Curriculum Vitae

Eric L Walters, PhD

1. Affiliation

2. Education & Degrees

• 2004, Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
• 1997, Master of Science, Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• 1990, Bachelor of Science, Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

3. Academic Positions

Current Appointments

• 2023–Present, Professor & Director of the Zoological Museum, Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
• 2014–Present, Affiliated Researcher, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

Previous Appointments

• 2017–2023, Associate Professor & Director of the Zoological Museum, Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
• 2018, Visiting Associate Professor, School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• 2011–2017, Assistant Professor & Director of the Zoological Museum, Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA;
• 2011–2016, Visiting Fellow, Bird Population Studies, Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA;
• 2009–2011, Postdoctoral Associate, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA;
• 2006–2009, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
• 2004–2006, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA

4. Honors & Awards

• 2023, Global Champion Award, International Student Advisory Board, Old Dominion University
• 2023, Distinguished Research Award, Old Dominion University
• 2018, Fellow, American Ornithological Society
• 2016, New Faculty Award, Old Dominion University Alumni Association
• 2016, Shining Star Award, Old Dominion University
• 2015, Early Career Distinguished Research Award, Old Dominion University
• 2013, Elective Member, American Ornithologists’ Union
• 2013, Most Inspirational Faculty Member, Old Dominion University
• 2012, Elected Full Member, Sigma Xi

5. Grants (>$2 million US dollars, smaller grants [<$5K] are not shown)

• 2024–2026, PI, $31,600, Sam Shine Foundation, ‘Evaluating longleaf restoration strategies and their effects on bird and plant communities’
• 2024–2026, co-PI, $350,000, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, ‘Building capacity for forest restoration and enhancement at the northern range limit of longleaf pine through novel collaborations’
• 2021–2024, PI, $147,781, National Science Foundation, ‘Evolution of cooperation in social woodpeckers, supplement 4’
• 2020–2021, PI, $38,810, National Science Foundation, ‘Evolution of cooperation in social woodpeckers, supplement 3’
• 2019–2020, PI, $120,887, National Science Foundation, ‘Evolution of cooperation in social woodpeckers, supplement 1 & 2’
• 2015–2020, PI, $410,387, National Science Foundation, ‘Evolution of cooperation in social woodpeckers’
• 2015–2018, co-PI, $207,000, National Science Foundation, ‘Senescence and its consequences in three cooperative breeders’
• 2017–2018, co-PI, €17,000, The Royal Society, ‘Isolation by distance in the cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker’
• 2017–2018, PI, $5,000, Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, ‘Quantifying songbird use of keystone resources during migration’
• 2016–2017, PI, $8,000, Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, ‘Consequences and benefits of migratory bird stopover habitat selection’
• 2015–2016, PI, $9,000, Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, ‘Metabolic demands of fall migrants’
• 2014–2015, PI, $35,000, Maryland Dept of Natural Resources, ‘Radar analysis of bird migration stopover sites and validation of Nexrad-based predictive models: year 2’
• 2014–2015, PI, $8,000, Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, ‘Migrant bird ecology at Kiptopeke State Park, year 2’
• 2013–2015, PI, $64,060, United States Fish & Wildlife Service, ‘Radar analysis of bird migration stopover sites and validation of NEXRAD data and models for the northeastern US’
• 2009–2015, co-PI, $420,950, National Science Foundation, ‘Reproductive sharing and fitness in cooperative societies’
• 2014, co-PI $9,000, Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship grant
• 2013–2014, PI, $34,800, Maryland Dept of Natural Resources, ‘Radar analysis of bird migration stopover sites and validation of Nexrad-based predictive models’
• 2013–2014, PI, $33,922, Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, ‘Habitat use of bird migration stopover sites and a comparison with radar-based predictive models’
• 2013–2014, PI, $6,445, Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, ‘Migrant bird ecology at Kiptopeke State Park’
• 2013, co-PI $22,000, Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship grant
• 2012–2013, PI, $15,000, Office of Research, Old Dominion University, ‘Urbanization effects on tick parasitism rates in birds’
• 2012, co-PI $22,000, Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship grant
• 2008, co-PI, $30,000, National Science Foundation, ‘An experimental study of the ecological constraints in the cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker, supplement 1’
• 2006–2009, co-PI, $289,954, National Science Foundation, ‘An experimental study of the ecological constraints in the cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker’

