PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
2015. M.Phil., University of Cambridge, Biological Science (Zoology)
2012. A.B., Princeton University, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
agroecology, conservation biology, coupled human-natural systems, landscape genetics, movement ecology, wildlife ecology & management, wildlife utilization
I have broad interests in movement ecology, conservation biology, wildlife ecology & management, and agroecology. For my dissertation research, I am using GPS tracking technology, landscape genetics techniques, and camera trap data to study the patterns & implications of bearded pig movements in fragmented forest-oil palm mosaics and continuous primary forests in Borneo. I hope to discover: (a) the effect of habitat fragmentation on bearded pig migratory and/or nomadic movements; (b) fine-scale resource selection by bearded pigs in mixed forest-oil palm landscapes; (c) the social and ecological drivers of bearded pig distributions across Borneo; and (d) the key habitats required for effective bearded pig conservation in Sabah. Prior to coming to UC Berkeley, I researched the influence of agricultural landscapes on reptile and amphibian assemblages in Costa Rica, as well as the effect of oil palm management on frog diversity and diet in Sumatra, Indonesia. I also have experience in Christian ministry, and have a passion for dialogues at the intersection of theology, faith, culture, and conservation.
Love, K., D.J. Kurz, I.P. Vaughan, A. Ke, L.J. Evans, and B. Goossens. 2018. Bearded pig (Sus barbatus) utilisation of a fragmented forest–oil palm landscape in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Wildlife Research 44, 603-612.
Nowakowski, A.J., J.I. Watling, S.M. Whitfield, B.D. Todd, D.J. Kurz, and M.A. Donnelly. 2017. Tropical amphibians in shifting thermal landscapes under land use and climate change. Conservation Biology 31, 96-105. [link]
Gaynor, K.M., K.J. Fiorella, G.H. Gregory, D.J. Kurz, K.L. Seto, L.S. Withey, and J.S. Brashares. 2016. War and wildlife: pathways through which armed conflict affects fauna. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 14, 533-542. [link]
Kurz, D.J., E.C. Turner, A.A. Aryawan, H.C. Barkley, J.-P. Caliman, O. Konopik, S. Ps., and W.A. Foster. 2016. Replanting reduces frog diversity in oil palm. Biotropica 48, 483-490. [link]
Nowakowski, A.J., M. Veiman-Echeverria, D.J. Kurz, and M.A. Donnelly. 2015. Evaluating connectivity for tropical amphibians using empirically derived resistance surfaces. Ecological Applications 25, 928-942. [link]
Kurz, D.J., A.J. Nowakowski, M.W. Tingley, M.A. Donnelly, and D.S. Wilcove. 2014. Forest-land use complementarity modifies community structure of a tropical herpetofauna. Biological Conservation 170, 246-255. [link]
Kurz, D.J., N.A. McGinty, S.A. Stankavich, A.J. Nowakowski, and G.A. Smith. 2013. Restored wetlands can support mammalian assemblages comparable to those in nonmitigated reference wetlands. American Midland Naturalist 170, 260-273. [link]
Kurz, D.J., K.M. Straley, and B.A. DeGregorio. 2012. Out-foxing the red fox: how best to protect the nests of the Endangered loggerhead marine turtle Caretta caretta from mammalian predation? Oryx 46, 223-228. [link]
DeGregorio, B.A., T.E. Hancock, D.J. Kurz, and S. Yue. 2011. How quickly are road-killed snakes scavenged? Implications for underestimates of road mortality. Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science 127, 184-188. [link]
2017. Lewis and Clark Fund, American Philosophical Society.
2017. Fulbright U.S. Student Award to Malaysia.
2016. National Geographic Society/Waitt Grant.
2016. Harvey Fellowship, Mustard Seed Foundation.
2015. Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation.
2014. Best Talk, Amphibian Conservation Research Symposium, Zoological Society of London.
2013. Gates Cambridge Scholarship, University of Cambridge.
2012. Highest Honors, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University.
Contact details
David Kurz
UC Berkeley
130 Mulford Hall #3114
Berkeley, CA 94720
