Campuses:
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology
Bear Project Leader, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Mailing address: MN DNR, 1201 E Hwy 2, Grand Rapids, MN 55744
Phone: 218-327-4432
Fax: 218-327-4263
E-mail: dave.garshelis@state.mn.us
Ph. D. University of Minnesota
Monitoring and managing/conserving large mammal populations
My research during the past decade has and continues to involve bears and sea otters, although my interests are not limited to these species. I am broadly interested in developing methods for monitoring population status (size, trends, limiting factors), implementing such monitoring programs, and utilizing results to develop management or conservation strategies. As a research biologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, I have been able to directly apply the population monitoring approaches for black bears that were developed through my research, and then utilize the results to effect appropriate management strategies. My most recent completed studies outside Minnesota involved an assessment of the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on sea otters, which included recommendations for population monitoring in the event of another spill, and a project investigating factors limiting sloth bears in Nepal, which produced a conservation action plan. I am particularly interested in continuing similar investigations of other species of bears, as well as other little-known carnivores.
