Name:  Katherine McHugh
Major Professor:  Lynne Isbell
Department:  Anthropology
Lab Phone:  (530) 752-5830
Email:  kamchugh@ucdavis.edu
Web Site:  http://www.sarasotadolphin.org/Social/juvenile_2008.asp
BS - Stanford University - Earth Systems (biosphere track) - 2001
 MS - Stanford University - Earth Systems (marine conservation) - 2002
 MS - UC Davis - Animal Behavior - 2006
Research Interests
I am interested in the social behavior and behavioral ecology of small cetaceans, particularly in learning more about the strategies juvenile dolphins use to successfully navigate the fragile period between weaning and sexual maturity and how adult behavior patterns, skills, and relationships develop through adolescence. Use of GIS to analyze dolphin ranging patterns and habitat use. Applications of animal behavior to conservation biology/policy and captive animal welfare.
 
Publications Clucas, B., McHugh, K., Caro, T. 2008. Use of flagship species by US conservation and nature magazines. Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol. 17: 1517-1528.

Sergio, F., Caro, T., Brown, D., Clucas, B., Hunter, J., Ketchum, J., McHugh, K., Hiraldo, F. 2008. Top predators as conservation tools: ecological rationale, assumptions, and efficacy. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Vol. 39: 1-19. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.39.110707.173545

Sih, A., McHugh, K., Hanser, S. In press/2008. Social Network Theory – Applications to Animal Behavior. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

McHugh, K. and R.S. Wells. 2007. Red tide effects on juvenile bottlenose dolphin behavior in Sarasota Bay, FL. Oral Presentation at 44th Annual Meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, 21-26 July 2007, Burlington, VT.

McHugh, K.A., S. Hoffman, J.B. Allen, M.D. Scott, and R.S. Wells. 2007. Factors influencing variation in age at independence for free-ranging bottlenose dolphin calves in Sarasota Bay, FL. Oral Presentation, 17th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, 28 Nov–3 Dec 2007, Cape Town, South Africa.

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