6. Service

Department

• 2011–Present, Director, Zoological Museum
• 2021–Present, Strategic Planning Committee
• 2021–Present, Museum Design, New Biology Building Committee
• 2020–Present, Graduate Program Committee
• 2017–Present, Promotion, Tenure, and Continuance Committee
• 2012–Present, Ecology PhD Admissions Committee
• 2012–Present, Blackwater Ecological Preserve Oversight Committee
• 2024, award committee, Sonenshine OneHealth Award
• 2024, award committee, Bagley Award
• 2024, award committee, Marshall Award
• 2024, award committee, Musselman Award
• 2023, award committee, Wright Robinson Award
• 2023, Graduate Program Director, PhD in Ecological Sciences Program
• 2022–2023, Marine Megafauna Faculty Search Committee
• 2019–2024, Chair, Social Media Committee
• 2021–2022, Chair, Operations & Awards Committee
• 2019–2020, Chair, Undergraduate Enrollment & Retention Committee
• 2019–2020, Executive Committee
• 2017–2018, Vertebrate Physiological Ecologist Search Committee
• 2016–2017, Chair, Undergraduate Research Committee
• 2016–2017, Chair, Conservation & Ecology Concentration Committee
• 2016–2017, Curriculum Committee
• 2015–2016, Operations & Awards Committee
• 2012–2015, Faculty Mentor, Research for Undergraduates in Math & Science
• 2013–2014, Vertebrate Ecologist Search Committee
• 2013–2014, Chair, Executive Committee
• 2013, Affiliated Faculty Policy Committee
• 2012–2013, Chair, Seminar Committee
• 2012–2013, Executive Committee

College

• 2023, Graduate Student Affairs Committee
• 2023, Graduate Affairs Strategic Planning Committee
• 2018, grant panelist, Cheng Fund
• 2017–2018, Research Council (Departmental Representative)
• 2014–2015, Technology Committee

University

• 2024, ad hoc Search Committee, Attending Veterinarian, Office of Research
• 2024, Search Committee, Research Compliance Coordinator, Office of Research
• 2022–Present, Chair, Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee
• 2013–Present, Resource Faculty Advisor, Graduate Research Fellowship Program, National Science Foundation
• 2023, ad hoc Search Committee, Attending Veterinarian
• 2022, Panelist, Data Science Research Funding Seed Grants
• 2017, New Faculty Award Committee

Professional

Peer Review

• 1997–Present, Peer Reviewer (99th percentile by Publons for number of reviews among global peer reviewers)
• 2018–2021, Associate Editor, Social Evolution section, Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution
• 2013–2021, Associate Editor, Ornithology / Auk: Ornithological Advances
• 2008–2013, Associate Editor, Condor: International Journal of Avian Biology

Grant Panels

• 2024, Lewis & Clark Fund for Exploration and Research, American Philosophical Society
• 2024, IOS, National Science Foundation
• 2024, American Ornithological Society
• 2024, Wilson Ornithological Society
• 2023, Animal Behavior Society
• 2023, Austrian Science Fund FWF
• 2023, IOS, National Science Foundation
• 2023, American Ornithological Society
• 2022, American Ornithological Society
• 2021, Graduate Research Fellowships, National Science Foundation
• 2021, American Ornithological Society
• 2020, American Ornithological Society
• 2020, Animal Behavior Society
• 2019, Graduate Research Fellowships, National Science Foundation
• 2019, Animal Behavior Society
• 2018, JJ Murray Research Award, Virginia Society of Ornithology
• 2017, Animal Behavior Society
• 2016, Animal Behavior Society
• 2015, Graduate Research Fellowships, National Science Foundation
• 2015, Animal Behavior Society
• 2014, Graduate Research Fellowships, National Science Foundation
• 2014, Sigma Xi
• 2014, Animal Behavior Society
• 2013, Texas Sea Grant

Other

• 2023–Present, Leadership Team, Long-term Studies Section, Ecological Society of America
• 2018–2019, Scientific Planning Committee (North America representative), 8th International Woodpecker Conference, Białowieża National Forest, Poland
• 2014–2016, Chair, Membership Committee, Association of Field Ornithologists
• 2013–2015, Harry R. Painton Award Committee, Cooper Ornithological Society

