Keenan Stears
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Teaching Assistant Professor, Biology
- Terrestrial Ecology, Wildlife Ecology, Animal Behavior, Global Change, Predator-Prey Dynamics, Foraging, Animal Movement, Species-Habitat Relationships
Contact Info
- Email: keenan.stears@UND.edu
- Office: 701.777.4598
- Dept: 701.777.2621
Office Address
Starcher Hall Room 217
10 Cornell Street Stop 9019
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9019
- BIOL 150: General Biology I (Spring)
- BIOL 332: General Ecology (Fall)
- BIOL 338: Animal Behavior (Spring)
- BIOL 480/H: Senior Capstone Seminar (Spring)
- BIOL 491: Seminar (Spring)
- BIOL 503: Seminar (Spring)
My lab's research focuses on various aspects of wildlife ecology. We work at the interface of population and community ecology to address (1) how local and global changes affect multiple levels of ecological organization (scaling from individuals to ecosystems), and (2) how these changes may be mitigated by management actions to maintain biological diversity and ecosystem function. A major goal of our work is to provide solution-oriented science that addresses current issues of global change and natural resource management.
My lab's research integrates observational, experimental, and quantitative approaches to investigate how environmental change – including anthropogenic disturbances/management, climate change, and land-use change – influences animal behavior, habitat use, predator-prey dynamics, and the animal-driven processes that regulate the structure and function of ecosystems.
Most of my lab's research has focused on African mammals in savanna ecosystems. Although, the questions and concepts that we apply to address the problems facing African wildlife are not species- or system-specific and can therefore be applied to a range of wildlife species in different ecosystems while also informing the conservation and management of these systems and the wildlife that depend on them. I am excited to expand my research into the Northern Great Plains and beyond.