Luke Alexander Jones

Having studied and worked with Durrell & The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation in the field on my PGDip in Mauritius I gained valuable experiences in endangered species recovery initiatives and the challenges of conducting research projects in small island ecosystems.

Since leaving Mauritius I worked as a Lecturer and Education Officer at West Midland Safari Park, where I developed modules in "Wildlife Ecology & conservation" & "Managing Volunteers". I also gained valuable experiences in communicating the importance and value of wildlife and wildlife conservation to a whole myriad of audiences from primary & secondary school students all the way through to the general public. Much of this work was conducted in the form of public outreach sessions to schools or practical led "Discovery Sessions".

Having been recruited to the Mountain Chicken Research Project (MCRP) as a Research Assistant I am finally able to combine the knowledge from both of these experiences into one role.

It is my role to coordinate Durrell's activities here on the ground in Montserrat. Ensuring that phase 1 of our reintroduction initiative is executed successfully and modified as needed in preparation for the beginning of phase 2. This will include establishing the native live-feed colonies, conducting the environmental manipulations described in the research section of this grant. As well as coordinating outreach initiatives for the project in the form of regular project updates on our social media sites and website, as well as outreach to local schools and community engagement in the project.

Dr Mike Hudson

Mike Hudson is a Durrell-IoZ Conservation Research Fellow at Durrell and ZSL. Mike works predominantly on amphibian conservation with a focus on infectious disease and the monitoring of wild animal populations. He also provides scientific support to Durrell's wider conservation science programme.

Mike is the Scientific Lead for this project. Mike was responsible for designing the experiment, informed by his previous research on seasonal variation in disease impact during experimental reintroductions of the mountain chicken.

Mike conducted his PhD on the conservation management of the mountain chicken frog with Durrell, ZSL and Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent. Mike's work on the mountain chicken has included two world's first conservation interventions. The first was a field based individual anti-fungal treatment during the disease epidemic which was successful in the short-term but did not provide long-term protection. This trial was interrupted a volcanic eruption and when the team returned to the island, the species had declined to near-extinction. The second a series of experimental reintroductions of captive-bred mountain chickens back to Montserrat in the face of endemic chytrid infection in reservoir species. This project showed a strong seasonal variation in the continued impact of chytridiomycosis and is the basis for the design of the current project.

Mike has worked across Durrell's science programme with a continued involvement in conservation research in India, Madagascar, Mauritius and across the Caribbean. This work involves amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles.