Understanding the role of humans in ecosystems is critical and urgent for biodiversity conservation, especially given the rapid growth of the global anthropogenic footprint. My research examines the effects of this ever-expanding human activity on the world's large mammal populations, with an emphasis on behavioral response to human presence. I am interested both in global trends and local dynamics of human-wildlife interactions, and my research integrates large-scale meta-analyses and local field studies in North America and Africa.

​Global impacts of human activity on wildlife communities

People play an important role in ecosystems as lethal and non-lethal predators, with effects on animal behavior and community interactions. Humans may drive patterns of wildlife behavior and distribution through their interactions with prey species in a manner predicted by predator-prey theory and the “ecology of fear.” By applying our knowledge of natural predator-prey systems to novel human-modified systems, we may better understand how animals respond to humans at multiple spatial, temporal, and ecological scales and work towards solutions for human-wildlife coexistence. My current work at NCEAS integrates data from multiple sources, including camera traps and GPS telemetry data, to explore the influence of human activity and infrastructure on patterns of animal activity at regional and global scales.
Relevant publications:
  • Gaynor, K.M., Hojnowski, C.E., Carter, N.H., & Brashares, J.S. 2018. The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality. Science 360: 1232-1235.
  • Wilson, M., Ridlon, A.D., Gaynor, K.M., Gaines, S.D., Stier, A.C., & Halpern, B.S. 2020. Ecological impacts of human-induced animal behavior change. Ecology Letters. Early View.
  • Gaynor, K.M., Cherry, M.J., Gilbert, S.L., Kohl, M.T., Larson, C.L., Newsome, T.M., Prugh, L.R., Suraci, J.P., Young, J.K., & Smith, J.A. In press. An applied ecology of fear framework: linking theory to conservation practice. Animal Conservation.
  • Gaynor, K.M., Brown, J.S., Middleton, A.D., & Power, M.E., & Brashares, J.S. 2019. Landscapes of fear: spatial patterns of risk perception and response. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 34(4): 355-368.
  • Yamashita, T.,* Gaynor, K.M., Kioko, J., Brashares, J.S., & Kiffner, C. 2018. Anti-predator behavior of African ungulates around human settlements. African Journal of Ecology 56(3): 528-536.​

Ongoing collaborations:
  • Impacts of recreation and infrastructure on large mammals in US National Parks, in collaboration with Paul Cross (USGS), John Benson (U Nebraska), Michael Cherry (Texas A&M), Clint Epps (OSU), Rob Fletcher (U Florida) Nathan Galloway (NPS), John Orrock (UW Madison), Justine Smith (UC Davis)
  • Responses of North American mammals to human activity and footprint, led by Justin Suraci and Chris Wilmers (UCSC)
  • Influence of human activity on predator-prey temporal partitioning, led by Amy Van Scoyoc (UC Berkeley)
  • Mismatches between anthropogenic risk and responses in wild animals, in collaboration with Justine Smith (UC Davis) and Justin Suraci (UCSC)

​Post-war wildlife recovery in Mozambique

Following decades of civil war, Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park is currently experiencing rapid and novel changes associated with wildlife restoration and human development in the region. As both human and wildlife populations grow, it is critical to understand the effects of expanding human settlement, activity, and hunting on the recovering animal species in the park. At Gorongosa, my collaborators and I are studying the effects of landscape heterogeneity, human activity, and large carnivore reintroductions on population and community ecology of the park's large mammal community.
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Using data from camera traps and aerial surveys, we are documenting spatial patterns and temporal trends of wildlife distribution, density, and community composition. We are examining the environmental and anthropogenic drivers of these patterns to better understand the dynamics of post-war community reassembly. We are also interested in understanding which species are most vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance and mortality, and how ecological traits relating to diet, life history, and social behavior influence this vulnerability. In the future, we hope to conduct research on the socio-ecological dynamics of the Gorongosa system, exploring the interplay between human development in the park's buffer zone and wildlife restoration within the protected area.

I am a scientific consultant on WildCam Gorongosa, a citizen science platform developed by HHMI BioInteractive and hosted by Zooniverse and Snapshot Safari. We engage with volunteers from around the world, who assist us in the classification of camera trap images from Gorongosa National Park. Read more about our research on this blog on the Gorongosa website!
Funding and collaborators:
Relevant publications:
  • Gaynor, K.M., Daskin, J.H., Rich, L.N., & Brashares, J.S. In revision. Postwar wildlife recovery in an African savanna: Evaluating patterns and drivers of species occupancy and richness. Animal Conservation.
  • Gaynor, K.M., Branco, P.S., Long, R.A., D’Emille, D., Granli, P., & Poole, J. 2018. Effects of human settlement and roads on diel activity patterns of elephants (Loxodonta africana). African Journal of Ecology 58(4): 872-881.
  • Miao, Z., Gaynor, K.M., Wang, J., Liu, Z., Muellerklein, O., Nouruzzadeh, M.S., McInturff, A., Bowie, R.C.K., Nathan, R., Yu, S.X., & Getz, W.M. 2019. Insights and approaches using deep learning to classify wildlife. Scientific Reports 9: 8137.

