Dr. Michael S. Mooring

Dr. Michael S. Mooring, has been conducting behavioral ecology research since 1985, mounting field studies of African antelope, North American ungulates, and Neotropical mammals. He received his PhD from the Animal Behavior Graduate Group at University of California, Davis in 1993 based on research conducted in Zimbabwe; he then completed postdoctoral positions at the University of Pretoria, University of Alberta, and UC Davis. His dissertation, postdoctoral, and early career research was focused on parasite-defense behavior in ungulates, especially African impala and Canadian moose, elk, and bison. Since coming to Point Loma Nazarene University in 1997, Mooring has directed over 50 students in field research projects on a wide range of topics involving bighorn sheep, American bison, Neotropical felids, and many other species. Since 2010, he and his students have worked in collaboration with Costa Rican conservationists to deploy and monitor camera trap surveys to document the presence, relative abundance, and behavior of mammalian predators and prey in the high elevation Talamanca cloud forest. His research promotes community-based conservation by empowering local residents to conduct citizen science and environmental education. In addition to parasite-defense behavior, his research interests include sexual selection, sexual segregation, behavioral endocrinology, acoustical communication, and predator–prey interactions.