| Born: | Gibraltar, 1987 |
| Educated: | Gibraltar |
| Alma mater: | University of Portsmouth |
| Position: | Head of Administration Department, Assistant Education Officer & Senior Researcher |
| Publications: |
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| Research Interests: |
Bat ecology in the region of the Strait of Gibraltar; Behavioural ecology of aerial insectivores. |
Tyson Lee Holmes, BSc (Hons) heads the Museum’s Administration Department but his roles also include being Assistant Education Officer and Senior Researcher within the Museum’s Education and Natural History Departments respectively. Tyson has a Bachelor of Science Honours degree from the University of Portsmouth which he completed in 2008. He later worked within Gibraltar’s Financial Services industry specialising in trust and company administration. With the experience gained in this field, Tyson joined the team at the Gibraltar National Museum in 2014 to lead the Administration Department, dealing with the day-to-day running of the Museum and related business.
In his role as Assistant Education Officer, Tyson works closely with the Director with responsibility for education, Prof Geraldine Finlayson to develop and deliver the Museum’s various educational programmes promoting Gibraltar’s rich history, culture, heritage and nature among children and adults alike. As Senior Researcher, Tyson works under the guidance of the Museum’s Chief Scientist Prof Clive Finlayson and alongside Director of Natural History Dr Stewart Finlayson.
Tyson is currently a PhD candidate within the University of Gibraltar's Field Ecology Research Group, researching the behavioural ecology of avian aerial insectivores in high-risk environments.
Tyson became a founding member of the museum's Caving Unit (GMCU) as Secretary and Committee Member in 2011 cataloguing and surveying many of Gibraltar’s caves as well as researching their historical uses. Prior to the formation of the unit, the official list of the caves of Gibraltar totalled 154. Since the formation of the GMCU, Tyson's work has helped to increase the number of recorded cave sites in Gibraltar to over 200.
In 2013 Tyson became a founding member of Gib-Bats, a collaborative study of bats in Gibraltar conducted by the Gibraltar National Museum and Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society, with the support of HM Government of Gibraltar via their Department for the Environment. He has been involved in the discovery of various new species of bats to Gibraltar. Tyson is licensed under the Nature Protection Act 1991 to study bats in Gibraltar and is a licenced Expert Ringer in Spain.