Roland Kays

Roland Kays is Research Professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University and Director of the Biodiversity & Earth Observation Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. His research investigates mammal ecology and conservation using advanced tracking technologies.

Education includes:

• Ph.D., Zoology, University of Tennessee, 1999
• B.S., Biology, Cornell University, 1993

Research combines camera trapping, GPS tracking, and community science to study animal movement, species distributions, and human-wildlife interactions. Current projects examine range expansion dynamics, impacts of human recreation on wildlife, and conservation of carnivores in human-dominated landscapes.

Recent publications (2022-2025) reflect leadership in large-scale biodiversity monitoring (Snapshot USA), movement ecology databases (Movebank, MoveTraits), and conservation applications of wildlife tracking. Studies frequently integrate continental-scale data from collaborative networks.

Directs global initiatives including the Movebank animal tracking database and eMammal camera trapping platform. Teaches mammalogy and mentors students in field ecology methods.