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Joshua Ginsberg
Title Adjunct Professor
Affiliation/Department Senior Vice President, Global Conservation Program Wildlife Conservation Society
Telephone: (718) 220-5884
e-mail: jginsberg@wcs.org
Professional degree Ph.D., Princeton University, 1988
Research Keywords conservation, mammals, protected areas, trade, edge effects, fragmentation, zebras, carnivores
Research Description Joshua Ginsberg spent 15 years (1980-1995) working on large mammal ecology, conservation and behavior projects in Asia and East and Southern Africa as a faculty member at Oxford University, University College London, and the Institute of Zoology, London. He served as Director of the Asia Program at WCS from 1996-2004, Acting Director of the WCS Africa Program for 10 months in 2002 and Vice President for Conservation Operations from 2003-2009.

Prof. Ginsberg’s research interests have shifted from behavioral ecology to studying the factors that influence the persistence of endangered species, particularly (but not exclusively) those living in and around protected areas. As Chairman of the NOAA-NMFS Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery team, he was responsible for overseeing the revision of the Endangered Species Act Recovery Plan for this species. While not actively pursuing field research, he is currently working on projects with students that look at the effectiveness of protected areas, and at fragmentation of tropical forests in Asia, and the role of restoration in the recovery of endangered species.

He has supervised 18 Masters and seven Ph.D. students.
Representative Publications

2012 Ginsberg, J. R. Spatial Scale and the Design of Conservation Interventions. In Beardsley, John, ed. Designing for Wildlife. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Harvard University Press.

2010 Sanderson, E.W., J. Forrest, C. Loucks, J. Ginsberg, E. Dinerstein, J. Seidensticker, P. Leimgruber, M. Songer, A. Heydlauff, T. O’Brien, G. Bryja, S. Klenzendorf, and E. Wikramanayake. Setting Priorities for Tiger Conservation: 2005 – 2015. Chapter in Tiger Ecology and Conservation Eds: Ron Tilson and Phillip Nyhus

2007 Woodroffe, R., Davies-Mostert H., Ginsberg, J., Graf, J, Leigh, K. McCreery, K., Mills, G, , Poles, A., Rasmussen, G., Robbins, R., Somers, M. & M. Szykman. Rates and causes of mortality in endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus): lessons for management and monitoring. Oryx 41: 215-223.

2007 Dinerstein, E., Loucks, C., Wikramanayake, E., Ginsberg, J. Sanderson, E., Seidensticker, J., Forrest, J., Bryja, G., Heydlauff, A., Klenzendorf, S., Leimgruber, P., Mills, J., O’Brien, T.G., Shrestha, M., Simons, R. & Songer, M. (2007) The fate of wild tigers. BioScience 57: 508–514.

2007 Cobb, S., Ginsberg, J.R., Thomsen, J.. Conservation in the tropics: evolving roles for governments, international donors and non-government organizations. In Macdonald, D. & Service, K eds. . Key Topics in Conservation Biology. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, UK. Pp. 145-155.

2005 Woodroffe, R. B. and Ginsberg, J. R.. King of the Beasts? Evidence for Guild Redundancy among Large Mammalian Carnivores. in. Ray, J. C., Berger, J. Redford, K. H. & Steneck, R. Large Carnivores and Biodiversity: Does saving one conserve the other?” Island Press

2004 Ginsberg, J. R.. Enhancement of Survival or Abandonment of the Endangered Species Act?. An essay on the proposed rule change for import of endangered species to the USA under the ESA. Bioscience 54: 180-181.

Ginsberg, J.R. (2002) CITES at 30, or 40. Conservation Biology, 16: 1184-1191.
Dudley, J. P., Ginsberg, J. R.,. Plumptre , A. J., Hart, J. A., and L. C. Campos(2002). Conservation and conflict: "Effects of war and civil strife on wildlife and wildlife habitats. Conservation Biology, 16: 319-329.

Ginsberg, J. R. (2001) Setting Priorities for Carnivore Conservation: What Makes Carnivores Different?" in Macdonald, D. , Gittleman, J, Wayne, R. Carnivore Conservation. pp. 498-523. CambridgeUniversity Press

Ginsberg, J. R..(2001) "Mammals, Biodiversity of" in Levin, S. A. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Biodiversity.Volume 3, pp. 777-810 Academic Press, San Diego.

Woodroffe, R. & Ginsberg, J. R. (2000). Ranging behaviour and vulnerability to extinction in carnivores." In Behaviour and conservation (Eds L. M. Gosling & W. J. Sutherland), pp. 125-140. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Ray , J.C. and J. R .Ginsberg (1999). Endangered species legislation beyond the borders of the United States Conservation Biology 13:956-958

Woodroffe, R. B and J. R. Ginsberg (1999). Conserving the African Wild Dog, Lycaon pictus. I. Diagnosing and Treating Causes of Decline. Oryx 33: 132-142.

Mace,G. M., Balmford, A. and J. R. Ginsberg eds. (1999) Conservation in a Changing World: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK . 322 pp.

Woodroffe, R., Ginsberg, J.R (1998). Edge Effects And The Extinction Of Populations Inside Protected Areas. Science 280: 2126-2128

Woodroffe, R., Ginsberg, J.R and D.W. Macdonald and the IUCN Canid Specialist Group, Editors & Compilers (1999). The African Wild Dog: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN, Switzerland, 166 pp.

Ginsberg, J.R., Alexander, K.A., Creel, S., Kat, P.W., McNutt, J.W., and Mills, M.G.L. (1995) Patterns of Mortality in African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus): Effects of Handling. Conservation Biology 9: 665-674.

Ginsberg, J.R., Albon, S. D., Mace, G. M. (1995) Local Extinction in a Small and Declining Population: Serengeti Wild Dogs. Proceeding of the Royal Society (B)(London) 262: 221-228

Ginsberg, J.R. and E.J. Milner-Gulland (1994) Sex-biased harvesting and Population Dynamics in Ungulates: Implications for conservation and sustainable use. Conservation Biology 8: 157-166.
Other areas of Interest Conservation policy, in particular related to endanger species, CITES and trade issues