Helen Edwards
Marine Spatial Ecology Laboratory
School of Biological Sciences, Hatherly Laboratory
University of Exeter
Prince of Wales Road
Exeter, EX4 4PS, United Kingdom
Tel: 44 (0) 1392-263761
Fax: 44 (0) 1392-263700
Email:
Web page:
http://www.projects.ex.ac.uk/msel/personnel/hje.html
Education
Ph.D., Mathematical Ecology, University of York, UK, 2006
M.Res., Mathematics in the Living Environment, University of York, UK, 2002
B.Sc., Mathematics, University of York, UK, 2001
Helen Edwards is an ecological modeller whose primary interest is in the use of simple mathematical models and computer simulations for marine conservation. In particular, her research focuses on understanding the spatial dynamics of interacting populations, the development of tools for conservation planning, and exploring how incorporating differing levels of complexity can influence model outcomes. Helen is currently developing a new reserve-selection tool with the aim of integrating biodiversity and socio-economic perspectives into reserve-system design. Her work focuses on improving our understanding of how incorporating more information into the reserve-selection process can influence the optimal locations for reserves. The reserve-selection tool is currently being applied to select networks of marine reserves for the Belize Barrier Reef and in the future will be applied to the Bahamian archipelago as part of the Bahamas Biocomplexity Project. Helen is collaborating with members of the Habitat and Modelling Working Groups to model the interactions between corals, algae, groupers, snappers and parrotfish. These models will provide insight into how factors such as fishing pressure and the extent of mangroves may influence the resilience of coral reefs.