Rate My Professor Clint Epps

Clinton W. Epps is a Professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences. He earned a B.A. in Biology from Rice University in 1997 and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004. Epps leads the Epps Lab, which investigates mammalian ecology and population genetics. His research specializations include connectivity and dispersal in fragmented landscapes, effects of climate and climate change on species distribution and demography, conservation genetics, wildlife ecology and conservation, and wildlife disease. He applies these interests to large mammals such as desert bighorn sheep in North America and aardvarks and Maasai giraffes in Africa.

Epps’ work has shaped landscape-scale conservation strategies across North America and Africa, informing management of game species, threatened species, and wildlife on public lands. Key publications encompass “Highways block gene flow and cause a rapid decline in genetic diversity of desert bighorn sheep” (Ecology Letters, 2005), “The rise of the mesopredator” (BioScience, 2009), “Optimizing dispersal and corridor models using landscape genetics” (Journal of Applied Ecology, 2007), “Placing linkages among fragmented habitats: do least-cost models reflect how animals use landscapes?” (Journal of Applied Ecology, 2011), “Landscape genetics in a changing world: disentangling historical and contemporary influences and inferring change” (Molecular Ecology, 2015), and “The role of landscape connectivity in planning and implementing conservation and restoration priorities” (Issues in Ecology, 2012). He has received the Savery Outstanding Young Faculty Award in 2011 and the R.M. Wade Award for Excellence in Teaching. Epps teaches FW 317 Mammalogy, FW 458/558 Mammal Conservation and Management, and FW 599 Conservation Genetics, and serves as an undergraduate student advisor.