Curriculum Vitae
Academic Preparation
PhD in Biology 2023
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Supervisor: Dr. Doug Clark
Dissertation: Identifying environmental and anthropogenic drivers behind
polar bear (Ursus maritimus) movement behavior in Wapusk National Park – In progress
Master of Science in Zoology 2015
School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University
Pullman, Washington. Supervisor: Dr. Charles Robbins
Thesis: Systemic effects of a high saturated fat diet for grizzly
bears (Ursus arctos horribilis)
Bachelor of Science in Zoology 2010
Department of Biological Sciences
State University of New York at Oswego
Oswego, New York. Supervisor: Dr. Lucina Hernandez/Dr. Diane Chepko-Sade
Honors Thesis: Determination of Rice Creek Field Station in Oswego, NY as a suitable habitat for northern river otter (Lontra canadensis) reintroduction
Research and Field Experience
Field Course Member/Assistant
8/2018
2-week field course
Participation in a Northern Field School course (Churchill Northern Studies Centre/Town of Churchill and Wapusk National Park) with six primary components:
05/2017 – present
60 hours/week
08/2015 - 04/2017
50-60 hours/week
05/2012 - 05/2015
20+ hours/week
09/2008
2-week field course
Participated in a two-week field course on Magnetic Island in Queensland, Australia. Trapping and tagging of ringtail possums, trapping, keying and evaluating body temperature changes on metabolic rates of skinks, identifying local birds in the dawn chorus by sight and sound, bird species richness surveys in riparian habitat, and evaluating changes in organic vs. inorganic materials used by male great bowerbirds at bowers to attract mates.
Teaching Experience
Teaching Assistant: Diversity of Life, University of Saskatchewan. Supervisor: Joel Yurach. August-December 2019. 10 hours/week
Teaching Assistant: Mammalogy, Washington State University. Supervisor: Dr. Daniela Monk. January-May 2015. 20 hours/week
Teaching Assistant: Animal Behavior, Washington State University. Supervisor: Dr. Daniela Monk. August-December 2014. 20 hours/week
Volunteer Experience
Wildlife Rehabilitation Volunteer
Living Skies Wildlife Rehabilitation. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Supervisor: Jan Shadick. September 2016-2019. 2 hours/week – animal intake, feeding, cleaning, medicine administration
Publications
Presentations
Peer Review
Scientific Reports – 2 publications – 2022
Peer J – 1 publication – 2022
Scientific Reports – 1 publication – 2021
Scientific Reports – 1 publication – 2018
Outreach & Media Appearances
The Arctic Bears Project on Zooniverse
Prepare trail camera photos for upload on Zooniverse platform (i.e., removal of people/vehicles, resizing, renaming, and organizing into appropriate drop folders for bulk upload). Additionally, acting as a forum moderator and researcher/expert for the project, so that I can help our community with answering questions, identification, and researcher communication and interaction
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/douglas-clark/the-arctic-bears-project
#KnockKnockWhosBear
Weekly Twitter science communication game started in 2018 where I post a photograph or video clip of a bear and participants must identify what bear species it is and why, and then I reveal the answer and explain how to best identify different bear species based on habitat, range maps, behaviors, and physical characteristics
Jason Bittel’s “A Bear of a Different Color”
https://jasonbittel.substack.com/p/a-bear-of-a-different-color
Skype A Scientist 2021
Presentation and discussion with two elementary school classrooms where I talk about bear biology, biodiversity and evolution (with specifics to bear species), and what it is like researching bears
Ologies Podcast – Ursinology Episode
Interview with Alie Ward where several bear biologists answer questions from the viewership/public about bears, for her award-winning podcast, Ologies
https://www.alieward.com/ologies/ursinology
CWF Youth Program – WILD Outside Webinar
Presentation and discussion via Zoom with members of the WILD Outside Youth Program (a branch of the Canadian Wildlife Federation), talking about current polar bear research and conservation strategies, coinciding with International Polar Bear Day, February 2021
Churchill Northern Studies Centre Mitacs Internship
I analyzed trail camera data from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre to determine polar bear visitation patterns and demographics of polar bears visiting infrastructure. From these data, I created radar graphs to show busiest “visitation times” for polar bears to the CNSC, and assigned bears body condition scores, and age/sex classifications to see what types of bears were visiting. CNSC staff were given training on remote camera use, maintenance, and data management in order to ensure comparability among other remote camera study sites. Lastly, I helped to develop several outreach media products (using the remote camera images and data) to help communicate polar bear safety messaging to CNSC visitors, including a brief research presentation that was added to the Science Briefing visitors receive upon arrival to the CNSC.
