People

Dr. Karen Mabry

Professor, Department of Biology

kmabry@nmsu.edu                                      

I am interested in all things related to animal movement behavior, including how animals move through complex landscapes, the causes and consequences of interactions with other animals, and how changing environments may influence movement behavior. Most of my research has involved mammals (mice, bats) or insects (dragonflies, butterflies) in the western US (New Mexico, Arizona, and California). I received my undergraduate degree (Biological Sciences) from Clemson University, MS (Ecology) from the University of Georgia, and PhD (Animal Behavior) from the University of California, Davis. 

Current Students 

William Grooms (co-advised with Dr. Jennifer Frey, NMSU FWCE)

Ryan Rimple (co-advised with Dr. Kasey Pregler, NMSU FWCE)

Mark Peyton (co-advised with Dr. James Cain, NMSU FWCE)

Lab Alumni (with publications resulting from their work)

Madeline Strom (PhD 2024)

Strom, M.K., Berg, R., Wey, T.W., and K.E. Mabry. Dynamics of a wild Peromyscus community in space and time. (In review)

Strom, M.K. and K.E. Mabry. 2026. Diet as a potential mechanism of habitat selection: evidence from sympatric Peromyscus species. In press, Animal Behaviour. 

Sarah Mesler (MS 2023)

Mesler, S.P. and K.E. Mabry. 2024. Effects of temperature experienced across life stages on morphology and flight behavior of painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui). Movement Ecology 12:76.

Julia Tituskin (MS 2021)

Tituskin, J.R., S.M. Waddell, and K.E. Mabry. 2022. Species-specific responses to warming alter community composition. Ecological Entomology 47:284-295. 

Rebecca Berg (PhD 2017)

Strom, M.K., Berg, R., Wey, T.W., and K.E. Mabry. Dynamics of a wild Peromyscus community in space and time. (In review)

Kelley, R.A., F.R. Castelli, K.E. Mabry, and N.G. Solomon. 2013. Effects of experience and avpr1a microsatellite length on parental care in male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 67:985-992.

Gizelle Hurtado (PhD 2017)

Hurtado, G., G. Mayer, and K.E. Mabry. 2021. Does urbanization ameliorate the effect of endoparasite infection in kangaroo rats? Ecology and Evolution 11:13390–13400.

Hurtado, G., and K.E. Mabry. 2019. Genetic structure of an abundant small mammal is influenced by low intensity urbanization. Conservation Genetics 20:705-715.

Hurtado, G., and K.E. Mabry. 2017. Boldness and aggression in Merriam’s kangaroo rat: an urban tolerant species? Journal of Mammalogy 98:410-418.

Kristen DaVanon (MS 2015)

DaVanon, K.D., L.H. Howard, K.E. Mabry, R.L. Schooley, and B.T. Bestelmeyer. 2016. Effects of exurban development on trophic interactions in a desert landscape. Landscape Ecology 31:2343-2354.

Dana Sanders (MS 2014)

Chris Wojan (MS 2014)

Wojan, C.M., S.M. Knapp, and K.E. Mabry. 2015. Spatial variation in population density affects dispersal behavior in brush mice. Ecology 96:1661-1669.

Liberty Hightower (MS 2014)

Katie Smith (MS 2012)

Smith, K.R., L. Barthmann-Thompson, W.B. Gould, and K.E. Mabry. 2014. Effects of natural and anthropogenic habitat change on movement of endangered salt marsh harvest mice. PLoS One 9:e108739.

Tina Wey (postdoc 2013-2015)

Strom, M.K., Berg, R., Wey, T.W., and K.E. Mabry. Dynamics of a wild Peromyscus community in space and time. (In review)

Wey, T.W., P.B. Vrana, and K.E. Mabry. 2017. Mating system as a possible driver of behavioral diversity in Peromyscus. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 71:163-176.

Wey, T.W., O. Spiegel, P.-O. Montiglio, and K.E. Mabry. 2015. Natal dispersal in a social landscape: considering individual behavioral phenotypes and social environment in dispersal ecology. Current Zoology 61:543-556.