People
Hamilton, Martin A.
| Job Title | UK Overseas Territories Programme Co-ordinator |
|---|---|
| Department | Herbarium |
| Section | Dicot Systematics |
| Science Teams |
UK Overseas Territories |
| Joined Kew | 2004 |
| Foreign Language(s) | Portuguese (basic) |
Qualifications & Appointments
BSc, Agriculture/Horticulture, Western Kentucky University, USA, 2000
Dip. Horticulture, Kew (Hons), 2004.
Role
Research on and monitoring of threatened species, development of horticultural protocols/training and ex situ living collections, focusing on UK Overseas Territories.
Herbarium collecting in the UK Overseas Territories (e.g. Turks and Caicos Islands [TCI], British Virgin Islands [BVI], Montserrat); curation of specimens on arrival at Kew; research and databasing historic UKOTs specimens at Kew and other institutions (e.g. Natural History Museum, London, New York Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden); Threatened species inventory (Zanthoxylum punctatum ssp. thomasianum, Leptocereus quadricostatus, Calyptranthes kiaerskovii, C. thomasiana) also invasive species (e.g. Scaevola sericea, Casuarina equisetifolia); monitoring of plant communities in the UKOTs (e.g. BVI, Montserrat, TCI); assisting conservation assessment and recovery planning for threatened species (e.g. BVI); development of materials and recommendations to help build capacity for conservation in the UKOTs (e.g. J.R. O’Neal Botanic Garden, Tortola, BVI, Montserrat National Trust Botanic Garden); development of horticultural protocols for cultivation/propagation of threatened species (e.g. Acacia anegadensis, Zanthoxylum punctatum ssp. thomasianum, Leptocereus quadricostatus, Senna polyphylla var. neglecta, Cordia rupicola, Malpighia woodburyana, Metastelma anegadense, Calyptranthes kiaerskovii, C. thomasiana, Machaonia woodburyana). Development of UKOTs database for species and specimens using BRAHMS with the aim of making data available via web interface; development of UKOTs webpage. Develop ex situ collections for plant rescues (e.g. BVI, Montserrat) and seed collections (BVI) for UKOTs and Kew (involving collection for and supply by the Millennium Seed Bank); supply reports and technical information concerning UKOTs species to all relevant partners in the UK and UKOTs; provide horticultural and herbarium techniques training to relevant project staff and students in the UKOTs (e.g. BVI, Montserrat), including horticultural and conservation lectures to relevant project staff and students in the UK (e.g. Kew Diploma in Horticulture, University of Exeter, Kew Plant Conservation Strategies Course 2005) and in the UKOTs (e.g. BVI, TCI).
Projects
Darwin Initiative Assessment of the Coastal Biodiversity of Anegada, British Virgin Islands
Developing a Species and Specimens Database for the UKOTs Programme
Developing Ex Situ Conservation Collections of UKOTs Species In-Territory and at Kew
Enabling the People of Montserrat to Conserve the Centre Hills
In Ivan’s wake: a Darwin Initiative Biodiversity Action Plan for the Cayman Islands
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Hamilton, M.A. & Crellin, L. (2005). The UK Overseas Territories wreath of remembrance. Forum News 26: 3.
Hamilton, M.A. (2005). In situ study of endangered island endemics of the Virgin Islands. Combined Proceedings of the International Plant Propagators Society 55.