The Department of Life Sciences

 

Contact Information

Location

Hey! I’m Joshua, some may call me a ‘tree hugger’ due to my interest in forest conservation. My focus is currently on the endemic trees found within the Matura National Park. Due to the vast distribution of these species within the 9000Ha of this ESA, various trips to the park with necessary equipment for measurements, and encounters with the forest critters (both non-friendly and friendly) make the life of a tree hugger more appealing.  But this life also involves GIS modelling, thus creating a new outlook to these species, and fill knowledge gaps. So come on, join us tree huggers.

Education

• M.Phil. Candidate (Plant Science) University of the West Indies, St. Augustine 2015-present
• B.Sc. (Biology & Environmental and Natural Resource Management) University of the West Indies, St. Augustine 2015

Project Details

• Supervisor: Dr. Michael Oatham
• Co-Supervisor: Dr. Aidan Farrell
• Committee Member: Dr. Luke Rostant

Work Experience

• Teaching Assistant-UWI, St. Augustine 2017-present
• Technician-Collaboration UWI/GEF/FAO 2016-2017
• Invigilator-UWI, St. Augustine 2015-present
• Demonstrator-UWI, St. Augustine 2015-2017
• Research Assistant-UWI, St. Augustine 2015

Publications     

• Spiers, Joshua, and Aidan Farrell. 2018. Final Report on the Ecological Baseline Study Assessing the Status of Selected Indicator Species in Six Protected Areas in Trinidad and Tobago – Remote Sensing Vegetation Communities in the Six Protected Areas: Vegetation Distribution Modelling. Technical Report, St. Augustine: The University of the West Indies.
• Spiers, Joshua A., Michael P. Oatham, Luke V. Rostant, and Aidan D. Farrell. 2018. Applying species distribution modelling to improving conservation based decisions: a gap analysis of Trinidad and Tobago’s endemic vascular plants. Biodiversity and Conservation: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1578-y

ResearchGate

Google Scholar