Centered on Ecosystem Health
Developing programs that sustain biodiversity and protect the ecosystems essential to animal and human health.
We’re focused on applied research in the Caribbean that includes the health of species in marine ecosystems, and population ecology, disease epidemiology and management of non-native islands species. Our conservation veterinary medicine research concentrates on sea turtles, nesting shorebirds/seabirds, marine mammals, corals, and fish populations as well as feral donkeys, free-roaming dogs, African green monkeys and small Indian mongooses.
Meet Our Center Director, Professor Mark Freeman BSC, PHD
Center Director, Professor of Aquaculture & Aquatic Parasitology
Professor Freeman leads this Center, focused on applied research into the health and management of wildlife and free-roaming animals in the tropics, with a special concentration on marine species and terrestrial species that are not native to the Caribbean. Faculty members within the Center also provide additional training opportunities to DVM students through special electives in aquatic veterinary medicine, leveraging RUSVM’s unique geographic position to provide students with hands-on experience in this growing field.
Center for Conservation Medicine and Ecosystem Health Research Focus Areas
We seek to better understand the role of wildlife and the broader ecosystem in the emergence of disease, and conversely, on the impact of infectious diseases from humans or domestic animals on wildlife.
From addressing non-specific protective effects of rabies vaccine in animals and people to population ecology and humane population management of owned, free-roaming dogs, our researchers are identifying the factors that influence the spread of diseases and devising solutions for their control.
- Health of Aquatic Species and Ecosystems
- Marine Turtle Medicine and Management
- Management of Threatened and Introduced Species
