Randall W. Davis

Regents Professor
Department of Marine Biology

Randall W. Davis


E-mail: davisr@tamug.edu
Phone: +1 (409) 740.4712

Ocean & Coastal Studies Bldg., Office 246


CV


Learn more about Randall W. Davis

Get To Know Randall W. Davis

What in your life drew you to your current field of study?

Science.

What do you hope your students gain from studying or working with you?

A better understanding of animal function and performance in the wild.

What are you passionate about in your personal life?

Science.

Education
Ph.D. Physiology, University of California at San Diego, 1980
B.S.
Biology, University of California at Riverside, 1970
Courses Taught

1990-2018, Texas A&M University at Galveston:

MARB 415: Coastal Marine Biology and Geology of Alaska
MARB 420: Comparative Animal Physiology
Developmental Biology
Marine Biology Seminar Series
Marine Mammalogy
Marine Science of the Pacific Rim
Physiological Ecology of Marine Mammals

 

1994-2018, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company:

Care and rehabilitation of oiled sea otters
Capture and care of oiled sea otters

 

1977-2018, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California, San Diego:

Lecture Series
Physiology, swimming performance and diving behavior of marine mammals.
Biochemical and physiological adaptations in marine mammals.

Team Taught Courses
Graduate course on marine mammal physiology and metabolism.
Organ physiology and pharmacology laboratories for first year medical class.

 

1979, Natural History Museum:

Docents lecturer on marine mammals.

 

1977, Balboa Naval Hospital, San Diego, CA

Lecture Series
Respiratory physiology course.

Publications
Davis RW, Madden K, Fuiman LA, Williams TM (2013) Classification and behavior of free-ranging Weddell seal dives based on three-dimensional movements and video-recorded observations. Deep Sea Research Part II 88:65-77.

Davis RW (2009) Animal-borne Video Recorders as a Method for Studying Marine Life. In; New Horizons of Academic Visual-Media Practices, Wako Printing Co., Ltd., Japan. pp. 15-23, Also, see 4 below for the current project that is using this digital video and data recorder.

Davis RW, Fuiman LA, Williams TM, Horning M, Hagey W (2003) Classification of Weddell seal dives based on three-dimensional movements and video recorded observations. Marine Ecology Progress Series 264:109-122.

Davis RW, Fuiman LA, Williams TM, Le Beouf BJ (2001) Three-dimensional movements and swimming activity of a northern elephant seal. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A 129:759-770.

Davis RW, Fuiman LA, Williams TM, Collier S, Hagey W, Kanatous SB, Kohin S, Horning M (1999) Hunting behavior of marine mammal beneath the Antarctic fast-ice. Science 993-996.

Davis RW, Jaquet N, Gendron D, Bazzino G, Markaida U, Gilly W (2007) Diving behavior of sperm whales in relation to the behavior of their main prey, jumbo squid in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Marine Ecology Progress Series 333:291-302.

Davis RW, Hagey W, Horning M. (2004) Monitoring the behavior and multi-dimensional movements of Weddell seals using an animal-borne video and data recorder. Memoirs of the National Institute of Polar Research, Special Issue 58:148-154.

Davis RW, Polasek L, Watson RR, Fuson A, Williams TM, Kanatous SB (2004) The diving paradox: New insights into the role of the dive response in air-breathing vertebrates. Journal Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 138:263-268.

Davis RW, Ortega-Ortiz J, Ribic CA, Evans WE, Biggs DC, Ressler PH, Cady RB, Harris EJ, Leben RR, Mullin KD, Würsig B (2002) Cetacean habitat in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Deep-sea Research, Part I 49:121-142.

Davis RW, Fargion GS, May N, Leming TD, Evans WE, Hansen LJ, Mullin K (1998) Physical habitat of cetaceans along the continental slope in the north-central and western Gulf of Mexico. Marine Mammal Science 14:490-507.
Grants and Fellowships
2015-2018: National Science Foundation, IDBR Type B: Refinement of a miniature oceanographic data recorder that can be carried by marine mammals and other pelagic species for commercial production   

2014-2018: National Science Foundation, Division of Polar Programs: Collaborative Research: Geomagnetic navigation by Weddell seals beneath Antarctic ice; Principal Investigator

2012: National Geographic Society: Hunting behavior and foraging ecology of southern elephant seals, Principal Investigator;

2011-2013: National Science Foundation, IDBR Type A: Development of a miniature oceanographic data recorder that can be carried by marine mammals and other pelagic species; Principal Investigator

2009-2011: National Undersea Research Program, NOAA: Development of a miniature oceanographic data recorder that can be carried by marine mammals and other pelagic species; Principal Investigator

2008-2011: National Science Foundation, Division of Polar Programs: Collaborative Research: Hunting in darkness: Behavioral and energetic strategies of Weddell seals in winter; Principal Investigator

2007: North Pacific Research Board: Winter movements, foraging behavior and habitat-associations of northern fur seal pups on the Commander Islands, Russia; Principal Investigator

2006: National Science Foundation: Development of a miniature digital video and data recorder for monitoring the behavior and multi-dimensional movements of marine animals at sea; Principal Investigator
Professional Appointments
2012: Fulbright Fellow, University of Mar del Plata, Argentina

2011: Regents Professor, Texas A&M University

2007: Visiting Professor, Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo

1994- Professor, Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University

1990-1997: Head, Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University

1990-1994: Associate Professor, Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University

1990-: Director, Laboratory for Aquatic Animal Performance and Physiology, Texas A&M University

1990: Research Physiologist, University of California, San Diego, CA 

1989-1990: Director of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Response for Sea Otters

1983-1989: Research Physiologist, Hubbs Marine Research Institute, San Diego, CA

1987-1989: Research Associate in Marine Sciences, University of San Diego

1985-1989: Adjunct Professor, California State University, San Diego

1984-1990: Visiting Scholar, University of California, San Diego

1981-1984: Postgraduate Research Physiologist and NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Physiological Research Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA

1975-180: Research Assistant, Physiology/Pharmacology Group, School of Medicine, Univ. of California, San Diego, CA
Current Graduate Students

Nicholas Zellmer, Ph.D. Student