Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences

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. 

Selected Recent Publications:

Luke, K., Horrocks, J., Leroux, R and P. Dutton. (2004) Origins of green turtle feeding aggregations around Barbados, West Indies. Marine Biology 144:799-805.

Horrocks, J.A., L.A. Vermeer, B. Krueger, M. Coyne, B.A. Schroeder, and G.H. Balazs. (2001) Migration routes and destination characteristics of post-nesting hawksbill turtles satellite-tracked from Barbados, West Indies. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 4:107-114.

Eckert, K. L. and J. A. Horrocks (Compilers). (2002) Proceedings of an Interactive Technical Workshop: Sea Turtles and Beachfront Lighting. WIDECAST, the Barbados Sea Turtle Project (UWI), and the Tourism Development Corporation of Barbados. Bridgetown, Barbados. 44pp.

Horrocks, J.A. (2001) Reducing threats on foraging grounds, pp.121-126. In: K.L. Eckert, K.L. and F.A. Abreu Grobois (Editors), Proceedings of the Regional Meeting: “Marine Turtle Conservation in the Wider Caribbean Region: A Dialogue for Effective Regional Management”, Sto Domingo, 16-18 November 1999. WIDECAST, IUCN-MTSG, WWF and UNEP-CEP.xx +154 pp.

Beggs, J., B. Krueger and J. Horrocks. (2001). Nesting Beach Monitoring Programme Procedures Manual. Barbados Sea Turtle Project, University of the West Indies. Bridgetown, Barbados. 35 pp. + app.

Horrocks, J. (2001) Sea turtles and beachfront lighting: an interactive workshop for industry professionals and policy-makers in Barbados. Marine Turtle Newsl. 93:18-19.

Quackenbush, S.L., Casey, R.N., Murcek, R.J., Paul, T.A. Work, T.M., Limpus, C.J., Chaves, A., du Toit,  Vasconcelos Perez, J., Alonso Aguirre,  Spraker, T.R., Horrocks, J.A., Vermeer, L.A.,  Balazs, G.H., and J.W. Casey. (2001) Quantitative analysis of herpesvirus sequences from normal tissue and fibropapillomas of marine turtles with real-time PCR.  Virology 287:42-49.

Horrocks, J.A. (2000) The sea turtles of Barbados. Journal of the Barbados Museum & Historical Society 46:66-74.

Underwood, G., Horrocks, J.A. and Daltry, J.C. (1999) A new snake from Barbados. Journal of the Barbados Museum & Historical Society 45:67-75.