Claire Teitelbaum

Claire Teitelbaum is an Assistant Unit Leader at the USGS Georgia Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia's Odum School of Ecology and a B.A. in Biology from Pomona College. Her work integrates quantitative methods with ecological data to study wildlife movement, disease ecology, and landscape interactions.

Her research focuses on understanding how environmental changes influence animal behavior and pathogen transmission, particularly in waterfowl, brown bears, and migratory species. She uses GPS telemetry, remote sensing, and mathematical models to analyze movement patterns and their ecological implications. Notable projects include studying avian influenza dynamics in waterfowl, migration adaptation in whooping cranes, and the impact of anthropogenic food subsidies on brown bears.

Teitelbaum’s work has been published in Ecology Letters, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, and Movement Ecology, among others. Her research emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, bridging ecology, epidemiology, and conservation science. She has held postdoctoral positions at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center and NASA Ames Research Center, further expanding her expertise in applying remote sensing to ecological questions.

Her scientific contributions include identifying how habitat specialization reduces pathogen spread in urban environments and quantifying how migration distances correlate with resource availability. She actively collaborates with international institutions and field teams to ensure practical applications of her findings in conservation and wildlife management.