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Philip Nyhus
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Environmental Studies


Office: Diamond 202
Phone: 207-859-5358
Fax: 5229
Email:
pjnyhus@colby.edu

Mailing Address:
5358 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, Maine 04901-8853

Semester Schedule

Education

B.A.

Biology

St. Olaf College

1989

M.S.

Land Resources

Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin

1994

Ph.D.

Land Resources

Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin

1999

Areas of Expertise:
  • Environmental policy
  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • Endangered species conservation, policy, and risk assessment
  • Human-wildlife conflict, including tiger and large mammal conservation
  • View Curriculum Vitae

    Professional Information

    Areas of Interest:
    Dr. Philip Nyhus’ interdisciplinary research bridges the natural and social sciences to address human interactions with the environment. He is particularly interested in the policy dimensions of human-wildlife conflict and endangered species conservation. His current research includes developing new tools and processes for biodiversity risk assessment, GIS-based spatial models, and tiger and large mammal conservation in the US and Asia.

    Personal homepage

    Recent Professional Experience:
    2004-present: Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies Program, Colby College, Waterville, Maine

    2002-2003: Co-Chair, Environmental Studies Program, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

    2001-2004: Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Department of Earth and Environment, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

    1999-2001: National Science Foundation Award for the Integration of Research and Education Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Science, Colby College, Waterville, Maine

    Publications

    Selected Recent Publications:

    Nyhus, P. J., R. Lacy, F. R. Westley, P. Miller, H. Vredenburg, P. Paquet, and J. Pollak 2007. Tackling biocomplexity with meta-models for species risk assessment. Ecology and Society 12(1): 31. [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss1/art31/

    Nyhus, P. J., Cole, F. R. & Firmage, D. H. (2007). Tigers, Wolves, and Moose, Oh My: Challenges and Opportunities for Promoting Undergraduate Research in Environmental Studies with GIS. CUR Quarterly, Spring, 27(3): 97-102).

    Nyhus, P. J., F. R. Cole, D. H. Firmage, D. Tierney, S. W. Cole, R. B. Phillips, and E. H. Yeterian. (2007). Environmental Studies: Interdisciplinary Research on Maine Lakes. In Understanding Place: GIS and Mapping Across the Curriculum., (eds. D. Sinton and J. Lund), pp. 187-198. ESRI Press, Redlands, CA.

    Tilson, R. and P. Nyhus. (2005). Zoos, private ownership, and setting standards: “The right thing to do.” Communiqué, December, 34.

    Breitenmoser, U., R. Tilson, and P. Nyhus. (2006). Reintroduction of the Chinese Tiger. Cat News 44:15.

    Nyhus, P. J., Osofsky, S.A., Ferraro, P., Fischer, H. & Madden, F. (2005). Bearing the costs of human-wildlife conflict: The challenges of compensation schemes. In People and Wildlife: Conflict or Coexistence? (eds R. Woodroffe, S. Thirgood & A. Rabinowitz), pp. 107-121. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.

    Osofsky, S.A., Cleaveland, S., Karesh, W.B., Kock, M.D., Nyhus, P.J., Starr, L. and Yang, A. (Eds). (2005). Conservation and Development Interventions at the Wildlife/Livestock Interface: Implications for Wildlife, Livestock and Human Health. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. Click here to download book as pdf.

    Nyhus, P. J., Cole, F. R., Firmage, D. H. & Yeterian, E. H. (2004). Teaching Fellows: An Innovative Approach to Facilitate the Integration of Research and Education at Colby College. In Reinvigorating the Undergraduate Curriculum: Lessons from the Integration of Research and Education. http://www.cur.org/publications/aire_raire/toc.asp (eds L. Kauffman & J. Stocks), Washington, D.C., Council of Undergraduate Research.

    Nyhus, P. J. & Tilson, R. (2004). Characterizing tiger-human conflict in Sumatra, Indonesia: Implications for conservation. Oryx, 38, 68-74.

    Nyhus, P. J. & Tilson, R. (2004). Agroforestry, elephants, and tigers: Balancing conservation theory and practice in human-dominated landscapes of Southeast Asia. Agroforestry, Ecosystems, and the Environment.

    Tilson, R., Defu, H., Muntifering, J. & Nyhus, P. J. (2004). Dramatic decline of wild South China tigers: Field survey of priority tiger reserves. Oryx, 38, 40-47.

    Nyhus, P. J., Fisher, H., Madden, F. & Osofsky, S. (2003). Taking the bite out of wildlife damage: The challenges of wildlife compensation schemes. Conservation in Practice, 4, 37-40.

    Nyhus, P. J., Sumianto & Tilson, R. (2003). Wildlife knowledge among migrants in southern Sumatra, Indonesia: Implications for conservation. Environmental Conservation, 30, 192-199.

    Nyhus, P. J., Tilson, R. L. & Tomlinson, J. L. (2003). Dangerous animals in captivity: Ex situ tiger conflict and implication for private ownership of exotic animals. Zoo Biology, 22, 573 - 586.

    Nyhus, P. J., Williams, J., Borovansky, J., Byers, O. & Miller, P. (2003). Incorporating local knowledge into population and habitat viability assessments: Landowners and tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea. In Experiments in Consilience: Integrating Social and Scientific Responses to Save Endangered Species (eds F. Westley & P. Miller), pp. 161-184. Island Press, Washington, D.C.

    Nyhus, P. J., Cole, F. R., Firmage, D. H. & Lehmann, P. S. (2002). Enhancing education through research in the environmental science laboratory: Integrating GIS and project-based learning at Colby college. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, September, 34-40.

    Nyhus, P. J., Cole, F. R., Firmage, D. H. & Yeterian, E. H. (2002). Developing and implementing an interdisciplinary undergraduate research symposium at a small liberal arts college. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, September, 16-23.

    Nyhus, P. J., Westley, F. R., Lacey, R. C. & Miller, P. S. (2002). A role for natural resource social science in biodiversity risk assessment. Society and Natural Resources, 15, 923-932.

    Tilson, R., Nyhus, P. & Franklin, N. (2001). Tiger restoration in Asia: Ecological theory vs. sociological reality. In Large Mammal Restoration: Ecological and Sociological Challenges in the 21st Century (eds D. S. Maehr, R. F. Noss & J. L. Larkin), pp. 277-291. Island Press, Washington, D.C.

    Nyhus, P., Sumianto & Tilson, R. (2000). Crop-raiding elephants and conservation implications at Way Kambas National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia. Oryx, 34, 262-275.

    Tilson, R., Nyhus, P., Jackson, P., Quigley, H., Hornocker, M., Ginsberg, J., Phemister, D., Sherman, N. & Seidensticker, J. (2000). Securing a Future for the World's Wild Tigers. Save The Tiger Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Washington, D.C.

    Nyhus, P., Sumianto & Tilson, R. (1999). The tiger human dimension in southeast Sumatra, Indonesia. In Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-dominated Landscapes (eds J. Seidensticker, S. Christie & P. Jackson), pp. 144-145. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

    Tilson, R. & Nyhus, P. (1998). Keeping problem tigers from becoming a problem species. Conservation Biology, 12, 261-262.