Tom Squires
Conservation Scholar Alumni
- Qualifications BSc Ecology and Conservation - Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, 2015 PhD Conservation, Evolution and Behaviour - Manchester Metropolitan University, ongoing
-
Focus area
Populations
-
Location
South East Asia
I am a PhD student at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), working in collaboration with Chester Zoo. My PhD is funded by both Chester Zoo and Manchester Metropolitan University.
My research project focuses on some of the species most threatened by the cage bird trade in Indonesia. The scale of the trapping of wild-caught birds, particularly in Indonesia, for the cage bird trade has been responsible for local extinctions and many species are currently under threat of global extinction.
This research will focus on the species of myna, which are in the starling family Sturnidae, that occur in Java and Bali, Indonesia. Four species of myna in Java and Bali are classified by the IUCN as Critically Endangered, having experienced severe population declines primarily because of trapping. I will be studying these species’ patterns of distribution and their ecological requirements (food, breeding, movement) to identify ways in which we can promote their conservation in the wild.
My background and main research interest lies is in the field of Conservation Ecology. After graduating from MMU I went to Colombia to work as a field assistant, collecting data for a research project looking at the habitat preferences of neotropical migratory birds on their wintering grounds. We also attached geolocators to selected birds to understand more about their incredible migrations between North and South America so that sites can be protected. Following this, I worked as an Ecologist at a consultancy in the UK, surveying sites for birds and other protected species and assessing potential impacts of development or land-use change on populations.
Supervisors
Dr Nigel Collar (BirdLife International)
Dr Christian Devenish (Conservation, Evolution and Behaviour Research Group, Manchester Metropolitan University)
Dr Huw Lloyd (Conservation, Evolution and Behaviour Research Group, Manchester Metropolitan University)
Professor Stuart Marsden (Conservation, Evolution and Behaviour Research Group, Manchester Metropolitan University)
Andrew Owen (Chester Zoo)