The Open School of Tropical Animal Science & Production

Welcome to the OSTASP!

 

Neo-tropical wildlife is the term used to describe terrestrial wildlife of the Caribbean and Latin American region. This group of animals most at risk to the threats of extinction as there is very little awareness, knowledge and education on them. Few scientific studies have been conducted on these species and this school attempts to improve the knowledge, technology and sustainable development of them in their indigenous regions.

There are three main sectors which complete the OSTASP and together, they contribute to improving the farming techniques and production practices for tropical agriculture. They are:

        • The Open Tropical Forage-Animal Production Laboratory;
        • The Tropical Animal Science Integrated Network &
        • The Proposed Journal of Neo-Tropical Wildlife.

Particular interest is given to the setting up of the Journal of Neo-Tropical Wildlife and its literature collection. The Neo tropics contain about 33% of the world's animal diversity (Ojasti), and no wildlife and conservation Journal exists that focuses on this area; although there was one initiative aimed at correcting this called Manejo de Fauna Silvestre en Latinoamerica.

The next horizon for Neo tropical wildlife is their systematic study and the application of all the principles that have been developed for domestic animals non-native to the neo-tropics.

Kindly note that this website is being re-designed and is under construction. Information from the previous version is still available at the following URL: http://ostasp.brinkster.net/index.aspx.

Prof. Gary W. Garcia, Department of Food Production, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. Updated: 18-Jan-2015