Dr. Tomas Tomascik is an interdisciplinary marine scientist with over 40 years of experience in shallow-water tropical and temperate marine environments. He received his B.Sc. from the University of Toronto (Canada), and his Ph.D. from McGill University (Canada). He began his scientific career in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific regions specializing in coral reef ecology and marine protected areas. His tropical portfolio includes marine projects in Barbados, Grenada, Anguilla, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
He served as a Senior Advisor with the Environmental Management Development in Indonesia (EMDI) Project, Canadian International Development Agency, advising on the conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity. He is the senior author of the acclaimed two-volume textbook “The Ecology of the Indonesian Seas.” He also authored numerous articles published in leading, peer-reviewed scientific journals (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tomas-tom-Tomascik).
Dr. Tomascik provides marine expertise on international projects for governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private industry, and academic institutions. His academic experience includes teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in tropical marine ecology as a Visiting Professor at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, and as an Adjunct Professor at The University of British Columbia, Canada.
During his tenure with Parks Canada, as a National Science Advisor, Dr. Tomascik provided knowledge and expertise in development, establishment, and management of National Marine Conservation Areas (NMCAs) and conducted marine research in Canada’s National Parks. He is a skilled underwater diver, photographer, and videographer. While working with Parks Canada, he was an underwater videographer and scientific advisor in two Canadian documentaries, “Gwaii Haanas: From Earth to Ocean” and “Secrets of the Emerald Sea: Bringing the Depth to Light”.
Dr. Tomascik has a broad interest in marine ecological research that covers both tropical and temperate shallow-water benthic marine ecosystems. His tropical research interests are focused on coral ecology, specifically: 1) coral community interactions; 2) the effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on the structure and function of coral assemblages; and 2) coral community recovery following natural and anthropogenic perturbations. His current interests focus on the population and community ecology of scleractinian coral assemblages in marginal and extreme non-reefal coral environments in the northeastern Bay of Bengal. The goal is to develop innovative research and monitoring programs that will support future development, management and conservation efforts of the 1,743 km2 St. Martin’s Island marine protected area.