7. Teaching

• Biometry (graduate level); taught 2021–Present
• Foundations & Principles in Ecology (graduate level); taught 2013–Present
• Community Ecology (undergraduate / graduate level); taught 2013–Present
• Field Studies in Ornithology (undergraduate / graduate level); taught 2012–Present
• Ecological Seminar (graduate level); topics have included Behavioral Ecology, Modern Topics in Statistics, Statistical Misuses in Ecology & Evolution, Oak Woodland Ecology

8. Academic Mentorship

Postdoctoral Mentees

• Dr. Spencer Schubert; 2022, ‘Social networks in cooperative societies’
• Dr. Sahas Barve; 2017–2022, ‘Evolution of cooperative behavior’
• Dr. Victoria Garcia; 2015–2018, ‘Senescence and its consequences in three cooperative breeders’
• Dr. Hannah Dugdale; 2012–2016, ‘Quantitative genetics of behaviour: cooperative breeding and lifetime fitness’
• Dr. Michelle Jusino; 2015, ‘Convergent multi-species symbioses between woodpeckers and fungi’

 PhD Committees

• Chi Wei, 2022–Present, Chair of Committee, ‘Disentangling the drivers of population and behaviors of acorn woodpeckers‘
• Oleksii Dubovyk, 2022–Present, Chair of Committee, ‘Environmental filtering of avian communities by urban disturbance‘
• Angela Brierly, 2022–2023, Chair of Committee, ‘Social networks as predictors of acorn woodpecker behavior‘
• Ella DiPetto, 2021–Present, Chair of Committee, ‘Effect of oyster-based living shorelines on ecoystem services‘
• Sierra Hildebrandt, 2021–Present, Committee Member, ‘Assessment of Virginia’s living shorelines as a shoreline management practice and habitat restoration strategy‘
• Zlatka Rebolledo Sanchez, 2021–Present, Committee Member, ‘Spatio-temporal variability of carbon dynamics in salt marshes: a seascape perspective‘
• Zachary David, 2020–Present, Committee Member, ‘Understanding the metabolic rates of endothermic species and the relationship between thermal tolerances and geographic distribution‘
• Spencer Schubert, 2015–2022, Chair of Committee, ‘Temporal dynamics and seed dispersal in plant-frugivore communities of the Dominican Republic‘
• Nick Flanders, 2014–2022, Co-Chair of Committee, ‘The influences of disperser behavior, host availability, and environmental conditions on the distribution of oak mistletoe [Phoradendron leucarpum (RAF.) Reveal & M. C. Johnst.] in eastern Virginia and North Carolina‘
• Natasha Hagemeyer, 2012–2021, Chair of Committee, ‘Population dynamics and dispersal coalitions in the cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker‘
• Harold Jones, 2019–2021, Committee Member, ‘Interdunal swale ecology‘
• Sara Benham, 2017–2019, Committee Member, ‘Landscape genetics of the gulf coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum)’
• Emily Anderson, 2016–2019, Committee Member, ‘The role of backreef soundscapes and their spatial structure for recruitment of tropical marine larvae‘
• Jason Spadaro, 2014–2019, Committee Member, ‘Cryptic herbivorous invertebrates restructure the composition of degraded coral reef communities in the Florida Keys, Florida, USA‘
• Marla Valentine, 2013–2018, Committee Member, ‘Sponge community biocomplexity, competition, and functional significance in hard-bottom habitats of the Florida Keys, FL (USA)‘
• Alexis White, 2013–2018, Committee Member, ‘Tick control methods for Amblyomma americanum in Virginia: applications and modeling‘
• John Bain, 2012–2016, Committee Member, ‘Coarse root biomass and architecture: applications of ground penetrating radar‘
• Robyn Nadolny, 2011–2016, Committee Member, ‘A hitchhiker’s guide to invasion biology: describing the ecological mechanisms underlying the range expansions of two ixodid tick species‘
• Ryan Knowles, 2014–2015, Committee Member, ‘Resource partitioning in larval communities associated with Caribbean spiny lobsters‘
• Jack Butler, 2011–2015, Committee Member, ‘Characterization of soundscapes in shallow water habitats of the Florida Keys (USA) and their influence on the settlement of larval fish and invertebrates‘
• Amanda Ackiss, 2013–2014, Committee Member, ‘Tracing the genetic footprints of the redbelly yellowtail fusilier, Caesio cuning, across multiple spatial and evolutionary scales‘
• Kevin Byron, 2011–2014, Committee Member, left program

