Home > About > Faculty Profiles > Kevina Vulinec, PhD

Kevina Vulinec, PhD

kevina vulinecProfessor
Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources
College of Agriculture, Science & Technology
Delaware State University
302.857.6457
kvulinec [at] desu.edu

Education

Ph.D. University of Florida, 1999

M.S. University of Chicago, 1993

M.S. University of Cincinnati, 1983

B.A. Kent State University, 1978

Research Interests/Area

Biodiversity conservation, anthropogenic change, and ecosystem function; Bat ecology in the US, Neotropics, and South Pacific, including habitat use, ecosystem services, and conservation; bats and wind turbines; bats and coastal habitats, bats and migration patterns; white-nose syndrome in North American bats; Tropical ecology; seed-dispersal communities in the Amazon; community structure, hunting, and environmental disturbance; the value of secondary forest for seed dispersers, reforestation using natural dispersal agents; conservation, ecology, and behavior of Neotropical primates and dung beetles.

Professional Memberships

  • Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation
  • Bat Conservation International
  • Coleopterists Society
  • Ecological Society of America
  • The Maryland-Delaware Chapter of the Wildlife Society
  • The Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America (Chair 2012-2013)

Publications (Selected; *Denotes student coauthor)

  • *Sturgis, B. E., K. Vulinec, and A. Aispuro. In press. Stable deuterium isotope analysis of Mid-Atlantic Eptesicus fuscus bats. Northeastern Naturalist.
  • Stanbrook, R., C. Raisin, K. Vulinec. 2017. Observations on the nidification behavior and seed dispersal efficacy of Copris nubilosus (Kohlmann, Cano, and Delgado)(Scarabaeinae:Coprini). The Coleopterists Bulletin 71:777-780.
  • Vulinec, K., *K. Swift, V. Balke, *L. Sweitzer, B. Sturgis, D. Powell. 2017. Buckyballs and bats: Trace evidence points to trophic interactions. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.1467/full
  • Nichols, E., M. Uriarte, D. E. Bunker, J. N. C. Louzada, T. Larsen, F. Vaz de Mello, K. Vulinec, M. Favila, E. Slade, S. Naeem, and S. H. Spector. 2013. Trait-dependent response of dung beetle populations to tropical forest conversion at local and regional scales. Ecology 94: 180-189.
  • *Wolcott, K. A. and K. Vulinec. 2012. Bat activity at woodland/farmland interfaces in central Delaware. Northeastern Naturalist 19: 87-98.
  • *Massé, R, J. and K. Vulinec. 2010. Possible impact of multiflora rose on breeding bird diversity in riparian forest fragments of central Delaware. Northeastern Naturalist 17: 647–658.
  • Ferster, B. and K. Vulinec. 2010. Population size and conservation of the last remnants of the Eastern Regal Fritillary, Speyeria idalia idalia (Drury) [Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae]: implications for temperate grassland restoration. Journal of Insect Conservation 14: 31-42.
  • Stoner K. E., P. Riba-Hernández, K. Vulinec, and J. Lambert. 2007. The role of mammals in creating and modifying seedshadows in tropical forests and some possible consequences of their elimination. Special Section: The trickle down effects of hunting for plant regeneration in Neotropical forests. Biotropica 39: 316-327.
  • Stoner, K. E., K. Vulinec, S. J. Wright, and C. Peres. 2007. Hunting and plant community dynamics in tropical forests: a synthesis and future directions. Special Section: The trickle down effects of hunting for plant regeneration in Neotropical forests. Biotropica 39: 385-392.
  • Nichols, E., T. Larsen, S. Spector, A. Davis, F. Escobar, M. Favila, K. Vulinec. 2007. Global dung beetle response to tropical forest modification and fragmentation: A quantitative literature review and meta-analysis. Biological Conservation 137: 1-19. “Top-50 most cited articles” published in Biological Conservation 2007-2010.​​​​​​​
  • Vulinec, K., J. Lambert, and D. J. Mellow. 2006. Primate and dung beetle communities in secondary growth rainforests: Implications for conservation of seed dispersal systems. International Journal of Primatology 27: 855-879.​​​​​​​
  • Vulinec, K. 2002. Dung beetle communities and seed dispersal in primary forest and disturbed land in Amazonia. Biotropica 34: 297-309.

Honors & Awards

  • Fulbright Scholar Alumni Ambassador appointment 2016-2018
  • US Fish and Wildlife Service Faculty Fellowship to Puerto Rico, 2014
  • Fulbright Faculty Scholar to Brazil, 2011 “Seed-Dispersing Bats in Fragmented Tropical Rainforest; Nocturnal Wildlife Technology Workshops for Students.”
  • Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching, Delaware State University, 2008

Teaching

  • Mammalogy
  • Ornithology
  • Wildlife and Fisheries Management
  • Advanced Wildlife Biology (Undergraduate/Graduate)
  • Tropical Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Conservation (includes Field course in Neotropics)
  • Experimental Design (Graduate)
  • Conservation and Restoration Ecology (Graduate)
  • General Ecology