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park Discovery Center (recorded by Ward Cameron podcast) https://www.mountainnaturepodcast.com/005-oops-out-of-bear-spray-park-improvements-another-dead-wolf-and-ground-squirrels-in-the-rockies/
Jules Lerner – Nome Nugget Bear Attack in Alaska http://www.nomenugget.com/news/grizzly-sized-tale-intrigues-audiences-around-world
Jason Bittel’s WaPo KidsPost “Think you know what bunnies and bears eat?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/think-you-know-what-bunnies-and-bears-eat-their-diets-may-surprise-you/2019/09/20/bac528ea-ce5d-11e9-87fa-8501a456c003_story.html
Zoe Gates – Backpacker Magazine – Fat Bear Week “How Do Bears Get So Fat?”
https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/how-do-bears-get-so-fat/
CTV News Interview – “Sask researchers set up cameras to study polar bears’ interactions with humans”
https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/sask-researchers-set-up-cameras-to-study-polar-bears-interaction-with-humans-1.3765753
Grants & Scholarships
Northern Research Fund - 2019
CNSC Research and Education Committee
10 user days, 2 vehicle days
Mitacs Accelerate Internship - 2018
Churchill Northern Study Centre
$15,000 CDN
Northern Research Fund - 2018
CNSC Research and Education Committee
9 user days, 2 vehicle days
Alberta Conservation Association - 2016
Biodiversity Grant
$9930 CDN
Dean’s Scholarship - 2015
University of Saskatchewan
$22,000/yr (x3 yr) CDN
Vega Senior’s Award for Academic Excellence - 2010
Vega Junior and Senior Women’s Honor Society
Patti McGill Peterson Honors Program Award - 2007
State University of New York at Oswego
$500 USD
Certifications
Occupational Health and Safety Standard First Aid with CPR-A
St. John's Ambulance - 2016
Avalanche Fundamentals Level 1
American Avalanche Institute – Jackson, Wyoming - 2017
Language Skills
English – native language
Spanish – read and write with intermediate proficiency, speak and understand with basic proficiency
Professional & Honor Societies
The Wildlife Society - 2023
International Association for Bear Research and Management - 2017
American Society of Mammalogists - 2017
Omicron Delta Kappa - 2009
Phi Kappa Phi - 2009
Vega Junior and Senior Women’s Honor Society - 2008
PhD in Biology 2023
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Supervisor: Dr. Doug Clark
Dissertation: Identifying environmental and anthropogenic drivers behind
polar bear (Ursus maritimus) movement behavior in Wapusk National Park – In progress
Master of Science in Zoology 2015
School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University
Pullman, Washington. Supervisor: Dr. Charles Robbins
Thesis: Systemic effects of a high saturated fat diet for grizzly
bears (Ursus arctos horribilis)
Bachelor of Science in Zoology 2010
Department of Biological Sciences
State University of New York at Oswego
Oswego, New York. Supervisor: Dr. Lucina Hernandez/Dr. Diane Chepko-Sade
Honors Thesis: Determination of Rice Creek Field Station in Oswego, NY as a suitable habitat for northern river otter (Lontra canadensis) reintroduction
Research and Field Experience
Field Course Member/Assistant
8/2018
2-week field course
Participation in a Northern Field School course (Churchill Northern Studies Centre/Town of Churchill and Wapusk National Park) with six primary components:
- to experience northern wildlife and landscapes through experiential learning,
- participate in field research through individual and group projects and through active participation in data collection on existing long-term research,
- have cultural experiences through meeting local Dene and Metis people and learning from them,
- reflection where students spend time contemplating and learning from their shared experiences,
- discussions about the scientific literature and its implications for our activities on the land and within the Park, and
- communication where students share their experiences and study findings with Parks Canada and the local community.
