#011: Jaguars in Arizona - Dr. Melanie Culver & Susan Malusa

Biosphere 2 Podcast

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Melanie Culver & Susan Malusa. Dr. Melanie Culver is a geneticist and an Assistant Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Science at the University of Arizona School of Natural Resources. She is an Assistant Leader of the USGS Arizona Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and her genetic work studies a variety of species including jaguars, pumas, black bears, bighorn sheep, raptors, herps, and freshwater mussels, among others. Susan Malusa is a Research Specialist for the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona. She is the co-coordinator (along with Melanie) of the UA (Citizen Science) Jaguar and Ocelot Monitoring Program. Her specialty is biogeography and data science. From 2011 to 2015, Melanie and Sue led an extensive Jaguar and Ocelot field monitoring campaign in the borderlands of Arizona. Since then, the monitoring project has transitioned into a citizen science Monitoring Program, which continues to actively collect field data across southern Arizona, recording not only Jaguar and Ocelot data, but other rare species seldom seen across the southwest. In this conversation, Melanie and Sue, share their insights and expertise on the Arizona Jaguars and other big Felids of the Southwest. wildcatresearch.arizona.edu Jaguar Photo Captures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfws_southwest/albums/72157632294203147