Erin E. Barding

Erin E. Barding is a Professor of Biology at the University of North Georgia (UNG) within the College of Arts and Sciences. She serves as a Pre-Veterinary Medicine advisor at the Dahlonega campus and teaches diverse courses including Principles of Biology II, Ecology, Mammalogy, and Wildlife Ecology & Management.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology & Management from University of Kentucky (2011)
• M.S. in Biology from Eastern Illinois University (2006)
• B.S. in Biology from Eastern Illinois University (2001)

Dr. Barding specializes in wildlife ecology, management, and conservation, with particular expertise in mammalogy and herpetology. Her research portfolio includes extensive work on river otters in Kentucky (covering food habits, reproductive physiology, and population dynamics following reintroduction), black bears, chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer, amphibian and reptile population surveys, and bat ecology. She maintains a special interest in herpetofauna and has extensive experience in animal scat analysis. Collaborating with Dr. Smith and Dr. Shanks, she investigates parasitic wasps (Copidosoma) and their looper hosts, while also working with faculty on North Georgia vertebrate ecology projects and natural history collections.

Her publication record spans from 2008 to 2024, demonstrating consistent scholarly activity across wildlife ecology, entomology, and educational research. Recent work focuses on insect behavior (Trichoplusia ni ethogram), gut microbiota in cabbage loopers, and isotopic analysis in white-tailed deer, revealing her evolving research interests while maintaining core expertise in wildlife management.

As an educator, Dr. Barding advises Pre-Veterinary Medicine students and teaches across the biology curriculum from introductory courses to specialized upper-level classes in mammalogy and conservation biology. Her commitment to undergraduate research is evident through multiple publications co-authored with students, particularly in entomology and microbiology projects.

She contributes to UNG's Environmental Leadership Center and participates in developing natural history collections, demonstrating her commitment to both research infrastructure and student experiential learning opportunities in ecological field studies.