Biological Sciences Department

Marius van der Merwe, PH.D.

Marius van der Merwe, PH.D.

At Utah Tech University I am first and foremost a teacher who loves to work with undergraduate students in the wonderful deserts and mountains surrounding St. George. My formal training was in behavioral ecology and for my dissertation work I studied the foraging behavior of squirrels to gain insights into food value, habitat use, the risk of predation, and coexistence of animal competitors. More recently I have become interested in the ecology of cliffs, and more specifically, the ecology of cliff-dwelling lichens. Undergraduate students that take my ecology classes do a variety of field based projects, with an emphasis on ecological survey techniques. For undergraduate research I offer projects ranging from field-based optimal foraging experiments, animal activity (as measured by camera traps or live traps), to base-line surveys of cliff vegetation.

Education

Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution

  • University of Illinios at Chicago

M.Sc. in Entomology

  • University of Pretoria, South Africa

B.Sc. in Zoology and Genetics

  • University of Pretoria, South Africa

Courses

  • BIOL 1010 - General Biology
  • BIOL 1610 - Principles of Biology I
  • BIOL 3040 - General Ecology
  • BIOL 3045 - General Ecology Lab
  • BIOL 4040 - Medical Ecology
  • BIOL 4411 - Mammalogy
  • BIOL 4415 - Mammalogy Lab
  • BIOL 4810/4820 - Independent Research I/II
  • BIOL 4910/4920 - Senior Seminar I/II
  • BIOL 4930 - Senior Thesis

Contact

Marius van der Merwe, PH.D.

Email: marius.van.der.merwe@utahtech.edu

Phone: 435-652-7924

Office: SCI 203