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learn more about the Wild nature institute

Derek E. Lee, Ph.D.
quantitative ecologist & population biologist.
Principal Scientist of Wild Nature Institute.

Associate Research Professor at Penn State University.

Research Interests: 
  • Conservation Biology
  • Demography & Population Ecology
  • Fire Ecology
  • Wildlife Responses to Climate Change
Project Administration Expertise:
  • Organizational Strategic Planning
  • Budgeting & Financial Planning
  • Fundraising
  • Media Strategy & Communications
EDUCATION:  
  • PhD Biological Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Dartmouth College
  • MS Natural Resources Management, Wildlife, Humboldt State University
  • BA Cultural Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara
MEMBERSHIPS:​
  • Ecological Society of America, Certified Senior Ecologist
  • American Society of Mammalogists
  • The Wildlife Society
  • ORCID
  • ResearchGate

EXPERIENCE:

2018-present      Associate Research Professor
   
                            Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biology

2010-present      Founder, Chief Executive Officer, & Principal Scientist 
                             
Wild Nature Institute, an independent science, education & advocacy organization. 
                           
2012-2013           Fulbright Fellow, 
'Ungulate Population Monitoring in the Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem'

2002-2010            Population Biologist / Quantitative Ecologist
                                
PRBO Conservation Science (now Point Blue)
                              Statistical consulting & data analyses in marine ecology. 

2003-2010           Biological Field Station Manager
                           
     PRBO Conservation Science (now Point Blue)
                               Project management, in charge of research & operations on 120-acre island wildlife refuge. 

2008 & 2009      Hawaiian Monk Seal Field Biologist
                           
     NOAA- Protected Species Division
                               Small boat operations for population assessment of Hawaiian monk seals at remote field station.

2007                      Consulting Population Biologist
                         
       ACAP Waved Albatross Action Plan
                               Expert opinion regarding population status and trends for a multi-national Action Plan.

2006-2007           Co-Principal Investigator, “California Spotted Owl Habitat Use in a Post-Fire Landscape”
                                 The Institute for Bird Populations
                                Project management, study design, logistics, fieldwork & data analysis in wildlife fire ecology.

2004-2007           Marine Mammal & Seabird Observer, CTD & Net Technician
         
                      PRBO Conservation Science (now Point Blue)
                               Oceanographic cruises studying krill & krill predators.
 
2001-2002           Data Analyst / Project Manager 
               
                University of California Cooperative Extension
                               Study design & project management for two research projects in California oak woodlands.
                                Data analysis for 9 years of small mammal capture-recapture data.

2000-2001           Graduate Student Assistant
                       
         Waterfowl Ecology Research Group
                               Study design, project management & data analysis for Black Brant migration ecology

1999-2000           Statistical Consultant
                         
       Humboldt Del Norte Foundation for Medical Care
                               Statistical analyses of patient & physician data.
 
1999                       Research Assistant
                     
           Mexican Spotted Owl Project
                               Fieldwork on  demographic study of Mexican Spotted Owls.

SELECTED SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS:
(click titles to download published articles)

D.E.Lee, G.G. Lohay, J. Madeli, D.R. Cavener, & M.L. Bond. 2023. "Masai giraffe population change over 40 years in Arusha National Park." African Journal of Ecology DOI: 10.1111/aje.13115

D.E. Lee, G.G. Lohay, D.R. Cavener, & M.L. Bond. 2022. "Using spot pattern recognition to examine population biology, evolutionary ecology, sociality, and movements of giraffes: a 70-year retrospective." Mammalian Biology DOI:10.1007/s42991-022-00261-3

K. Morandi, A.K. Lindholm, D.E. Lee, & M.L. Bond. 2022. "Phenotypic matching by spot pattern potentially mediates female giraffe social associations." Journal of Zoology 318:147-157. DOI:10.1111/jzo.13009

N. Nur, R.W. Berger, D.E. Lee, P.M. Warzybok, & J. Jahncke. 2022.  "Effects of winter storms and oceanographic conditions on survival to weaning: a 37 year study of northern elephant seals on the Farallon Islands." Marine Ecology Progress Series 691:173-89. DOI:10.3354/meps14066

N.L. James, M.L. Bond, A. Ozgul, D.E. Lee, 2022. "Trophic processes constrain seasonal ungulate distributions at two scales in an East African savanna." Journal of Mammalogy DOI:10.1093/jmammal/gyac050

C. Kiffner, M.L .Bond, D.E. Lee. 2022. "Tarangire: Human-Wildlife Coexistence in a Fragmented Ecosystem." Ecological Studies Series Volume 243, Springer Nature.

