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Troy L. Best

Professor and Curator of Mammals

                                    Vertebrate Ecology, Systematics, Mammalogy,

                                    Ornithology, Herpetology, Endangered Species

                                    OFFICE:         350 Funchess Hall

PHONE:        334/844‑9260

FAX:              334/844‑9234

E‑MAIL:        besttro@auburn.edu

Banner-tailed kangaroo rat.

Education:

Ph.D., Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 1976.
M.S., Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 1971.
B.S., Biology, Anthropology, and Secondary Education, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, NM, 1967.

Lesser Prairie-chicken on a lek in New Mexico.

Honors/Awards:

Alumni Professor, Auburn University, 1999-2004.

Outstanding Professor, Auburn University Panhellenic Council, 1996. One of 18 awardees selected by this organization of nationally chartered sororities to recognize a "determination to foster knowledge in the minds of students."

Donald W. Tinkle Research Excellence Award, The Southwestern Association of Naturalists, 1995. This award is presented to "a scientist who has made significant contributions to the understanding of the biota of the Southwest and Latin America through scientific publications."

Faculty Advisor, Auburn University Chapter of Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society, 1991 to present.

Bats exiting a cave in northern Alabama.

Research/Interests:

The primary focus of my research is on the ecology and systematics of vertebrates. I have conducted extensive field work in the southwestern United States and Mexico, primarily related to ecology and systematic studies of bats, heteromyid rodents, and other desert species. For the past 15 years, my research also has included studies of the ecology of birds and reptiles in New Mexico, and the ecology of bats in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico.

Identifying a bat in Africa.

Research camp in Argentina.

Looking for migratory bats in Mexican caves.

Plotting collecting localities in Alabama

Thunderstorm in Big Bend National Park, Texas.

Grazing in Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya.

In collaboration with M. J. Harvey (Tennessee Technological University) and J. S. Altenbach (University of New Mexico), we produced three full‑color, 24 by 36‑inch posters on bats for distribution to the general public by private, state, and federal organizations throughout the United States (Bats of Alabama, Bats of the Eastern United States, and Bats of the Western United States). These posters contain photographs of 45 species of bats that occur in the United States (photos are by J. S. Altenbach) and the back side of each poster has information including distribution, ecology, reproductive biology, and behavior of each species shown on the front. About 200,000 copies are being distributed by sponsoring organizations.

Measurements of a puma (Gay and Best, 1996).

Since 1993, 21 students have completed graduate degrees under my direction (2 Ph.D, 13 M.S., 6 non‑thesis), and I have served as a committee member for more than 30 other graduate students. In addition to completing the Ph.D. and M.S. degree requirements with course work and thesis, all of these students have presented results of their research at international scientific meetings and several have manuscripts derived from their thesis research that are now published or “in press.”