Ongoing collaborations:
  • Influence of large carnivore decline and recovery on prey communities, led by Meredith Palmer (Princeton)
  • Spatiotemporal partitioning among mesocarnivores, led by student Katie Grabowski (Oxford)
  • Baboon landscapes of fear, led by Phillipa Hammond (Oxford)
  • Integrating computer vision and manual classification into improved workflows for species identification, led by Zhongqi Miao (UC Berkeley)
  • Evaluating camera traps as tools for monitoring large mammals (integration and comparison with citizen science, machine learning, aerial counts), led by Sarah Huebner (UMN, Snapshot Safari)

​Community ecology in a mixed-use California landscape

Across the United States, seasonal pulses of hunting dramatically transform ecological communities, putting enormous stress on prey species and reshaping spatiotemporal patterns of risk and mortality. We are examining how these dynamics play out during a controlled hunt of black-tailed deer at the Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC), in Mendocino County, California. We have deployed GPS trackers on hunters and deer to examine how hunting alters deer movement and habitat selection, and how these changes in deer behavior cascade throughout the community. We are exploring how deer balance combined risks from human hunting and natural predators as they navigate a "landscape of fear.

This research is a component of a larger study of the large mammal community at HREC, led by the Brashares Lab at UC Berkeley. We are refining methods for black-tailed deer population estimation, studying responses of animals to a recent wildfire in the study site, and exploring the effects of fencing and sheep operations on the movement and activity of wild animals.
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​Relevant publications: 
  • ​Gaynor, K.M., McInturff, A., & Brashares, J.S. In review. Contrasting spatial patterns of risk from human and non-human predators influence temporal activity of prey. ​
  • McInturff, A., Miller, J., Gaynor, K.M., & Brashares, J.S. 2020. Patterns of coyote predation on sheep in California: A socio-ecological approach to mapping risk of livestock-predator conflict. Conservation Science and Practice, e175.​
  • Bidder, O.R., di Virgilio, A., Hunter, J.S., McInturff, A., Gaynor, K.M., Smith, A.M., Dorcy, J., & Rosell, F. 2020. A novel approach for studying canid scent marking: leveraging advances in data science and biologging techniques. Scientific Reports 10: 588.

Ongoing collaborations: 
  • Behavioral responses of black-tailed deer to megafire; led by student Samantha Kreling
  • Fine-scale movement ecology of rifle hunters; led by Alex McInturff
  • Comparing storage and DNA extraction methods for ungulate fecal samples to maximize efficiency, ease, and success; led by Bryan Bach and Ashling Quigley
  • Effectiveness of Foxlights as a conflict mitigation tool; led by student Lara Volski

​Socio-ecological dynamics of human-wildlife interactions

​In addition to understanding the consequences of human-wildlife interactions from the perspective of the animal, I am interested in exploring what these growing interactions mean for the people involved. I am also interested in feedbacks and interactions between human and natural systems at larger scales. To this end, I am involved in several collaborative interdisciplinary projects that examine global, regional, and local patterns of human-wildlife interactions. I have been involved in group efforts and publications exploring linkages between war and wildlife outcomes, the social and ecological consequences of hunting-induced defaunation in the tropics, reintroductions of large carnivores, disease spill-over between domestic and wild animals, and socio-ecological dynamics of carnivore-livestock conflict.

​Relevant publications: 
  • Gaynor, K.M., Fiorella, K.J., Gregory, G.H., Kurz, D.J., Seto, K.L., Withey, L.S., & Brashares, J.S. 2016. War and wildlife: linking armed conflict to conservation. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 14(10: 533-542.
  • Brashares, J.S. & Gaynor, K.M. 2017. Eating ecosystems. Science 356(6333): 136-137.
  • Fiorella, K.J., Coffin-Schmitt, J., Gaynor, K.M., Gregory, G.H., Rasolofoson, R., & Seto, K.L. In press. Feedbacks from human health to household reliance on natural resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet Planetary Health.
  • McInturff, A., Miller, J., Gaynor, K.M., & Brashares, J.S. 2020. Patterns of coyote predation on sheep in California: A socio-ecological approach to mapping risk of livestock-predator conflict. Conservation Science and Practice, e175.
  • Wilkinson, C.E., McInturff, A., Miller, J., Yovovich, V., Gaynor, K.M., Calhoun, K., Karandikar, H., Martin, J.V., Parker-Shames, P., Shawler, A., Van Scoyoc, A., & Brashares, J.S. 2020. An ecological framework for contextualizing carnivore-livestock conflict. Conservation Biology, Early View.
  • Remans, R., Flynn, D.F.B., Declerck, F., Diru, W., Fanzo, J., Gaynor, K.M., Lambrecht, I., Mudiope, J., Mutuo, P.K., Nkhoma, P., Siriri, D., Sullivan, C., & Palm, C.A. 2011. Assessing nutritional diversity of cropping systems in African villages. PLOS ONE 6(6): e21235.
  • Kreling, S., Gaynor, K.M., & Coon, C. 2019. Roadkill distribution at the wildland-urban interface. Journal of Wildlife Management 83(6): 1427-1436. 
  • Impink, E. & Gaynor, K.M.  2010.  Understanding sustainability through traditional Maasai pastoral systems in southern Kenya. Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development 4(1): 167-180.

Ongoing collaborations:
  • Addressing impacts of sarcoptic mange in wild camelids; NCEAS working group led by Christian Walzer (WCS)
  • Past and potential future of grizzly bears in California, California Grizzly Research Network
  • Feedbacks between human health and environmental health; led by Kathryn Fiorella (Cornell)
I believe that addressing today's complex conservation challenges relies on collaboration across natural and social sciences, as well as communication between academics, managers, policymakers, and all stakeholders. I am always open to new collaborations, so please reach out!