSN 1054-3139.
  18. Marzloff, Martin Pierre; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Hamon, Katell G.; Hoshino, Eriko; Jennings, Sarah; Van Putten, Ingrid E.; Pecl, Gretta T. (17 February 2017). "Modelling marine community responses to climate-driven species redistribution to guide monitoring and adaptive ecosystem-based management". Global Change Biology. 23 (3): 1360. doi:10.1111/gcb.13607. ISSN 1354-1013. PMID 28211250.
  19. 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. doi:10.5751/ES-04208-160323.
  20. 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. PMID 21774437.
  21. 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.
  22. Gurney, Georgina G.; Melbourne-Thomas, Jessica; Geronimo, Rollan C.; Aliño, Perry M.; Johnson, Craig R. (18 November 2013). "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.
  23. "Dr Jess Melbourne-Thomas". scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  24. "Meet the finalists of the 2017 Women's Agenda Leadership Awards". Women's Agenda. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  25. McCormack, Ange (3 July 2017). "Government names 30 amazing women doing groundbreaking work in STEM". triple j. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  26. "Honour roll - Australian of the Year Awards". Australian of the Year Awards. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
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