05/2017 – present
60 hours/week
- Maintenance and management of 800,000+ photo trail camera photo database, setting up a queryable database for future research questions
- Evaluation of remote trail camera photos for age and sex classifications of polar bears, presence of young, body condition scores, date/time of visits to camera locations, recorded camera location and facing
- Validation study of camera efficacy for monitoring polar bear populations using a mixed effects logistic regression model
- Use of generalized linear models to determine how body condition of polar bears is influenced by age and sex classifications, sea ice dynamics, presence of young, and study site
- Use of negative binomial regressions to evaluate visitation frequency of polar bears to infrastructure/cameras
- Dissemination of findings in multiple presentations and published works to help inform management strategies and policy, as well as Northern communities and general public
08/2015 - 04/2017
50-60 hours/week
- Maintenance of digital and hand-written data records all of crew members for two field seasons, responsible for making sure digital records kept up to date
- Delegation of tasks regarding data collection and field station maintenance/cleanliness schedule to crew
- Serve as point of contact and liaison between crew, PI, Parks Canada, other researchers/teams using the field station facilities, and general public
- Participate in mark-recapture program for Columbian Ground Squirrel Project where responsibilities were to safely capture and handle ground squirrels in order to collect population data for a colony-wide census
- Mark all captured ground squirrels with metal ear tags and a dye mark
- Obtain DNA tissue sample from the squirrel’s ear for paternity linkage tests
- Record weight, sex, and reproductive status of individual squirrels (i.e., pregnant, lactating, scrotal, abdominal, number of pups, etc.)
- Record growth patterns of all pups (i.e., hind foot length, zygomatic arch breadth, weight)
- Evaluate trends in dates of emergence from hibernation burrows and dates of returning to hibernation as effects of climate change and predictors of population success
05/2012 - 05/2015
20+ hours/week
- Daily maintenance and care of grizzly bears at a captive facility, including measuring and weighing of food, feeding bears twice daily, cleaning dens and enrichment items twice daily, allowing bears access to yard, general health monitoring, and maintaining on-hand inventory of food, research supplies, and required medications/drugs
- Participating in training behaviors, data collection, and medical routines including but not limited to obtaining blood, fat, and hair samples, running serum immunoassays, isotopic analyses, giving injections, running body composition tests with deuterated water, attachment of bio-loggers, performing echocardiograms, obtaining blood pressure readings, performing anesthetization and reversal procedures, vitals monitoring, freeze-drying, grinding, and bomb calorimetry of food samples for nutritional analyses, etc.
- Evaluation of dietary fat intake (polyunsaturated fat vs. saturated fat) on grizzly bear heart health and hibernation patterns using a paired samples t-test (stats corrected due to low sample size)
09/2008
2-week field course
Participated in a two-week field course on Magnetic Island in Queensland, Australia. Trapping and tagging of ringtail possums, trapping, keying and evaluating body temperature changes on metabolic rates of skinks, identifying local birds in the dawn chorus by sight and sound, bird species richness surveys in riparian habitat, and evaluating changes in organic vs. inorganic materials used by male great bowerbirds at bowers to attract mates.
