Matthew Durnin
Asia Pacific Conservation Science Director
Contact Information
Asia Pacific and NA Conservation Science Director
B4-2 Qijiayuan Diplomatic Compound
No. 9 Jianwai Dajie, Chaoyang District
Beijing 100600 China
Phone: +86 (10) 8532-4710 X232
Email: mdurnin@tnc.org
Brief Biography
Since 1994, Matt has been living in and conducting research on wildlife in China. Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy, he was a MacArthur Foundation post doctoral fellow at the California Academy of Sciences and lead mammalogist on a project cataloging the biodiversity of the Gaoligongshan area in western Yunnan province. From 1998 to 2001 he conducted his Ph.D. research on the wild giant pandas of the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan province. He completed his Ph.D. in wildlife ecology at the University of California Berkeley in 2005 (Dissertation, Reproductive Behavior, Ecology, and Demographic Patterns of Free Ranging Giant Panda in China’s Wolong Nature Reserve). Some of Matt’s other work in China includes revising WWF-China’s Giant Panda Strategic Action Plan (2008 – 2010) and in 1994, leading an assessment of wildlife resources in Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province. Additionally, he spent 2 years with the Australian International Development Bureau (AIDAB) driving developmental aid programs across China.
Previously in the U.S., Matt was an environmental consultant with Ecology and Environment and obtained a Masters Degree from Duke University in 1990 completing his thesis research on coastal zone resource management. His main research interests are in the areas of mammalian carnivore population biology, behavioral ecology and conservation. More specifically he is interested in better understanding how carnivore ecology and behavior puts them into conflict with human populations and how this understanding can be utilized to reduce human-wildlife conflict. In his research he is particularly interested in integrating more traditional methods of collecting behavioral and demographic data from the field (e.g. radio-telemetry and direct observation) with non-invasive techniques such as genetic tagging and camera-trapping. He is a council member of the International Association for Bear Research and Managing Editor of the International Bear News.
Select Publications:
Durnin, M. and P. J. Palsboll, O.A. Ryder, and D.R. McCullough (2007). A reliable genetic technique for sex determination of giant panda from non-invasively collected hair samples. Conservation Genetics 8(3): 715-720
Durnin, M., R. R. Swaisgood, N. Czekala, and Z. Hemin. (2004). Effects of radiocollars on giant panda stress-related behavior and hormones. Journal of Wildlife Management 68(4): 987-992.
Durnin, Matthew, Hemin Zhang, Jinyan Huang. (2004). Non-invasive techniques for monitoring giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) behavior, habitat use, and demographics. In D.G. Lindburg, and K. Baragona, editors. Biology and Conservation of the Giant Panda. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Durnin M. (1994). Survey of wildlife resources in Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan. Gland, Switzerland: World Wide Fund for Nature. Report nr CN0050.01/China. 13 p
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