Dr. Scott Shaffer
scott.shaffer@sjsu.edu Educational Background Ph.D. Biology University of California, Santa Cruz 2000 M.S. Marine Science University of California, Santa Cruz 1996 B.S. Biology San Diego State University 1993 Courses Taught BIOL 31: Principles of Biology II BIOL 106: Physiological Ecology BIOL 110: Foundations in Biodiversity BIOL 114: Functional Morphology BIOL 160: Ecology BIOL 163: Conservation Biology BIOL 220: Science Communication Research Interests My research focuses on the ecology and conservation of birds and mammals, especially marine species. Underlying themes include studies that examine the links between foraging behavior, energy expenditure, at-sea distribution, and predator-prey interactions. This research uses a variety of techniques including isotopic tracers, heart rate loggers, and respirometry to measure energy expenditure, and state of the art electronics like GPS loggers, satellite telemetry, archival geolocation data loggers, and VHF radio tags to study foraging behavior, activity, distribution, and habitat use of free-ranging animals. |