Teaching Experience
Teaching Assistant: Diversity of Life, University of Saskatchewan. Supervisor: Joel Yurach. August-December 2019. 10 hours/week
Teaching Assistant: Mammalogy, Washington State University. Supervisor: Dr. Daniela Monk. January-May 2015. 20 hours/week
Teaching Assistant: Animal Behavior, Washington State University. Supervisor: Dr. Daniela Monk. August-December 2014. 20 hours/week
Volunteer Experience
Wildlife Rehabilitation Volunteer
Living Skies Wildlife Rehabilitation. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Supervisor: Jan Shadick. September 2016-2019. 2 hours/week – animal intake, feeding, cleaning, medicine administration
Publications
- Clark, D., Barnas, A.F., Brook, R.K., Ellis-Felege, S.N., Fishback, L., Higdon, J.W., Manning, K., Rivet, D., Roth, J.D., Trim, T., Webb, M., Rockwell, R.F. 2021. The State of Knowledge About Grizzly Bears (Kakenokuskwe osow Muskwa (Cree), Ursus arctos) in Northern Manitoba. Arctic Science. Accepted, In-Press.
- Caravaggi, A., Burton, A. C., Clark, D. A., Fisher, J. T., Grass, A., Green, S., Hobaiter, C., Hofmeester, T. R., Kalan, A. K., Rabaiotti, D., and Rivet, D. A review of factors to consider when using camera traps to study animal behavior to inform wildlife ecology and conservation. Conservation Science and Practice, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.239.
- Clark, D.A, Brook, R. K., Oliphant-Reskanski, C., Laforge, M., Olson, K., and Rivet, D. Novel range overlap of three ursids in the Canadian subarctic. Arctic Science, doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/AS-2018-0013.
- Rivet D. (2018) Bear Life History. In: Vonk J., Shackelford T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6.
- Rivet, D.R., Nelson, O.L., Vella, C.A., Jansen, H.T., and Robbins, C.T. 2017. Systemic effects of a high saturated fat diet in grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 95: 797-807.
Presentations
- Rivet, D. R. * Monitoring polar bear (Ursus maritimus) movement drivers and demographics for management and conservation decisions. Sapporo Polar Bear Symposium. Online/Sapporo, Japan (presentation pre-recorded, canceled due to Covid-19). December 2021.
- Rivet, D. R. * Monitoring polar bear (Ursus maritimus) movement drivers and demographics for management and conservation decisions. Biology 990 Graduate Student Exit Seminar. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. March 2021.
- Rivet, D.R. * Using camera trap data to inform polar bear management and conservation decisions in regard to human-bear conflict. Biology 990 Graduate Student Symposium. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. April 2019.
- Rivet, D.R. * Evaluating the efficacy of camera trapping as a valid study method for monitoring polar bear (Ursus maritimus) behavior. Biology 990 Graduate Student Symposium. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. April 2018.
- Rivet, D.R.* Movement drivers of polar bears in Wapusk National Park. Biotweeps Twitter Conference. Online – Twitter.com. June 2017.
- Rivet, D.R.*, and Lane, J.E. Life history traits of Columbian ground squirrels subject to natural and manipulated environments. Biology 990 Graduate Student Symposium. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. April 2016.
- Rivet, D.R.*, Nelson, O.L., Vella, C.A., Jansen, H.T., and Robbins, C.T. Diets Higher in Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids May Yield Health Benefit for Bears. Biology Graduate Student Association Symposium. Pullman, Washington. February 2014.
- Rivet, D.R.*, Nelson, O.L., Vella, C.A., Jansen, H.T., and Robbins, C.T. Diets Higher in Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids May Yield Health Benefit for Bears. 22nd International Conference on Bear Research and Management. Provo, Utah. September 2013.
