Professor and Associate Department Head
413-545-4723
128 Holdsworth
Email: tkfuller
Primary interests
Dr. Fuller’s research efforts focus on identifying factors affecting variation in mammal density and distribution. Whether a species is recognized as endangered, a nuisance, or harvestable, knowledge of its natural history and population ecology is essential in order to predict or responsibly manage population change. In order to better understand the mechanisms of this change, Dr. Fuller and his students capture, mark, and monitor a variety of carnivores, ungulates, and smaller herbivores to document their movements, habitat use, food habits, survival, reproduction, social behavior, and density, then synthesize results from their own and other studies. They survey populations through direct and indirect means (e.g., scats, tracks, calls, cameras) to assess distribution and relative abundance, and also collaborate with colleagues to investigate roles of disease, genetics, nutrition, morphology, and human activities in population regulation and species conservation.
Current Students and Their Projects
Bridget Amulike (Ph.D., ECo , co-advised with Curt Griffin) – Gray crowned crane ecology conservation in Tanzania
Carolina Sáenz Bolaños (PhD., ECo, co-advised with Eduardo Carrillo) – Factors affecting the distribution of jaguars and their prey in the humid northeast forests of Costa Rica
Juan Carlos Cruz Diaz (PhD., ECo, co-advised with Eduardo Carrillo) – Conservation of jaguars and their prey on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.
Eric LeFlore (Ph.D., ECo, co-advised with Andrew Stein) – Lion ecology and conservation in Botswana
Zalmai Moheb (PhD., ECo, co-advised with Peter Zahler) – Drivers of snow leopard-human conflict in the mountains of northeastern Afghanistan
Victor Montalvo G. (PhD., ECo, co-advised with Eduardo Carrillo) – Conservation of jaguars and their prey in the dry forests of northwestern Costa Rica
Recent Publications
Fuller, T.K., A.M. Silva, V.H. Montalvo, C. Sáenz-Bolaños, and E. Carrillo J. 2019. Reproduction of white-tailed deer in a seasonally dry tropical forest of Costa Rica: a test of aseasonality. Journal of Mammalogy. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyz173
LeFlore, E.G., T.K. Fuller, J.T. Finn, S. DeStefano, and J.F. Organ. 2019. Wild canid distribution and co-existence during Fall in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. Northeastern Naturalist 26:325-342.
Sáenz-Bolaños, C., T.K. Fuller, M.S. Mooring, J. Porras, P.R. Sievert, V.H. Montalvo, and E. Carrillo J. 2019. Bush dogs in Central America: recent range expansion, cryptic distribution, or both? Tropical Conservation Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940082919849758
LeFlore, E.G., T.K. Fuller, M. Tomeletso, and A.B. Stein. 2019. Livestock depredation by large carnivores in northern Botswana. Global Ecology and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00592
Montalvo, V.H., C. Sáenz-Bolaños, L.D. Alfaro, J.C. Cruz, F.H. Guimarães-Rodrigues, E. Carrillo, C. Sutherland, and T.K. Fuller. 2019. Seasonal use of waterholes and pathways by macrofauna in the dry forest of Costa Rica. Journal of Tropical Ecology https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467418000457
Herrera, H., E.J. Chávez, L.D. Alfaro, T.K. Fuller, V. Montalvo, F. Rodrigues, and E. Carrillo. 2018. Time partitioning among jaguar Panthera onca, puma Puma concolor and ocelot Leopardus pardalis (Carnivora: Felidae) in Costa Rica’s dry and rain forests. Revista de Biología Tropical 66:1559-1568.
Sáenz-Bolaños, C., V. Montalvo, E. Carrillo, and T.K. Fuller. 2018. Tayra predation of brown-throated three-toed sloth in Costa Rica. Edentata 19:70-73.
Quiñónez C., A., T.K. Fuller, and T.O. Randhir. 2018. A review of otter distribution modeling: approach, scale, and metrics. IUCN Otter Specialist Group Bulletin. 35:97-127.
Timm, M., S. Maji and T. Fuller. 2018. Large-scale ecological analyses of animals in the wild using computer vision. The IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) Workshops 2018:2009-2011.
Moheb, Z., S.N. Mostafawi, P.I. Zahler, and T.K. Fuller. 2018. Markhor and Siberian ibex occurrence and conservation in northern Afghanistan. Caprinae News 2018:4-7.
Carrillo, E. and T.K. Fuller. 2018. Predation of a Central American coral snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus) by a nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. Edentata 19:67-69.
Rayl, N.D., G. Bastille-Rousseau, J.F. Organ, M.A. Mumma, S.P. Mahoney, C.E. Soulliere, K.P. Lewis, R.D. Otto, D.L. Murray, L.P. Waits, and T.K. Fuller. 2018. Spatiotemporal heterogeneity in prey abundance and vulnerability shapes the foraging tactics of an omnivore. Journal of Animal Ecology 87:874–887. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12810
Morjan, M., N.D. Rayl, P. Elkan, J. Deutsch, B. Henke, and T.K. Fuller. 2018. Armed conflict and development in South Sudan threatens some of Africa’s longest and largest ungulate migrations. Biodiversity and Conservation 27:365-380.
Mumma, M.A., J.D. Holbrook, N.D. Rayl, C.J. Zieminski, T.K. Fuller, J.F. Organ, S.P. Mahoney and L.P. Waits. 2017. Examining spatial patterns of selection and use for an altered predator guild. Oecologia 185:725-735.
Olson, K.A. and T.K. Fuller. 2017. Wildlife hunting in eastern Mongolia: economic and demographic factors influencing hunting behavior of herding households. Mong. J. Biol. Sci. 15:37-46.
