Graduate Students

Jennapher Teunissen van Manen

Masters student, associated with the Center for Wildlife Health

Email: jteuniss@utk.edu

I am a northern California native. I received my Bachelor’s of Science at the University of California, Davis in Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology with a specialization in Physiological Ecology. I worked in the Wildlife Branch for the California Department of Fish and Game for seven years. Some of the work I was involved with included: Tule elk relocation within the state, aerial telemetry monitoring of elk, surveying for Willow flycatchers in high sierra meadows, and assisting with the coordination of the Private Lands Management program. During 2006, I was stationed at UC Berkeley’s Sagehen Creek Research Station in the Sierra Mountains researching black bears.  While there, I also taught various youth organizations about black bear ecology and hibernation.

My research interest is in using wildlife physiology and nutrition for the purpose of conservation. I am particularly interested in hibernation physiology of bears.  I moved to Tennessee in 2007 and started my M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science at UT in the fall of 2008 with Dr. Lisa Muller as my major advisor. I am planning to use a historical database of hair samples from black bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to address nutritional and physiological questions.

In my spare time I like to read, experiment with cooking, hang out with our cats, and remodel our house. For physical activity I like long-distance running, hiking, and riding my bike. My favorite thing to do when back in California is to take my nieces, biking, climbing, swimming, or just hanging out with them.  I love to travel and, so far, and the Netherlands and Costa Rica are my favorite places.