Zoos: A Historical
Perspective from Smithsonian Institution Libraries
The
National Zoological Park is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.
Katherine Ralls, Ph.D., Senior
Research Zoologist, Department of Conservation Biology
Conservation
and Science
Education
Stanford University, B.A, Biology, 1960
Radcliffe College, M.A, Biology, 1962
Harvard University, Ph.D., Biology, 1965
Professional History and Interests
Katherine Ralls has worked for the National Zoo since 1976, when she was hired as a Research Zoologist in the Department of Zoological Research (now the Department of Conservation Biology). She has broad interests in the behavioral ecology, genetics, and conservation of mammals, both terrestrial and marine.
Her early research was purely academic and focused on mammalian scent marking, sexual dimorphism, and the behavior of captive ungulates. In the late 1970s, she began research on inbreeding depression in captive mammals. That work led to a long and fruitful collaboration with Jonathan Ballou (also in the Department of Conservation Biology) that laid the foundations for the genetic and demographic management of captive populations now routinely practiced by major zoos worldwide.
She was among the first biologists to recognize the importance
of applying scientific methods to conservation efforts. In
the mid-1980s, she worked with Michael Soulé and other
scientists to found the Society for Conservation Biology.
She is also known for her research on endangered and threatened
mammals in the western United States, particularly California
sea otters and San Joaquin kit foxes.
more
on sea otter research
more
on kit fox research
She has served on numerous scientific advisory committees for federal agencies involved in conservation efforts, including the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Marine Mammal Commission, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Park Service, and the Forest Service. This practical experience led to her current interest in developing methods to make better (more robust and scientifically defensible) policy and management decisions under the all-too-common conditions of limited data and great uncertainty. In pursuit of this goal, she has collaborated with modelers, economists, and decision analysts.
Ralls has received widespread recognition for her work, including the Merriam Award from the American Society of Mammalogists (for lifetime achievement in research on mammals) and the LaRoe Award from the Society for Conservation Biology (for sustained achievement in applying science to real-world conservation problems).
Five Selected Publications
Ralls, K., J. D. Ballou, B. Rideout and R. Frankham. 2000.
Genetic management of chondrodystrophy in California condors.
Animal Conservation 3, 145-153.
Ralls, K. and B. L. Taylor. 2000. Better policy and management
decisions through explicit analysis of uncertainty: new approaches
from marine conservation biology. Conservation Biology
14, 1240-1242.
Smith, D.A., K. Ralls, B. Davenport, B. Adams, and J. E. Maldonado.
2001. Canine assistants for conservationists. Science
291, 435.
Ralls, K., K. L. Pilgrim, P. J. White, E. E. Paxinos, M. K.
Schwartz, and R. C. Fleischer. 2001. Kinship, social relationships,
and den-sharing in kit foxes. Journal of Mammalogy
82, 858-866.
Ralls, K., S. Beissinger and J. F. Cochrane. 2002. Guidelines
for using PVA for endangered species management. Pages 521-550
in D. McCullough and S. Beissinger, eds. Population Viability
Analysis, University Of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
Contact Information
Smithsonian's
National Zoological Park
Conservation
& Research Center
3001
Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington,
D.C. 20008
Telephone
and fax: 805.237.8215
rallsk@thegrid.net
