
PhD (University of Queensland), Bachelor of Science with Honours Class Honours Class 1 (University of Queensland), Bachelor of Science (University of Queensland)
Dr Helmstedt's research expertise is in using operations research to guide smart decision making for natural resource and environmental management with the ultimate goal of guiding future management decisions towards cost-efficiency, transparency and defensibility. Ecological systems are incredibly complex, and changing how those systems interact and evolve can have unexpected implications. Dr Helmstedt builds mathematical models of coupled ecological, land-use, and economic systems to understand the mechanisms driving success, failure, and efficiency of management actions. Carefully, transparently, and defensibly planning management and policy interventions while acknowledging those complexities and the associated risks helps achieve better outcomes for the environment and society. Dr Helmstedt completed her PhD in 2015 at the University of Queensland under the supervision of Professor Hugh Possingham. She then spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California Berkeley before joining QUT as a Lecturer. For more information, see Dr Helmstedt's website, twitter, or Google Scholar profile.
Additional information
Dr Helmstedt collaborates with diverse groups of scientists including mathematicians, statisticians, economists, ecologists, biologists, agricultural and marine scientists. These collaborative networks span Australia and internationally across the US and Europe (and, pending Brexit, the UK). Through ongoing collaborations with the Australian Antarctic Division and the Tasmanian state government, she helps guide decision-making about how to tackle the huge environmental problem of invasive species on islands.
- Adams, M., Sisson, S., Helmstedt, K., Baker, C., Holden, M., Plein, M., Holloway, J., Mengersen, K. & Mcdonald-Madden, E. (2020). Informing management decisions for ecological networks, using dynamic models calibrated to noisy time-series data. Ecology Letters, 23(4), 607–619. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/136700
- Holloway, J., Helmstedt, K., Mengersen, K. & Schmidt, M. (2019). A decision tree approach for spatially interpolating missing land cover data and classifying satellite images. Remote Sensing, 11(15), 1–25. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/131852
- Runge, C., Plantinga, A., Larsen, A., Naugle, D., Helmstedt, K., Polasky, S., Donnelly, J., Smith, J., Lark, T., Lawler, J., Martinuzzi, S. & Fargione, J. (2019). Unintended habitat loss on private land from grazing restrictions on public rangelands. Journal of Applied Ecology, 56(1), 52–62. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/122133
- McDonald, J., Helmstedt, K., Bode, M., Coutts, S., Mcdonald-Madden, E. & Possingham, H. (2018). Improving private land conservation with outcome-based biodiversity payments. Journal of Applied Ecology, 55(3), 1476–1485. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/223340
- Helmstedt, K., Stokes-Draut, J., Larsen, A. & Potts, M. (2018). Innovating at the food, water, and energy interface. Journal of Environmental Management, 209, 17–22. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/223434
- Coutts, S., Helmstedt, K. & Bennett, J. (2018). Invasion lags: The stories we tell ourselves and our inability to infer process from pattern. Diversity and Distributions, 24(2), 244–251. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/223204
- Helmstedt, K. & Potts, M. (2018). Valuable habitat and low deforestation can reduce biodiversity gains from development rights markets. Journal of Applied Ecology, 55(4), 1692–1700. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/223404
- Helmstedt, K. & Possingham, H. (2017). Costs are key when reintroducing threatened species to multiple release sites. Animal Conservation, 20(4), 331–340. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/106436
- Helmstedt, K., Shaw, J., Bode, M., Terauds, A., Springer, K., Robinson, S. & Possingham, H. (2016). Prioritizing eradication actions on islands: it's not all or nothing. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53(3), 733–741. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/106435
- Helmstedt, K., Possingham, H., Brennan, K., Rhodes, J. & Bode, M. (2014). Cost-efficient fenced reserves for conservation: single large or two small? Ecological Applications, 24(7), 1780–1792. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/106432
- Title
- Mathematically Optimal Rand D for Coral Reef Conservation
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DE200101791
- Start year
- 2020
- Keywords
- Title
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- SR200100005
- Start year
- 2020
- Keywords
- Operations research to optimise logistical deployment of emerging reef restoration technologies
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Paul Corry, Adjunct Professor Mark Gibbs - Structure and Dynamics of Antartic Governance
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Michael Bode, Professor Kerrie Wilson - Optimal management and development of new technologies to preserve endangered ecosystems in the face of uncertainty
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Matthew Adams - aximising the potential for species distribution modelling to inform Antarctic conservationplanning
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Justine Shaw - Modelling and Optimising Food Systems Impacts on Biodiversity, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Enable Sustainable Development
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Ayesha Tulloch