Some people may squirm when encountering roof rats. But not Gaby Guzman, who is studying ecology. The future ecologist wants to learn more about the diets of these invasive species to improve pest control strategies.
Classmate Saatvika Deshpande investigates the diets of feral cats in Southern California. She has studied over 400 free-roaming cats to understand what they eat to develop evidence-based management decisions about managing their effects on wildlife in urban ecosystems.
During his Outstanding Professor Lecture, wildlife ecologist Paul Stapp discussed Deshpande and Guzman’s graduate thesis projects and research findings of past students as examples of his faculty-student collaborative research.
Over the last two decades, most of their research has focused on ecological challenges in natural resource conservation and management.
Stapp, Cal State Fullerton’s 2024 Outstanding Professor, said students’ research experiences to unravel real-world ecological problems are “our underappreciated superpower.”
“These projects underscore the invaluable contributions of graduate and undergraduate students and to the success of our research endeavors,” said Stapp, professor of biological science.
“Faculty-mentored student research involving undergraduate and master’s students is a high-impact practice that defines excellence at a comprehensive university like Cal State Fullerton.”
At his Feb. 27 lecture, titled “Black Boxes in Ecology,” Stapp used the metaphor of the black box to describe a system, technology or function whose inner workings are undefined or unobservable.
Stapp said ecologists rely on black boxes, literally and figuratively, to explain a complex problem. Examples of this research include how plague persists and spreads among prairie dog colonies in Colorado and how rodenticides applied in literal “black box” bait stations affect nontargeted species — such as coyotes — in urban settings.
“Ecology deals with complex interactions and dynamic systems, and with wild organisms, that can be challenging to study,” Stapp said.
“Sometimes, we have to rely on models that try to predict future behavior or outcomes based solely on past behavior or phenomena without fully understanding the underlying processes and mechanisms. That’s the essence of a black box.”
Students Study Ecological Impacts
Stapp said ecology, a subdiscipline of biology, uses rigorous scientific methods to understand what factors determine the distribution and abundance of organisms by focusing on interactions between living things and their environment.
“The science of ecology is the basis for understanding how humans influence, and are affected by, biodiversity and the natural world,” said Stapp, faculty director of the California Desert Studies Consortium, which oversees the California State University Desert Studies Center.
Students studying ecology can become academic researchers and educators. Many also work for government agencies to study, manage, protect and restore nature and natural resources. These careers include park rangers, land stewards, plant ecologists, wildlife biologists and fisheries biologists.
Others work in agriculture to find sustainable ways to grow food. In urban environments, graduates with a bachelor’s degree can also work as environmental consultants who help minimize the effects of human development on natural systems.
Deshpande and Guzman, biology graduate students on track to graduate in August, said Stapp is an outstanding research adviser who supports and encourages his students in their scientific pursuits.
Deshpande aspires to work in natural resource management, such as in an urban county or regional park system. Guzman ’21 (B.S. biological science) plans to pursue a doctorate to become an academic researcher focusing on urban environments.
“My goal is to investigate how vulnerable communities are disproportionately affected by human-wildlife conflicts to develop strategies to mitigate these conflicts,” said Guzman, a Sally Casanova Scholar in the California State University pre-doctoral program.
“Ecological research can inform policies and solve problems like climate change susceptibility, invasive species management and habitat restoration.”