Prof
Mona
Webber

Job title: 
Head of Department & Professor, Marine Ecology
Telephone: 
(876) 927-1202/2753
Email: 
mona.webber@uwimona.edu.jm

Staff

Overview
Professor Mona Webber is a Marine Biologist and Ecologist whose primary research area is in Tropical Marine Zooplankton: their production, community structure and distribution, as well as their use as indicators of water quality. Prof. Webber and her students have compiled and documented information on the biodiversity associated with mangrove areas and the essential role that mangrove ecosystems play in protecting coastlines, especially during natural disasters, and their valuable contribution to sustainable economic activities. She has supervised over 30 graduate students and a large number of undergraduate research projects. Her current research involves assessing the carbon in mangrove forests, assessing the effect of microplastics on the marine environment and exploring the benefits to be derived by developing countries in the Caribbean and Western Africa from sargassum.
Research Interests: 
• Tropical Zooplankton production and energy transfer in coastal systems
• Biodiversity of mangrove lagoons
• Mangrove restoration
• Water quality monitoring of marine environments using zooplankton communities
• Microplastics and the marine environment
• Benefits to be derived from Sargassum
Courses Taught: 
• BIOL2401 - Research Skills and Practices in Biology
• BIOL3408 - Coastal Ecosystems
• BIOL3412 - Biology Internships
• BIOL3413 - Biology Research Projects
Research Interest Group Term: 
Honours and Awards: 
2022 Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (National Award)
2021 Musgrave Gold Medal for Science
Public Service: 
• National Ramsar committee (NEPA)
Professional Memberships: 
• Jamaica chapter of the Caribbean Academy of Sciences
• Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean
• Jamaican Society of Scientists and Technologists
• Associate of Harbour Branch Oceanographic Institute
Graduate Students: 
Devannie Lyew
Patrice Francis
Hugh Small
Jonathan Morris
Nasya Jones
Nasheika Guyah
Chauntelle Green
Gina-Marie Maddix