MSc Committees

• Irosh Peiris, 2024–Present, Chair of Committee
• Maizer Sparkman, 2023–Present, Chair of Committee, ‘Discerning the trophic niche of the non-indigenous polychaete, Hermundura americana, in the Chesapeake Bay using stable isotopes’
• Kori Carr, 2023–Present, Committee Member
• Alexandra Wright, 2023–Present, Chair of Committee, ‘Evaluating longleaf restoration strategies and their effects on bird and plant communities’
• Victoria Ellis, 2021–2023, Committee Member, ‘Using the stress gradient hypothesis to explain interactions between species along a changing environmental gradient‘
• Lauren Heyd, 2020-2023, Committee Member, ‘Ageing longleaf pine trees at Blackwater Ecological Preserve‘
• Samantha Glover, 2020–2023, Co-Chair of Committee, ‘Evaluating the potential of saltwater quarries for the semi-wild mariculture of Caribbean King Crab (Maguimithrax spinosissimus)’
• Grant Bowers, 2020–2022, Chair of Committee, ‘Nestedness and modularity of avian metacommunities across gradients of Chesapeake Bay island characteristics‘
• Oleksii Dubovyk, 2020–2022, Chair of Committee
• Russell Winter, 2018–2022, Committee Member, ‘A comparison of nesting success in riparian habitats: why are acorn woodpeckers more successful in sycamores?‘
• Nick Evans, 2019–2020, Committee Member, ‘The effect of gardening damselfish on the recovery of patch reefs in the Florida Keys, Florida, USA‘
• Chance Hines, 2016–2020, Chair of Committee, ‘The effects of hackberry psyllids on refueling migratory songbirds and autumnal seed rain‘
• Alex Jarvis-Creasey, 2019, Committee Member, ‘The potential southward migration of purple loosestrife as a result of climate change‘
• Andrew Arnold, 2013–2018, Chair of Committee, ‘Assessment of factors influencing migratory landbird use of forested stopover sites along the Delmarva peninsula during autumn migration‘
• Michael Gregory, 2015–2017, Committee Member, ‘Foraging behavior of spring bees and their agricultural implications‘
• Tim Schreckengost, 2014–2017, Committee Member, ‘Methods for studying stopover ecology of migrating landbirds with weather surveillance radar’, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA’
• Erin Heller, 2012–2015, Chair of Committee, ‘The effects of urbanization on tick parasitism rates in birds of southeastern Virginia‘
• Anna Brownson, 2011–2015, Chair of Committee, ‘The behavioral causes of reproductive skew in cooperatively polygynandrous acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus)‘
• Emily Adams, 2011–2015, Committee Member, ‘Blue carbon in freshwater / brackish marshes on the Barrier Islands of Virginia aboveground net primary productivity and carbon pools‘
• Ben Gutzler, 2011–2014, Committee Member, ‘The ecological impact of casitas on Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) populations in the Florida Keys, FL (USA)‘
• Jack Buchanan, 2012–2013, Committee Member, ‘Regional extinction risk and conservation priorities for Persian Gulf marine bony fishes‘

Honors Theses

• Casey Hayes, 2019, ‘Responses to the calls of former group members and non-group members in acorn woodpeckers‘, winner of Provost’s Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award
• Kayla Berger, 2017–2018, ‘The role of scavenger bias on bird-window collision mortality rates‘
• Anderson Miller, 2015, ‘Diet components of waterfowl wintering in Virginia‘
• LaCheryl Ball, 2012–2013, ‘Enrichment of captive squirrel monekeys‘, winner of the Kaufman Award (ODU’s highest undergraduate honor)

