Joseph is a tropical forest ecologist, interested in the consequences of human disturbances and the sustainability of natural resource use. His current research within the Amazon Biodiversity and Carbon (ABC) expeditions focuses on vegetation inventories from undersampled regions of Brazilian Amazonia, coupled with multi-taxa biodiversity surveys.
His PhD covered floodplain forest ecology in western Brazilian Amazonia, examining the forest structure, phenology patterns and frugivore communities of flooded and unflooded forests, and compiled a synthesis of primate dietary studies from Central and South America.
Joseph conducted postdoctoral research at the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi in Brazil, with Rede Amazônia Sustentável (RAS), on land-use change and sustainability, investigating the functional consequences of forest disturbance and recovery for fruit traits and seed dispersal services. He also continued research with Projeto Médio Juruá (PMJ) on the sustainable use and community management of natural resources and ecosystem services, including postdoc positions at the Universidade do Estado do Amazonas and Anglia Ruskin University.
Joseph received his BSc (Biology) from the University of Nottingham, UK, and his MSc (Applied Ecology and Conservation) and PhD (Environmental Sciences) from the University of East Anglia, UK.