https://www.davidkurz.com/home daily 1.0 2026-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1601961155996-RZJ04OMF2NKU8UJUMDWN/Kurz_headshot.jpg Home - I study wildlife ecology, conservation science, and social-ecological systems. From Borneo to North America, I ask questions such as: How does wildlife shape cultural values, food provision, and economic security for human communities? What values drive human decisions about wildlife management, and the environment more broadly? How can we build greater consensus among stakeholders for bipartisan action on climate change? How can public policy help create climate-resilient social and ecological systems, such as fisheries and multi-use landscapes? I am an Assistant Professor of the Practice in Environmental Studies at Boston College. I completed a postdoc at Trinity College in the Environmental Science Program, a PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley, an MPhil in Biological Science (Zoology) at the University of Cambridge, and an AB in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University. If you are a BC student interested in chatting, feel free to email me at david [dot] kurz [at] bc.edu - I’d love to hear from you! https://www.davidkurz.com/publications daily 0.75 2024-03-02 https://www.davidkurz.com/teaching daily 0.75 2023-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1638250252602-WHEDTVOTL2MXRV5NX28V/trnava-university-_9xRHrMOjeg-unsplash.jpg Teaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1638250385730-WL7HHR3MJO54PGPDS6BG/tania-malrechauffe-Tq7lbAeF9BQ-unsplash.jpg Teaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1638250618017-XWYD4DYW4ACZ02J05ACM/joshua-wilking-bgSKRrYFYxc-unsplash.jpg Teaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1611120862828-QWJC28NS059YDOO1Q6IB/IMG_0225.JPG Teaching - Teaching & Mentorship I am committed to excellent, holistic teaching and mentorship of undergraduates. As an educator, I deeply value connection and experiential learning, and I strive to inspire students through innovative contexts. I find field-based, design-oriented, and research-focused settings are particularly rewarding contexts in which to mentor undergraduates. It is a humbling, uplifting process to help students explore their passions and hone their abilities as increasingly independent researchers in their own right. Pictured (L to R): Wendy Ooi, Kate Montana, Jordan Bloem, and me at our final research debrief! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/a0dd8bc2-8751-46d2-8856-101270030da5/Image.jpeg Teaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/50a24b75-e48e-4de2-8502-93cf93ef6d41/Josh_Brown_photo.jpg Teaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/ef012c91-1b24-4011-baf6-0ef37fab9b4c/Image-2.jpeg Teaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1611131270774-DDX8CUBQJZCOXGOKNLE1/IMG_6790.jpeg Teaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1611213446391-37KLTKWORS7WVJN271P9/sergio-souza-Im5hlbIWWcU-unsplash.jpg Teaching https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1611130554244-DR7R6H0AGAG3AW5X81KY/leonard-von-bibra-L4-BDd01wmM-unsplash.jpg Teaching https://www.davidkurz.com/research daily 0.75 2023-11-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1635796963896-GDRGD1U01YQVEBCK2ZMZ/osvaldo-escobar-s2n7orz5pQk-unsplash.jpg Research - Cultural ecosystem services of lobstering in Southern New England, USA. Lobster landings in Long Island Sound have plummeted by more than 90% since 1998, associated in part with climate change and warming temperatures. This fishery decline has devastated the lobster industry and the livelihoods it has historically supported in local Connecticut communities, yet research has been limited on the cultural values connected to this collapse. In collaboration with colleagues at the University of Vermont, several Trinity undergraduates and I will survey and interview former and current lobster fishers about the economic and cultural significance provided by lobstering and local marine ecosystems. L: Osvaldo Escobar on Unsplash https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/ce45ee83-ae72-4d32-8597-0d33279c2219/bailey-alexander-CvSPwxBMyWk-unsplash.jpg Research - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1603782222352-COO6C7E4USUPXG16SL78/IMG_7551+2+copy+2.jpg Research https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1603782039419-5FNX0F7WN4JJPA275K6X/IMG_0069.jpeg Research https://www.davidkurz.com/outreach daily 0.75 2021-11-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1632162706187-NW8MZUVO0FIUROTSBZS3/Screen+Shot+2021-09-20+at+2.19.48+PM.png Outreach - Press release on People and Nature article Our article on Indigenous hunting practices was published in the scientific journal People and Nature, and subsequently received press coverage in Mongabay, The Conversation Australia, The Borneo Post, The Daily Californian, and several other news outlets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1632163341184-0Y71K8183NASJWRJ4DVV/Hunting_scene_Koehler.JPG Outreach - Indigenous hunting artwork While artist and illustrator Amy Koehler was doing a residency in the Middleton Lab at UC Berkeley, we were able to begin work on a collaboration to depict a traditional Indigenous hunting scene based on my work in Borneo. Working with an Indigenous collaborator and me, Amy produced an exceptionally striking, vivid rendition of an Indigenous bearded pig hunting scene. Right: Artwork by Amy Koehler. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/1632164267250-LVTIXM80K6ICHPQ2CJB1/JessicaSuarez_BeardedPigs_HighRes-5.JPG Outreach - Bearded pig photography Wildlife photographer Jess Suarez has been a wonderful collaborator. Her beautiful photographs of wild bearded pigs add depth and color to my research communications. Left: Photo by Jess Suarez. https://www.davidkurz.com/take-action daily 0.75 2025-05-12 https://www.davidkurz.com/people daily 0.75 2026-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/d9c0ef01-f644-49ff-828d-320e7c791464/IMG_7565.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/d907182f-1a5f-4fba-9c09-c04c7467c80b/composite.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/a9722cad-24b5-4fd1-8c68-43fa2be426ca/IMG_0073+2.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/dc14f9f4-5f88-4cbe-a779-c4fa29d56768/IMG_1764.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/791dc6ba-79aa-462b-a765-91e16f4e7cb5/IMG_2426.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/0ab7d0ac-e302-47a6-92ab-b360615aa958/Ana.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/2b0ca53b-65c4-4429-975e-d0ad5d162eab/IMG_8123.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/2d201c80-6edf-42e5-98b8-522a14cd9dd4/FA1485BB-9BDD-4BE0-859B-553A4A77A6EC_1_102_o.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f487ac66e1196462387488c/bf21af7d-3aaf-45f2-a3ea-2f3ca36df306/KateStrickerPhoto.jpg