Research Internships

• Kaitlin Rivera, Old Dominion University, 2024
• Rosie Froelich, University of California-Davis, 2023
• Charli Morgan, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, 2023
• Alex Teodorescu, East Carolina University, 2022–2023
• Doug Fitzpatrick, University of Hawaii-Hilo, 2022
• Claire Chiswell, University of Victoria, 2022
• Mya Esquivel, Humboldt State University, 2022
• Maddie Hellier, Virginia Tech, 2021–2022
• Mara Cobb, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, 2021–2022
• Rosa Ponce, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, 2021
• Avalon Cook, University of California-Berkeley, 2021
• Cesar Estien, Florida State University, 2020
• Courtney Check, College of William & Mary, 2020
• Tori Bakley, Florida State University, 2020
• Anicka Chaffey, Eckerd College, 2020
• Claire O’Connell, Mississippi State, 2019–2020
• Lara Jones, Wellesley College, 2019–2020
• Megan Massa, College of William & Mary, 2019
• Eve Hallock, Cornell University, 2019
• Hannah Horowitz, University of California-Davis, 2019
• Odile Maurelli, Cornell University, 2018–2019
• Max von Zastrow, Utah State University, 2018–2019
• Emily Goldberg, Yale University, 2018
• Russell Winter, SUNY-ESF, 2018
• Sarah Mueller, University of Puget Sound, 2017–2018
• Zoe Zelazny, University of Florida, 2017–2018
• Paula Saravia, Universidad CES, 2017
• Hana Londoño, Oikawa, Universidad CES, 2017
• Emilee Sparks, North Park University, 2016–2017
• Rebecca Westwick, University of Texas, 2016–2017
• Jenny Kim, Cornell University, 2015–2016
• Robin Jenkins, Oregon State University, 2016
• Kaija Gahm, Yale University, 2016
• Samantha Dietz, North Carolina State, 2015–2016
• Ayala Berger, University of California-Davis, 2015–2016
• Chance Hines, Texas A&M, 2015
• Anna Stunkel, College of the Atlantic, 2015
• Ally Lahey, Old Dominion University, 2015
• Niles Desmarais, Gonzaga University, 2014–2015
• Lynn Zhang, University of California-Santa Cruz, 2014–2015
• Alison Nevins, University of California-Davis, 2014
• Elise Nishikawa, University of Colorado-Boulder, 2014
• Laura Seifert, Gonzaga University, 2014
• Conor Higgins, University of Pittsburgh, 2014
• Eric Cali, Old Dominion University, 2014
• Chance Hines, Texas A&M, 2013
• Henrietta Egbunike, Old Dominion University 2013
• Andrea Brightwell, Old Dominion University, 2013
• Sarah Latham, Old Dominion University, 2013
• Laura August, College of William & Mary, 2013
• Alexander Pate, Auburn University, 2013
• Rebecca Earl, Cornell University, 2013
• David Weber, Cornell University, 2013–2014
• Devin McMahon, Cornell University, 2013–2014
• Anastasia Rahlin, Brown University, 2012–2014
• Margaret McDonald, Old Dominion University, 2012
• Grace Ha, Cornell University 2012
• Ricci May, Cornell University, 2012
• Tracy Burkhard, University of California-Berkeley, 2012
• Katie Zarn, Gonzaga University, 2011–2012
• Charles Van Rees, Connecticut College, 2011–2012
• Bridget Antze, Dalhousie University, 2011
• Desirree Pizzaro, Cornell University, 2011
• Max Mehlman, University of New Hampshire, 2009
• Adam Cirone, Muskigum College, 2010
• Caroline Rusk, Cornell University, 2010
• Caitlyn Gillespie, Knox College, 2009–2010
• Erin Spevak, Marlboro College, 2009
• Dan Strain, University of California-Santa Cruz, 2009
• Tom Kraft, Cornell University, 2009
• Anna Brownson, Hope College, 2008–2011
• Kyle Funk, University of California-Santa Cruz, 2008–2009
• Dean Bogart, Prescott College, 2008
• Ian Taff, Marlboro College, 2008
• Andrea Gear, University College London, 2008
• Emma Moran, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 2007–2008
• Doug Morin, Skidmore College, 2007–2008
• Archer Larned, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2007
• Josh Brown, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 2007
• Debbie Visco, SUNY-ESF, 2007
• Ryan Drobek, University of California-Santa Cruz, 2006–2007
• Bridget Piculell, University of California-Santa Cruz, 2006–2007
• Justyn Stahl, University of Florida, 2006