Dr. Stapp is an ecologist who studies behavioral, population, and community ecology of wildlife species, particularly mammals, in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, and applied problems related to their conservation and management. His research interests are varied and include both field and laboratory-based projects, almost all of which involve undergraduates or graduate students (MS Biology, MS Environmental Studies). Much of his research and teaching has been conducted from biological field stations and external research centers, including the Brentwood Wildlife Research Facility (NH), the Semi-arid Grasslands Research Center (CO), the Vermilion Sea Field Station (northern Baja California, Mexico), the Robert J. Bernard Field Station (CA), and, now, the CSU Desert Studies Center at Zzyzx. He is a strong advocate of the importance of field stations and of the long-term research and immersive student training opportunities that their continued presence facilitates.
A native of northern California, Dr. Stapp earned his BS in Zoology from UC Davis, a MS in Wildlife from the University of New Hampshire, and his PhD in Zoology-Ecological Studies from Colorado State University. Following postdoctoral research projects at the University of Wyoming and UC Davis and a Lecturer position at the University of York (UK), he joined the Department of Biological Science at CSU Fullerton in 2002, where he taught courses in ecology, conservation biology, and mammalogy, as well as graduate courses. He was appointed Faculty Director of the CDSC in 2024.