Fuller, T.K. 2017. Conundrum of cats. Review of Marra and Santella. 2016. Cat wars: the devastating consequences of a cuddly killer.Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Ecology, 98:1479-1480.
Buuveibaatar, B., S. Strindberg, P. Kaczensky, J. Payne, B. Chimeddorj, G. Naranbaatar, S. Amarsaikhan, B. Dashnyam, T. Munkhzui, T. Purevsuren, D. Hosack, and T.K. Fuller. 2017. Mongolian Gobi supports the world’s largest populations of khulan Equus hemionus and goitered gazelles Gazella subguttarosa. Oryx 51:639–647.
Buuveibaatar, B., T. Mueller, S. Strindberg, P. Leimgruber, P. Kaczensky, and T.K. Fuller. 2016. Human activities negatively impact distribution of ungulates in the Mongolian Gobi. Biological Conservation 203:168-175.
Montalvo, V., L. Alfaro, C. Saenz, J. Cruz, T.K. Fuller, and E. Carrillo. 2016. Factors affecting jaguar and puma predation on livestock in northwest Costa Rica. Wildlife Biology in Practice 12:32-42.
Mumma, M.A., Adams, J.R., Zieminski, C., Fuller, T.K., Mahoney, S.P., and Waits, L.P. 2016. A comparison of morphological and molecular food habit analyses of predator scats. Journal of Mammalogy 97:112-120.
Pusparini, W., P.R. Sievert, T.K. Fuller, T.O. Randhir, and N. Andayani. 2015. Rhinos in the parks: an island-wide survey of the last wild population of the Sumatran rhinoceros. PLOS ONE 10(9): e0136643. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0136643
Rayl, N.D., T.K. Fuller, J.F. Organ, J.E. McDonald, Jr., R.D. Otto, G. Bastille-Rousseau, C.E. Soulliere, S.P. Mahoney. 2015. Spatiotemporal variation in the distribution of potential predators of a resource pulse: black bears and caribou calves in Newfoundland. Journal of Wildlife Management 79:1041-1050.
Hla Naing, T.K. Fuller, P.R. Sievert, T.O. Randhir, Saw Htoo Tha Po, Myint Maung, A.J. Lynam, Saw Htun, Win Naing Thaw, and Than Myint. 2015. Assessing large mammal and bird richness from camera-trap records in the Hukaung Valley of Northern Myanmar. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 63:376–388.
Sáenz-Bolaños, C., V. Montalvo-Guadamuz, T.K. Fuller, and E. Carrillo-Jiménez. 2015. Records of black jaguars at Parque Nacional Barbilla, Costa Rica. Cat News 62(Spring):38-39
McCarthy, J.L., H.T. Wibisono, K.P. McCarthy, T.K. Fuller, and N. Andayani. 2015. Assessing the distribution and habitat use of four felid species in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia. Global Ecology and Conservation 3:210-221.
Gese, E.M., Knowlton, F.F., J.R. Adams, K. Beck, T.K. Fuller, D.L. Murray, T. Steury, M.K. Stoskopf, W. Waddell, and L.P. Waits. 2015. Managing hybridization in endangered species recovery – the red wolf as a case study. Current Zoology 61:191-205.
Mumma, M.S., C. Zieminski, T.K. Fuller, S.P. Mahoney, and L.P. Waits. 2015. Evaluating noninvasive genetic sampling techniques to estimate large carnivore abundance. Molecular Ecology Resources DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12390
Courses Taught
HONORS 391A – Honors Seminar (1 cr) – Fall and Spring
Hunter and Hunted: Relationships between Carnivores and People – Humans have mixed emotions concerning carnivores. We admire them as beautiful hunters, cosset them as pets, and use their pelts and other products in clothing, medicines and cosmetics. However, they are also responsible for killing us and our livestock, carry disease and compete with us for space and food. While some advocate the conservation of predators such as wolves and tigers, others see them as vermin and want them gone. In this course we will explore the fascinating story of carnivores and our intricate relationships with them. The readings will deal with the wild beauty of carnivores and their conservation, but also with furs and medicine, man-eaters and sheep-killers, explaining in simple terms what the role of carnivores is in nature, how this impacts on human lives, our art and literature, how we instinctively respond to them and why.Individual research projects related to the course material (especially large carnivores worldwide) will be developed and presented by semester’s end.
NRC 211 – Animal Sampling & Identification (1 cr) – Spring
This course provides students with basic skills needed to identify terrestrial vertebrate wildlife and gives them hands on opportunities to utilize typical means of capturing, sampling, and studying such organisms in the field.
NRC 261 Wildlife Conservation (3 cr) – Spring
An introduction to wildlife conservation through lectures and assigned readings concerning ecological processes (including animal behavior, habitat interactions, and population dynamics), effects of humans on life around them, and the wise stewardship of our natural resources. Case studies of various species are used to illustrate the complexities of most conservation and management situations, but also to identify the common themes encountered in wildlife conservation efforts. Emphases include understanding the integral link between wildlife and their environments, the impacts humans have on wildlife (both positive and negative), and the various methods by which wildlife populations are monitored, managed, and preserved.
ECO 758 Advanced Wildlife Management (3cr) – Fall (even years)
A discussion course with varying current topics in wildlife management and conservation, potentially including topics such as population demography and ecology, habitat assessment and management, wildlife in a changing climate, reintroduction biology, conservation behavior, migratory bird management and conservation, or suburban wildlife ecology and management. Open to Graduate students only.