Erin Barding, Ph.D.
Area(s) of Expertise: Wildlife Ecology & Management (Advising Area of Expertise: Biology, Pre-Veterinarian)
Courses Taught
- BIOL 1101/1101L - Biology: A Human Perspective
- BIOL 1108K - Principles of Biology II
- BIOL 1260/1260L - Environmental Science/Lab
- BIOL 3500K - Ecology
- BIOL 4020K - Mammalogy
- BIOL 4090 - Conservation Biology
- BIOL 4327K - Wildlife Ecology & Management
- BIOL 4620K - Tropical Cloud Forest Ecology
- BIOL 4630K - Field Ecology & Conservation of Southern Africa
Education
- Ph.D., Wildlife Ecology & Management, University of Kentucky, 2011
- M.S., Biology, Eastern Illinois University, 2006
- B.S., Biology, Eastern Illinois University, 2001
Research/Special Interests
Dr. Barding is interested in many areas of biology, but her research has mainly focused on wildlife ecology, management, and conservation. She studied the effects of meso-carnivores on nesting birds in Illinois for her M.S.; and her Ph.D. research centered on the food habits, reproductive physiology, and management of river otters in Kentucky. Even though Dr. Barding's research has largely focused on mammals, she holds a special place in her heart for herpetofauna. She has been a part of research teams studying black bears, chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer, amphibian and reptile population surveys, ruffed grouse, passerines, and bats. She also has extensive experience searching for, classifying, and dissecting animal scat.
Dr. Barding, along with Dr. Smith and Dr. Shanks, helps lead UNG lab students in researching the ecology, behavior, and evolution of parasitic, polyembryonic wasps (Copidosoma) and their looper hosts Trichoplusia ni and Chrysodeixis includens. Together with several other Biology faculty, she also works with undergraduates on development and maintenance of a natural history collection, as well as various projects on the ecology of vertebrates in North Georgia.
Publications
Pearson, L, C Meewes, S Spencer, A Ayala, B Bailey, EE Barding, R Shanks, and M Smith. 2024. An Addition to the Toolkit: An Ethogram for Trichoplusia ni. eBio 6(10):1-11.
Malasek, T, EE Barding, MJ Bender, A Bonham, AJ Mead, Z Pilgrim, P Powers, JR Patterson, and DB Patterson. 2023. Evaluating the fidelity of enamel isotopic data and environmental variation in paleoecological studies: A case study in wild, known-aged, modern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 622:111587.
Wynne, C, EE Barding, and B Bailey. 2020. A new generation of global leaders: Turning global citizens into global stewards. In T. Huber & J. G. O'Meara (Eds.), Education around the globe: Creating and transforming lives. Tonya Huber (Series Ed.), International Education Inquiries: People, Places, and Perspectives of Education 2030. Information Age Publishing: Charlotte, NC.
Childs, N, B Gray, R Scoggins, M Smith, and EE Barding. 2020. Gut microbiota of the cabbage looper Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Papers & Publications: Interdisciplinary Journal of Undergraduate Research 8(1): 17-21.
Przygoda, A, EE Barding, and M Smith. 2016. Effect of diet on mortality and larval duration in Chrysodeixis includens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Georgia Journal of Science 74(2): Article 19.
Barding, EE and MJ Lacki. 2015. Occurrence of nematodes (Dracunculus spp.) in reintroduced River Otters in Kentucky. Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science. 75(1-2):94-96.
Barding, EE and MJ Lacki. 2014. Demographic and reproductive characteristics of reintroduced river otters in Kentucky: Implications for Population Growth. American Midland Naturalist 172(2): 338-347.
Barding, EE and MJ Lacki. 2012. Winter diet of river otters in Kentucky. Northeastern Naturalist 19(2):157-164.
Lacki, MJ and EE Barding. 2011. Research on North American River Otters in Kentucky: Recovery, Ecological Impacts and Population Dynamics. Kentucky Woodlands Magazine 6(3): 16-17.
Barding, EE, MJ Lacki, and L Patton. 2010. Recovery of the river otter to Kentucky. Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Fish and Wildl. Agencies 64:112-117.
Barding, EE and TA Nelson. 2008. Raccoons use habitat edges in Northern Illinois. American Midland Naturalist 159(2): 394-402.