Professor - Lead Faculty Advisor
Email: dakelt@ucdavis.edu
Office: 1081 Academic Surge
Lab: 1329 Academic Surge
Phone: (530) 754-9481

Research:

Small mammals - the charismatic microfauna of natural systems - comprise fully 2/3 of mammalian diversity, yet remain woefully understudied; our lab aims to help correct this failure. Our research is heavily field-based, with extensive capture/recapture efforts for small mammals, biotelemetry to monitor space and habitat use, and mist-netting and acoustic monitoring to study bat assemblages. Our mission is to shed light on the natural history, ecology, and conservation biology of aerial and terrestrial small mammals in diverse habitats.

Research Areas:

Population and community ecology, biogeography, and conservation biology, emphasizing mammals and particularly the rich diversity of small mammals (rodents, marsupials, shrews, bats) in temperate North and South America.

Academic History:

• 1983 Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA: B.S. Zoology, B.S. Botany, Biology
• 1989 Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL: M.S. Biology
  “Biogeography and assemblage structure of small mammals across a transition zone in southern Chile.” Advisor: Peter L. Meserve
• 1995 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM: Ph.D. Biology
  “Assembly of communities over time and space: a modeling approach to macroecological dynamics.” Advisor: James H. Brown

Current Projects:

• Long-term (28-years and ongoing) community and ecosystem ecology at a semi-arid site in Chile; conservation ecology of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse; the role and importance of riparian areas for California bat diversity; ecology of a threatened mesocarnivore in the Sierra Nevada.

Future Projects:

• Integrating soil biota into long-term research in Chile; disease ecology and conservation genetics of the salt marsh harvest mouse; role of mines for maintaining bat diversity in the Sierra Nevada.

Teaching:

• WFC 10 - Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Offered every Fall and Spring quarter.
• WFC 100 - Field Methods in Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Biology. Offered every Spring quarter.
• WFC 101/101L - Field Research in Wildlife Ecology. Offered Fall quarter in even numbered years.
• WFC 110 - Biology and Conservation of Wild Mammals. Offered every Spring quarter.
• WFC 110L - Laboratory in Biology and Conservation of Wild Mammals. Offered every Spring quarter.

Publications:

• Google Scholar Page: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Douglas+kelt&oq=Douglas