M. Levi, D. E. Lee, M. L. Bond, A. C. Treydte. 2022. "Forage selection by Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) at multiple spatial scales." Journal of Mammalogy 103:737-744. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyac007

J.M. Lavista Ferres, D.E. Lee, Md Nasir, Yu-Chia Chen, A.S. Bijral, F.B. Bercovitch, M.L. Bond. 2021. "Social connectedness and movements among communities of giraffes vary by sex and age class." Animal Behaviour 180:315-328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.08.008

M.L. Bond, D.E. Lee, A. Ozgul, D.R. Farine, B. König. 2021. "Leaving by staying: Social dispersal in giraffes." Journal of Animal Ecology 90:2755-2766. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13582

D.E. Lee, M.L. Bond, C. Hanson. 2021. "When scientists are attacked: Strategies for dissident scientists and whistleblowers." Pages 27-40 in DellaSala DA, editor. Conservation Science and Advocacy for a Planet in Peril. Chennai: Elsevier.

M.L. Bond, B. König., A. Ozgul, D.R. Farine, D.E. Lee. 2021. "Socially defined subpopulations reveal demographic variation in a giraffe metapopulation." Journal of Wildlife Management 85:920-931. doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22044

M.L. Bond, D.E. Lee, D.R. Farine, A. Ozgul, B. König. 2021. "Sociability increases survival of adult female giraffes." Proceedings of the Royal Society B 28:20202770. doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2770

C.T. Hanson, D.E. Lee, M.L. Bond. 2021. "Disentangling post-fire logging and high-severity fire effects for spotted owls." Birds 2:147-157. doi:10.3390/birds2020011

D.E. Lee. 2020. "Spotted Owls and forest fire: Reply." Ecosphere 11:e03310. DOI:10.1002/ecs2.3310

N. Nur, R.W. Bradley, D.E. Lee, P.M. Warzybok, J. Jahncke. 2020. "Projecting Long-term Impacts of a Mortality Event on Vertebrates:  Incorporating Stochasticity in Population Assessment." Ecosphere DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3293

M.L. Bond, B. König, D.E. Lee, A. Ozgul, D.R. Farine. 2021. "Proximity to humans affects local social structure in a giraffe metapopulation." Journal of Animal Ecology 90:212-221. doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13247

Z. Muller, D.E. Lee, C.P.J. Scheijen, K.D. Carter, M. Strauss, F. Deacon. 2020. "Giraffe translocations: A review and discussion of considerations." African Journal of Ecology  https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12727

D.E. Lee, E. Fienieg, C. Van Oosterhout, Z. Muller, M. Strauss, K.D. Carter, C.P.J. Scheijen, F. Deacon. 2020. "Giraffe Translocation Population Viability Analysis." Endangered Species Research  DOI:10.3354/esr01022

C. Kiffner & D.E. Lee. 2019. "Population Dynamics of Browsing and Grazing Ungulates in the Anthropocene". In: Gordon I., Prins H. (eds) The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing II. Ecological Studies (Analysis and Synthesis), vol 239. Springer, Cham.

M.L. Bond, D.E. Lee, A. Ozgul, & B. König. 2019. "Fission-fusion dynamics of a megaherbivore are driven by ecological, anthropogenic, temporal, and social factors." Oecologia 19: 335-347. DOI:10.1007/s00442-019-04485-y.

D. Bolger, J. Ogutu, M. Strauss, D. Lee, A. Muneza, J. Fennessy, & D. Brown. 2019. "Giraffa camelopardalis ssp. tippelskirchi." The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T88421036A88421121.

M.L. Bond & D.E. Lee. 2019. "Simultaneous multiple-calf allonursing by a wild Masai giraffe." African Journal of Ecology 58:126-128. DOI:10.1111/aje.12673.

M.A. Knüsel, D.E. Lee, B. König, M.L. Bond. 2019. "Correlates of home range sizes of giraffes, Giraffa camelopardalis." Animal Behaviour 149:143-151. DOI:10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.01.017.

