Dr. Dave Garshelis

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Instructor, Center for Wildlife Studies

Wildlife Research Scientist (retired), Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Co-Chair, IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group

M.S., University of Tennessee

Ph.D., University of Minnesota

Email: dave.garshelis@gmail.com

Dr. Dave Garshelis is a retired Wildlife Research Scientist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, where he served as Bear Project Leader for 37 years. Dave studied black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains for his M.S. degree (University of Tennessee) and sea otters in Alaska for his Ph.D. (University of Minnesota).

His research in Minnesota involved capturing, immobilizing (in traps and at dens) and handling over 2,000 bears. Dave has also advised more than 20 graduate students on bear projects all over the world, involving 7 of the 8 species. He is co-chair of the IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group, a position he has held for the past 18 years, and in that role facilitates and coordinates conservation activities for bears worldwide.

    • Ditmer, M. A., D.L. Garshelis, K.V. Noyce, T.G. Laske, P.A. Iaizzo, J.R. Fieberg,  J.D. Forester, and T.E. Burk. 2015. Behavioral and physiological responses of American black bears to landscape features in an agricultural region.  Ecosphere 6(3):28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES14-00199.1

    • Garshelis, D.L. 2011. Andean bear density and abundance estimates — how reliable and useful are they?  Ursus 22: 47–64

    • Garshelis, D.L., and C.B. Johnson.  2013. Prolonged recovery of sea otters from the Exxon Valdez oil spill? A re-examination of the evidence.  Marine Pollution Bulletin: 71:7–19.

    • Garshelis, D.L., M.L. Gibeau, and S. Herrero.  2005. Grizzly bear demographics in and around Banff National Park and Kananaskis Country, Alberta.  Journal of Wildlife Management 69:277–297.

    • Garshelis, D.L., S. Baruch-Mordo, A. Bryant, K. A. Gunther, and K. Jerina. 2017.. Is diversionary feeding an effective tool for reducing human–bear conflicts? Case studies from North America and Europe.  Ursus 28: 31–55.

    • Garshelis D.L., K.V. Noyce, and V. St-Louis. 2020. Population reduction by hunting helps control human–wildlife conflicts for a species that is a conservation success story. PLoS ONE 15(8): e0237274. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237274

    • Garshelis, D.L., K. V. Noyce, M. A. Ditmer, P. L. Coy, A. N. Tri, T. G. Laske, and P. A. Iaizzo. 2021. Remarkable adaptations of the American Black Bear help explain why it is the most common bear: a long-term study from the center of its range. Pages 53–62 in Penteriani V, Melletti M, editors. Bears of the World: Ecology, Conservation and Management. Cambridge University Press, UK.

    • Guharajan, R., T. W. Arnold, G. Bolongon, G. H. Dibden, N. K. Abram, T. S. Woan, M. A. Magguna, B. Goossens, S. T. Wong, S. K. S. S. Nathan, and D. L. Garshelis.  2018. Survival strategies of a frugivore, the sun bear, in a forest‑oil palm landscape.  Biodiversity and Conservation 27: 3657–3677.

    • Stapleton S., S. Atkinson, D. Hedman, and D. Garshelis. 2014. Revisiting Western Hudson Bay: Using aerial surveys to update polar bear abundance in a sentinel population.  Biological Conservation 170: 38–47.

    • Steinmetz, R., D. L. Garshelis, W. Chutipong, N. Seauturien.   2013. Feeding ecology and coexistence of two species of bears in seasonal tropical forests, Thailand.  Journal of Mammalogy 94:1–18.