Daniel Blumstein

Daniel Blumstein

Professor

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

4808 Life Sciences Building
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Campus Mailcode: 160606

(310) 267-4746

Personal Website

Research

Broadly, I am interested in the evolution of social and antipredator behavior and the ramifications mechanisms of behavior have for higher level ecological processes and for wildlife conservation. I have spent over a decade studying the evolution of complex communication and sociality and used the 14 species of marmots (cat-sized sciurid rodents found throughout the northern hemisphere) as a model system. Much of my marmot work now focuses on the yellow-bellied marmots of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (www.rmbl.org) which have been studied continuously since 1962. A main theme in my research is integrating knowledge of animal behavior into conservation biology. Ultimately, I aim to illustrate, through examples, how knowledge of behavior should influence policy. In addition to my more theoretical work, I’ve been actively engaged in using ecotourism as a form of community development and as a way to conserve natural resources. My theoretical research interests are particularly relevant to the applied work because ecotourism can adversely impact wildlife. Ultimately, it is the wildlife’s perception of human impacts that matters.

Projects

Multicolored_tanager_chicoral

Sustainable tourism in Colombia: Biocultural values

“No Music Without Trees or Birds: A Spatial Analysis of Cultural Reliance and Relationships to Endemic Flora and Fauna Species in Colombia” Pritzker Award Affiliate: Alejandra Echeverri, Conservation Scientist, Stanford…

Nouzelle

Wildlife post-Woolsey Fire Recovery and Recolonization

Awardee: Chloe Nouzille, M.S. student at UCLA, co-advised by Dr. Dan Blumstein and Dr. Seth Riley. Chloe is pursuing a research-based career studying social learning behavior to increase reintroduction success and conserve endangered species.

Recent Publications

Predicting bird song from space

Smith, T. B.; Harrigan, R. J.; Kirschel, A. N.; Buermann, W.; Saatchi, S.; Blumstein, D. T.; de Kort, S. R.; Slabbekoorn, H.

Published Work | 2013 | Evolutionary Applications 6(6), 865–874

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