JCU > Research Portfolio > Dr Rebecca Weeks

About

Rebecca grew up in the UK, and completed a Master’s degree in Zoology from the University of Sheffield before moving to Australia to undertake her PhD at James Cook University. After completing her doctorate, Rebecca worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji Country program, before returning to JCU as a research fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies' Conservation Planning group.

Rebecca's research explores how conservation planning concepts and tools can be applied to develop marine protected area networks in regions with community-based management. A central theme of her work is the importance of spatial scale in conservation planning; in particular the need to reconcile regional-sale planning with local-scale implementation in order to develop ecologically functional MPA networks that are supported by local resource users. Her current research is focussed on the Coral Triangle and Western Pacific region.

Teaching

MB5310: Marine Reserves as Fisheries Management Tools (Level 5; TSV)

Experience

2010 to 2012 - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Wildlife Conservation Society (Fiji)

Research Disciplines

Socio-Economic Objectives

Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

Adams V, Mills M, Weeks R, Segan D, Pressey R, Gurney G, Groves C, Davis F and Alvarez-Romero J (in press) Implementation strategies for systematic conservation planning. Ambio,
Alvarez-Romero J, Mills M, Adams V, Gurney G, Pressey R, Weeks R, Ban N, Cheok J, Davis T, Day J, Hamel M, Leslie H, Magris R and Storlie C (2018) Research advances and gaps in marine planning: towards a global database in systematic conservation planning. Biological Conservation, 227. pp. 369-382
Mizrahi M, Diedrich A, Weeks R and Pressey R (in press) A systematic review of the socioeconomic factors that influence how marine protected areas impact on ecosystems and livelihoods. Society and Natural Resources,
Weeks R and Adams V (2018) Research priorities for conservation and natural resource management in Oceania's small-island developing states. Conservation Biology, 32 (1). pp. 72-83
Blythe J, Sulu R, Harohau D, Weeks R, Schwarz A, Mills D and Phillips M (2017) Social dynamics shaping the diffusion of sustainable aquaculture innovations in the Solomon Islands. Sustainability, 9 (1).
Pressey R, Weeks R and Gurney G (2017) From displacement activities to evidence-informed decisions in conservation. Biological Conservation, 212 (Part A). pp. 337-348
Weeks R, Green A, Joseph E, Peterson N and Terk E (2017) Using reef fish movement to inform marine reserve design. Journal of Applied Ecology, 54 (1). pp. 145-152
Weeks R (2017) Incorporating seascape connectivity in conservation prioritisation. PLoS One, 12 (7).
Bode M, Williamson D, Weeks R, Jones G, Almany G, Harrison H, Hopf J and Pressey R (2016) Planning marine reserve networks for both feature representation and demographic persistence using connectivity patterns. PLoS ONE, 11 (5). pp. 1-23
Cheok J, Pressey R, Weeks R, Andréfouët S and Moloney J (2016) Sympathy for the devil: detailing the effects of planning-unit size, thematic resolution of reef classes, and socioeconomic costs on spatial priorities for marine conservation. PLoS One, 11 (11). pp. 1-25
Magris R, Treml E, Pressey R and Weeks R (2016) Integrating multiple species connectivity and habitat quality into conservation planning for coral reefs. Ecography, 39 (7). pp. 649-664
Wendt H, Weeks R, Comley J and Aalbersberg W (2016) Systematic conservation planning within a Fijian customary governance context. Pacific Conservation Biology, 22 (2). pp. 173-181

More: ResearchOnline@JCU stores 28+ research outputs authored by Dr Rebecca Weeks from 2009 onwards.

Current Funding

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

The Nature Conservancy - US - Contract Research

Fisheries Management Planning for Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia

Indicative Funding: $8,290
Summary: This research project aims to understand how proactive (focused on protecting areas that will be threatened in future) and reactive (focused on ameliorating immediate threats) approaches to conservation can be operationalised within the context of coral reef fisheries management. This requires developing novel approaches to modelling the potential impact of protecting different locations, under different assumptions about the spatial distribution of present and future fishing effect. The project will provide recommendations to improve the design of Chuuk's Protected Area Network, which will be communicated to local stakeholders through collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and Chuuk Conservation Society.
Investigators: Rebecca Weeks and Edmond Sacre (ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies)
Keywords: Marine Protected Areas; Fisheries Management; Conservation Planning; Conservation; Seascape; Micronesia

Wildlife Conservation Society - Contract Research

Improving the Effectiveness of Inshore Fisheries Management Systems in Fiji

Indicative Funding: $15,845
Summary: As stewards of their natural environment, communities need knowledge of the latest science and to be equipped with a range of management tools to help them make better decisions about their fisheries. This project will synthesise scientific information on the effectiveness of fisheries management strategies that are employed within locally managed marine areas, and develop approaches to facilitate learning of this by community-level decision-makers. Research will improve understanding of the factors that influence local preferences for different fisheries management strategies, which can be used to improve the design of management interventions and associated outreach activities.
Investigators: Rebecca Weeks and Stacy Jupiter (ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and Wildlife Conservation Society-Fiji)
Keywords: Fisheries Management; Fiji; Marine Protected Areas; Community-based Management; Periodically Harvested Closures

The Nature Conservancy - US - Contract Research

Protected area network planning for Yap, Federated States of Micronesia

Indicative Funding: $8,520
Summary: The project will provide recommendations to improve the design of the Protected Area Network for Yap (Federated States of Micronesia) based on best-available science. Recommendations will focus on achieving local objectives to improve the status of natural resources that underpin Yapese food security and culture, but will also address targets for biodiversity conservation set by the Micronesia challenge Expected outcomes from the project include a novel contribution to the literature on the application of seascape analysis to conservation planning, and recommendations to inform protected area design and implementation by Yapese communities.
Investigators: Rebecca Weeks (ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies)
Keywords: Marine Protected Areas; Fisheries Management; Conservation Planning; Conservation; Seascape; Micronesia

The Nature Conservancy - US - Contract Research

Improving the Design of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia's Protected Area Network

Indicative Funding: $7,332
Summary: The project will use spatial planning to improve the design of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia's Protected Area Network (PAN). Maps will be developed indicating priority areas for conservation to achieve the Micronesia Challenge as well as targets identified by stakeholders in Pohnpei in a workshop help in June 2014. This project will also use the latest science and local knowledge to design Marine Protected Areas to achieve the goal of fisheries management.
Investigators: Rebecca Weeks in collaboration with Elizabeth Terk and Alison Green (ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Conservation Society of Pohnpei and The Nature Conservancy (AUS))
Keywords: Protected Areas; Conservation Planning; Natural Resource Management; Micronesia; Prioritisation; Coral Reefs

Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

Maximising Potential Impact of Marine Protected Area Placement: An Integrated Socioeconomic Perspective. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Making an Impact in Marine Conservation: Shifting the Focus Towards Threat Mitigation and Avoiding Residual Conservation (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Potential for recreational fisheries to contribute to conservation of coastal species and habitats. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

Systematic conservation planning in marine environments: sensitivities of the planning framework to aspects of scale (2018, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Advancing conservation planning for persistence: design of a conservation strategy for Brazilian coral reefs (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Data

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit the JCU Research Data Catalogue.

Cheok, J. (2017) Influence of updating frequency in the iterative adjustment of regional priorities in the transition to local actions. James Cook University

Collaboration

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.