Julia Horrocks

Biography

Dr. Julia A. Horrocks earned her Ph.D. in the behaviour of green monkeys, Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus, from UWI Cave Hill in 1985. During a post-doctoral year at McGill University (Canada), which she spent at Bellairs Research Institute in Barbados, she became interested in the biology and conservation of endangered sea turtles. She established the Barbados Sea Turtle Project in 1987, now located in the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences at UWI, and became WIDECAST (Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network) Country Coordinator for Barbados in 1988. The Barbados Sea Turtle Project has been implementing the recommendations of WIDECAST’s “Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for Barbados” since it was published by the UNEP Caribbean Environment Programme in 1992. Dr. Horrocks is a consultant to Caribbean NGOs and governments, and has participated in the development of Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plans for other Caribbean states. She is Coordinator of WIDECAST’s Caribbean Marine Turtle Tagging Centre (also located at UWI), a member of WIDECAST’s Scientific Advisory Board, and a member of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Marine Turtle Specialist Group. She is Chair of the CITES Scientific Authority in Barbados, and a member of the Regional Steering Committee for GEF/SGP in the Eastern Caribbean. She has authored dozens of books, management and technical reports, peer-reviewed scientific articles, and popular articles. She has been honoured to receive the Governor General’s Environmental Award in 2001 for her work in conservation of biodiversity, especially sea turtles. Dr. Horrocks was one of five 2004 recipients of a Pew Marine Conservation Fellowship, the world's most prestigious award honoring and investing in applied ocean conservation science and outreach.

Research Interest

Ecology Co-ordinator Director of Barbados Sea Turtle Project. Behavioural ecology; Marine ecology