P. Buehler, B. Carroll, A. Bhatia, V. Gupta, D.E. Lee. 2019. "An automated program to find animals and crop photographs for individual recognition." Ecological Informatics 50:191-196. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2019.02.003.

D.E. Lee, R.W. Berger, J.R. Tietz, P. Warzybok, R.W. Bradley, A.J. Orr, R.G. Towell & J. Jahncke. 2018. "Initial growth of northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) colonies at the South Farallon, San Miguel, and Bogoslof Islands." Journal of Mammalogy, gyy131, https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyy131.

D.E. Lee, D.R. Cavener & M.L. Bond. 2018. "Seeing spots: quantifying mother-offspring similarity and assessing fitness consequences of coat pattern traits in a wild population of giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis)." PeerJ 6:e5690 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5690.

D.E. Lee. 2018. "Evaluating Conservation Effectiveness in a Tanzanian Community Wildlife Management Area." Journal of Wildlife Management DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21549.

D.E. Lee. 2018. "Spotted Owls and forest fire: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence." Ecosphere 9:e02354 DOI:10.1002/ecs2.2354.

D.E. Lee & M.L. Bond. 2018. "Quantifying the ecological success of a community-based wildlife conservation area in Tanzania." Journal of Mammalogy 99:459-464 DOI:10.1093/jmammal/gyy014.

C.T. Hanson, M.L. Bond & D.E. Lee. 2018. "Effects of post-fire logging on California spotted owl occupancy." Nature Conservation 24:93-105.

M.L. Bond, C.M. Bradley, C. Kiffner, T.A. Morrison & D.E. Lee. 2017. "A multi-method approach to delineate and validate migratory corridors." Landscape Ecology 32:1705-1721.

D.E. Lee & D.T. Bolger. 2017. "Movements and source-sink dynamics among subpopulations of giraffe." Population Ecology 59:157-168 DOI 10.1007/s10144-017-0580-7.

F.B. Bercovitch, P.S. Berry, A. Dagg, F. Deacon, J.B. Doherty, D.E. Lee, F. Mineur, Z. Muller, R. Ogden, R. Seymour & B. Shorrocks. 2017. "How many species of giraffe are there?" Current Biology 27:R136-R137.

D.E. Lee, M.L. Bond & D.T. Bolger. 2017. "Season of birth affects juvenile survival of giraffe." Population Ecology 59:45-54 DOI 10.1007/s10144-017-0571-8.

Z. Muller, F. Bercovitch, J. Fennessy, D. Brown, R. Brand, M. Brown, D. Bolger, K. Carter, F. Deacon, J. Doherty, S. Fennessy, A.A. Hussein, D. Lee, A. Marais, M. Strauss, A. Tutchings & T. Wube. 2016. "Giraffa camelopardalis." The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T9194A51140239.

D.E. Lee, B.M. Kissui, Y.A. Kiwango & M.L. Bond. 2016."Migratory herds of wildebeest and zebra indirectly affect juvenile survival of giraffes." Ecology and Evolution 6:8402–8411 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2561.

D.E. Lee & M.K.L. Strauss. 2016. "Giraffe demography and population ecology." Reference Module in Earth Sciences and Environmental Studies. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.09721-9.

M.L. Bond, C. Bradley & D.E. Lee. 2016. "Foraging habitat selection by California spotted owls after fire." Journal of Wildlife Management 80:1290-1300 DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21112

M.L. Bond, M.K.L. Strauss & D.E. Lee. 2016. "Soil correlates and mortality of giraffe skin disease in northern Tanzania." Journal of Wildlife Diseases 52:953-958 DOI:10.7589/2016-02-047.

S.C. Manugian, D. Greig, D.E. Lee, B.H. Becker, S. Allen, M.S. Lowry & J.T. Harvey.  2016. "Survival probabilities and movements of harbor seals in central California." Marine Mammal Science. doi:10.1111/mms.12350

D.E. Lee, M.L. Bond, B.M. Kissui, Y.A. Kiwango & D.T. Bolger. 2016. "Spatial variation in giraffe demography: a test of 2 paradigms." Journal of Mammalogy 79:1015-1025.

