Kristyn Murphy, Ph.D.

Kristyn earned her Bachelor of Science in Wildlife, Sustainability, and Ecosystem Sciences from Tarleton State University in the fall of 2017 before beginning her Master of Science degree at Texas A&M University-Kingsville with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute in the spring of 2018. Her M.S thesis was focused on better understanding Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) habitat use in relation to Ashe and alligator juniper in the hill country and Davis Mountains regions of Texas. She completed her M.S degree in the summer of 2020 and stayed on with TAMUK and CKWRI to complete a Ph.D. in Rangeland and Wildlife Science. Her dissertation investigated and compared 3 components of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) management between northern and southern Texas, with those being 1) habitat connectivity, 2) population growth, and 3) stakeholder perceptions of the bobwhite decline. This social and ecological research involved multi-agency collaboration and integration of a number of long-term datasets. Throughout her time in higher education, Kristyn has held previous jobs with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as well as with Idaho Fish and Game. She has mentored multiple undergraduate students and lead the TAMUK Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society Quiz Bowl team as coach for the past 2 years. She now serves as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate within the Richard M. Kleberg Jr. Center for Quail Research at CKWRI where she will assist in leading the Quail Associates 2.0 program and collaborate on various research projects focused on quail ecology in Texas.