Peer Review
Scientific Reports – 2 publications – 2022
Peer J – 1 publication – 2022
Scientific Reports – 1 publication – 2021
Scientific Reports – 1 publication – 2018
Outreach & Media Appearances
The Arctic Bears Project on Zooniverse
Prepare trail camera photos for upload on Zooniverse platform (i.e., removal of people/vehicles, resizing, renaming, and organizing into appropriate drop folders for bulk upload). Additionally, acting as a forum moderator and researcher/expert for the project, so that I can help our community with answering questions, identification, and researcher communication and interaction
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/douglas-clark/the-arctic-bears-project
#KnockKnockWhosBear
Weekly Twitter science communication game started in 2018 where I post a photograph or video clip of a bear and participants must identify what bear species it is and why, and then I reveal the answer and explain how to best identify different bear species based on habitat, range maps, behaviors, and physical characteristics
Jason Bittel’s “A Bear of a Different Color”
https://jasonbittel.substack.com/p/a-bear-of-a-different-color
Skype A Scientist 2021
Presentation and discussion with two elementary school classrooms where I talk about bear biology, biodiversity and evolution (with specifics to bear species), and what it is like researching bears
Ologies Podcast – Ursinology Episode
Interview with Alie Ward where several bear biologists answer questions from the viewership/public about bears, for her award-winning podcast, Ologies
https://www.alieward.com/ologies/ursinology
CWF Youth Program – WILD Outside Webinar
Presentation and discussion via Zoom with members of the WILD Outside Youth Program (a branch of the Canadian Wildlife Federation), talking about current polar bear research and conservation strategies, coinciding with International Polar Bear Day, February 2021
Churchill Northern Studies Centre Mitacs Internship
I analyzed trail camera data from the Churchill Northern Studies Centre to determine polar bear visitation patterns and demographics of polar bears visiting infrastructure. From these data, I created radar graphs to show busiest “visitation times” for polar bears to the CNSC, and assigned bears body condition scores, and age/sex classifications to see what types of bears were visiting. CNSC staff were given training on remote camera use, maintenance, and data management in order to ensure comparability among other remote camera study sites. Lastly, I helped to develop several outreach media products (using the remote camera images and data) to help communicate polar bear safety messaging to CNSC visitors, including a brief research presentation that was added to the Science Briefing visitors receive upon arrival to the CNSC.
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park Discovery Center (recorded by Ward Cameron podcast) https://www.mountainnaturepodcast.com/005-oops-out-of-bear-spray-park-improvements-another-dead-wolf-and-ground-squirrels-in-the-rockies/
Jules Lerner – Nome Nugget Bear Attack in Alaska http://www.nomenugget.com/news/grizzly-sized-tale-intrigues-audiences-around-world
Jason Bittel’s WaPo KidsPost “Think you know what bunnies and bears eat?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/think-you-know-what-bunnies-and-bears-eat-their-diets-may-surprise-you/2019/09/20/bac528ea-ce5d-11e9-87fa-8501a456c003_story.html
Zoe Gates – Backpacker Magazine – Fat Bear Week “How Do Bears Get So Fat?”
https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/how-do-bears-get-so-fat/
CTV News Interview – “Sask researchers set up cameras to study polar bears’ interactions with humans”
https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/sask-researchers-set-up-cameras-to-study-polar-bears-interaction-with-humans-1.3765753
Grants & Scholarships
Northern Research Fund - 2019
CNSC Research and Education Committee
10 user days, 2 vehicle days
Mitacs Accelerate Internship - 2018
Churchill Northern Study Centre
$15,000 CDN
Northern Research Fund - 2018
CNSC Research and Education Committee
9 user days, 2 vehicle days
Alberta Conservation Association - 2016
Biodiversity Grant
$9930 CDN
Dean’s Scholarship - 2015
University of Saskatchewan
$22,000/yr (x3 yr) CDN
Vega Senior’s Award for Academic Excellence - 2010
Vega Junior and Senior Women’s Honor Society
Patti McGill Peterson Honors Program Award - 2007
State University of New York at Oswego
$500 USD
Certifications
Occupational Health and Safety Standard First Aid with CPR-A
St. John's Ambulance - 2016
Avalanche Fundamentals Level 1
American Avalanche Institute – Jackson, Wyoming - 2017
Language Skills
English – native language
Spanish – read and write with intermediate proficiency, speak and understand with basic proficiency
Professional & Honor Societies
The Wildlife Society - 2023
International Association for Bear Research and Management - 2017
American Society of Mammalogists - 2017
Omicron Delta Kappa - 2009
Phi Kappa Phi - 2009
Vega Junior and Senior Women’s Honor Society - 2008