D.E. Lee & M.L. Bond. 2016. "Precision, accuracy, and costs of survey methods for giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis." Journal of Mammalogy 79:940-948.

D.E. Lee & M.L. Bond. 2016. "The occurrence and prevalence of giraffe skin disease in protected areas of northern Tanzania." Journal of Wildlife Diseases 52:753-755.

D.T. Bolger, J.O. Ogutu, M. Strauss, D.E. Lee, J. Fennessy, D. Brown. 2015. “Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) conservation status report.” IUCN/SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group.

D.E. Lee & M.L. Bond. 2015. "Previous year’s reproductive state affects Spotted Owl site occupancy and reproduction responses to natural and anthropogenic disturbances." The Condor 117:307-319.

D.E. Lee. 2015. "Demography of giraffe in the fragmented Tarangire ecosystem." PhD Dissertation. Dartmouth College.

D.E. Lee & M.L. Bond.  2015.  "Occupancy of California Spotted Owl sites following a large fire in the Sierra Nevada, California."  The Condor 117:228-236.

D.E. Lee, M.L. Bond, M.I. Borchert & R. Tanner.  2013. "Influence of fire and salvage logging on site occupancy of spotted owls in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California."  Journal of Wildlife Management 77:1327-1341.

M.L. Bond, D.E. Lee, R.B. Siegel & M.W. Tingley. 2013.  “Diet and home-range size of California Spotted Owl in burned forests.” Western Birds. 44:114-126.

D.E. Lee, J.T. Fennessy & M.L. Bond. 2013. "Standing tall for giraffes: Research and conservation of an overlooked African icon." The Wildlife Professional Summer 2013.

D.E. Lee, M.L. Bond & R.B. Siegel. 2012. "Dynamics of California Spotted Owl breeding-season site occupancy in burned forests."  The Condor. 114:792-802.

D.T. Bolger, T.A. Morrison, B. Vance, H. Farid & D.E. Lee. 2012.  “Development and application of a computer-assisted system for photographic capture-mark-recapture analysis.” Methods in Ecology and Evolution 3:813-822.

D.E. Lee, J. Bettaso, M.L. Bond, R.W. Bradley, J. Tietz & P.M. Warzybok. 2012. “Growth, age at maturity, and age-specific survival of the arboreal salamander (Aneides lugubris) on Southeast Farallon Island, California.” Journal of Herpetology 46:64-71.

D.E. Lee, R.W. Bradley & P.M. Warzybok. 2012. “Recruitment of Cassin’s Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus): Individual age and parental age effects.” Auk 129:1-9.

D.E. Lee.  2011. “Experience and climate effects on demography of northern elephant seals.” Journal of Mammalogy 92:517-526.

J.M. Black, D.E. Lee & D.H. Ward. 2010. “Foraging home ranges of Black Brant during spring stopover at Humboldt Bay, California, USA.” Wildfowl 60:85-94.

A.C. Brown, D.E. Lee, R.W. Bradley & S. Anderson. 2010. “Dynamics of white shark predation on pinnipeds in California: effects of prey abundance.” Copeia 2010 No. 2:232-238.

M.L. Bond, D.E. Lee & R.B. Siegel. 2010. “Winter movements by California Spotted Owls in a post-fire landscape.”  Western Birds 41:174–180.

M.L. Bond, D.E. Lee, C.M. Bradley & C.T. Hansen. 2009. “Influence of pre-fire tree mortality from insects and drought on burn severity in conifer forests of the San Bernardino Mountains, California” Open Forest Science Journal 2009 No. 2:41-47.

M.L. Bond, D.E. Lee, R.B. Siegel & J.P. Ward. 2009. “Habitat use and selection by California Spotted Owls in a post-fire landscape.”  Journal of Wildlife Management 73:1116-1124.

E. Moore, S. Lyday, J. Roletto, K. Litle, J.K. Parrish, H. Nevins, J. Harvey, J. Mortenson, D. Grieg, M. Piazza, A. Hermance, D.E. Lee, D. Adams, S. Allen & S. Kell. 2009. “Entanglements of marine mammals and seabirds in central California and the north-west coast of the United States 2001-2005.” Marine Pollution Bulletin 58: 1045-1051.

