My research interests include effects of agriculture and forest management on wildlife, metapopulation ecology, population and community ecology of mammals, spatial ecology, factors influencing dispersal of seeds by vertebrates, interactions of mammalian herbivores and woody plants, and wildlife damage management. Details of this work have been published in various journals (see CV). I tend to rely on a combination of mathematical, experimental, and comparative approaches to address the importance of human activities on behavioral and ecological processes that affect the conservation and management of vertebrates. I try to balance theoretical advances with applications to human-dominated systems. My research also spans levels of biological organization from individuals to communities and spatial scales ranging from microsites to continents. Most of my research tends to be fairly quantitative.

I enjoy working with graduate students and have been recognized as Outstanding Graduate Educator in the College of Agriculture at Purdue. A more detailed description of the work undertaken by me and my students can be found in Projects.

Dr. Rob Swihart, Professor of Wildlife
Department of Forestry & Natural Resources
195 Marsteller Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907
(765) 494-3575
rswihart@purdue.edu