We are greatly honoured to collaborate with the team at Operation Wallacea.
Dr Tom Martin
Tom is a zoologist with a broad range of research interests, with a particular focus on the ecology and conservation of Neotropical cloud forests, Wallacean islands, and Central Asian steppes. His work in these areas has principally focused on describing the biodiversity of these poorly-studied ecosystems, identifying environmental pressures which threaten this biodiversity, and developing conservation methods to reduce these pressures. He also has a strong interest in ex-situ conservation, having produced several papers on the role of zoos in preventing global extinctions. Having previously completed his PhD at Lancaster University, and working on various projects with the University of Hull, Simon Fraser University, and field sites in Indonesia, Central Asia and the Middle East, Tom is now based in the offices of Operation Wallacea, leading their research program in the cloud forests of Cusuco National Park, Honduras. Cusuco National Park is an internationally important protected area supporting many species found nowhere else in the world, yet is facing severe environmental pressures from habitat loss, hunting, and amphibian diseases.
“Our first project involves research using thermography to see if it can be a useful tool to help locate and identify Chytrid Fungus in Amphibians. This Fungus has been considered one of the major biodiversity problems that have come about in modern history. Chytrid is a global pandemic and its important to collect as much data as we can on every specimen that we catch because this makes it’s maximally useful to scientists around the world that are contributing to this pandemic.” Sandie Chambers – Skins IR Director.