D.E. Lee & W.J. Sydeman. 2009. “North Pacific climate mediates offspring sex ratios in northern elephant seals.” Journal of Mammalogy 90:1-8.

W.D. Tietje, D.E. Lee & J.K. Vreeland. 2008.  “Survival and abundance of three mouse species in relation to density of shrubs and prescribed fire in understory of an oak woodland in California.”  Southwestern Naturalist 53:357-369.

D.E. Lee, C. Abraham, P.M. Warzybok, R.W. Bradley & W.J. Sydeman. 2008. “Common Murre (Uria aalge) age-specific survival, breeding success, and recruitment in the California Current System.” Auk 125:316-325.

D.E. Lee, N. Nur & W.J. Sydeman.  2007.  “Environmental demography of the planktivorous auklet Ptychoramphus aleuticus in the highly variable California current.” Journal of Animal Ecology 76: 337–347.

D.E. Lee, J.M. Black, J.E. Moore & J.S. Sedinger.  2007.  “Age-specific stopover ecology of Black Brant at Humboldt Bay, California.”  Wilson Journal of Ornithology 119:9-22.

D.E. Lee & W.D. Tietje.  2005.   “Dusky-footed woodrat demography and prescribed fire in a California oak woodland.”  Journal of Wildlife Management 69:1211-1220.

D.E. Lee, J.M. Black & M. Hammand.  2004.  “Grit site selection of Black Brant at Humboldt Bay, California: Particle size or calcium content?” Wilson Bulletin 116:304-313.

S.F. Railsback, B.C. Harvey, R.R. Lamberson, D.E. Lee, N.J. Claasen & S. Yoshihara.  2001.  “Population-level analysis and validation of an individual-based cutthroat trout model.”  Natural Resource Modeling 15:83-110.

POPULAR MEDIA ABOUT DEREK LEE:
"Why A.I. trained to recognize giraffe torsos" in Futurity, "Toward automated animal identification in wildlife research" in Science Daily, "Machine Learning can be used for automating animal identification in wildlife research" in Express Computer, "Researchers work to find the giraffe in the bushes" in Phys.org, 2019

"Giraffes Calves Inherit Spot Patterns From Their Mothers" reported in more than 100 articles including Science News, National Geographic, NPR, and Smithsonian, 2018.

"Forest Fires Are Good For Spotted Owls" reported in Salon, EurekAlert,  Inverse, Science Alert, Long Room and Futurity.

"Community-Based Conservation Management Has Positive Effect on Wildlife" reported in Science Daily, Long Room, and Futurity, 2018.

"Surge in Wildlife Killings is Wiping Out Giraffes", Science Magazine, 22 June 2017

"Where Have All The Giraffes Gone?", On Point Radio, WBUR/NPR 2017

"Alumni Spotlight // Into the Wild", UC Santa Barbara Alumni Association 2016.

"Lions vs. Giraffes" episode for Nature Shock series produced by Tigress Productions. Aired on Smithsonian Channel 2013.

"Rare White Giraffe Discovered in Tanzania", more than 100 articles including: The Telegraph, National Geographic, CNN, Newsweek, Smithsonian, Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC, New York Post, Huffington Post, Philly.com, UPI, USA Today 2016

"Standing Tall for Tanzania's National Animal", Ujumbe Magazine 2015

"Safeguarding Giraffe Populations from Extinction in East Africa", National Geographic Voices 2014

"Quit Your Job, Living With The Wild Things, Without Compromise", The Awl 2013

"A rocky laboratory of ecosystem science: Researchers study how warmer waters impact marine life habits", San Francisco Chronicle 2007

"Handoff", Cruising World 2007

Datasets:
Kiffner CK and Lee DE 2019. Population dynamics of browsing and grazing ungulates in the Anthropocene. Population densities of ungulates.


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  • Science
    • Giraffe
    • TUNGO
    • Spotted Owl
  • Education
    • Environmental Education
    • Snag Forest
    • Forest Fire Truths
  • Action
    • Save The Giraffe
    • Corridor Campaign
    • Snag Forest
    • Forests For Everyone
  • Donate
    • Ways To Give
    • Purchase NFT
    • Adopt A Baby Giraffe
  • Blog
  • About Us
    • Monica
    • Derek
    • James
    • Veila
    • Our International Team
    • Our Tanzanian Partners