Barbara Kus

Dr. Barbara Kus designs and conducts original field research on avian ecology and conservation to support science-based natural resource management in national and international contexts.  Dr. Kus interacts closely with federal, state, and local resource managers and regulatory agencies to prioritize research needs, and design and conduct investigations to meet those needs.  As a scientist broadly trained in ecology and evolutionary biology, she focuses her research on integrating management, which is typically short-term and threats-driven, with an evolutionary perspective that seeks longer-term sustainability of species and ecosystems through maintenance of evolutionary processes required for persistence.  A theme of her research is that it is strategically long-term, yielding unique datasets that incorporate spatial and temporal patterns of response to environmental variability needed for this evolutionary perspective. 

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Ecology and Conservation of Endangered Riparian Birds
• Response of Riparian Bird Communities to Habitat Restoration
• Ecology and Population Trends of Neotropical Migratory Birds
• Population Genetic Structure of Endangered Birds
• Post-wildfire Recovery of Riparian and Coastal Sage Scrub Bird Communities and Habitats

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 1985
• M.S., Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 1980
• B.S., Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 1977
• B.A., Zoology, University of California, Davis, CA 1977

PROFESSIONAL AND HONORARY SOCIETIES AND SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES

• American Ornithological Society
• Association of Field Ornithologists
• American Birding Association
• The Wildlife Society
• Least Bell’s Vireo/Southwestern Willow Flycatcher/Yellow-billed Cuckoo Working Group
• California Partners in Flight
• Audubon California Board of Directors
• Riparian Habitat Joint Venture
• Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Recovery Team
• Clapper Rail Recovery Team

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Research Ecologist, USGS, Western Ecological Research Center, Feb 1998-Present
• Station Leader, USGS, Western Ecological Research Center, San Diego Field Station, Feb 1998-Present
• Research Professor, Dept. of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, Sep 1985-present
• Lecturer, Dept. of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, Sep 1985-Feb 1998
• Research Associate, Department of Zoology, University of California, Davis, 1978-1984
• Research Assistant, Department of Zoology, University of California, Davis, 1978
• Research Assistant, Division of Environmental Studies, University of California, Davis, Moremi Wildlife Reserve, Botswana, 1977
• Research Assistant, California Regional Primate Center, University of California, Davis, 1975