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Merav Ben-David

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Merav Ben-David
Born (1959-01-17) 17 January 1959 (age 65)
Rehovot, Israel
Citizenship
  • Israel
  • United States
Alma mater
Scientific career
Fields
  • Ecology
  • zoology
Institutions

Merav Ben-David (Hebrew: מירב בן-דוד; born 17 January 1959) is an Israeli-American ecologist, zoologist, and politician who is the chair of the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming. She was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United States Senate election in Wyoming, losing to former Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis in the general election. She ran for state representative from Wyoming's 46th District in 2022.

Early life and education

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Ben-David was born to a Jewish family in Rehovot, and raised on a farm[1] near Rishon LeZion.[2] She spent two years in the Israeli Air Force in fulfillment of the country's compulsory military service.[1]

Ben-David earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1984, and a Master of Science in 1988 from Tel Aviv University. She spent five years as a safari tour guide in Kenya, before moving to Alaska, where she studied wildlife management. She earned her PhD from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1996.[3][4]

Career

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Ben-David emigrated from Israel to the United States due to worsening job prospects in Israel in the early 1990s as a result of the 1990s post-Soviet aliyah.[5] After earning her PhD at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Ben-David remained there as an ecologist. She was fascinated by local marine ecosystems, which included otters, mink, marten, polar bears, and the salmon they fed on.[6][7]

In 2000, Ben-David became an associate professor at the University of Wyoming.[6] She became a full professor in 2010.[2] She has served as the editor-in-chief of Wildlife Monographs, succeeding Eric Hellgren in 2017.[8] As of January 2020 she was head of the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming.[9]

Her work mostly centers around carnivores and their behavior in ecosystems.[10][11] She has published more than 110 scientific papers that analyze the impact of climate change, invasive species, logging and pollution on animals, often using innovative research techniques.[12] Among her most-cited works are studies applying stable isotope analysis to animal ecology to document changes in the diet of generalist predators; exploring the impact of flooding, predation, and salmon runs on vegetation in the Alexander Archipelago; and examining the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill on otters in Prince William Sound. She has helped to study the effects of the Exxon and BP spills in terms of both immediate and long-term effects.[6][13][14] Her work was included in the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Project Final Report, which assessed damage and potential for remediation, and was a basis for fining Exxon and BP after their respective oil spills of 1989 and 2010.[15]

Ben-David has focused deeply on the river otter (Lontra canadensis), examining it in its role as a sentinel species and also using it as a model for predicting effects of pollutants on the rarer and more difficult to study sea otter (Enhydra lutris).[16][17][18] She has carried out work with Alaskan otters for over 30 years.[19] Her field studies of chemical bioaccumulation have gained international attention.[20]

External videos
video icon Polar Bears and Climate Change: Walking on a Faster Treadmill, Merav Ben-David, 2016

She began studying the impact of human activity and climate change on polar bears in 2001.[11] She has worked for nearly 20 years with Steven Amstrup to study polar bear ecology in the Beaufort Sea and other areas.[21] One of the behavioral patterns she has observed via satellite tracking is that polar bears show high fidelity to the local area of ocean in which they live. As sea ice is thinning, it drifts faster, requiring polar bears to walk farther each day on the ice to retain their position. This increases the energy requirements of the bears while decreasing their available time to hunt.[22] Models project that polar bear populations may collapse by 2080.[21]

In 2004, she began another long-term project, studying chipmunks that live in the Laramie Mountains. One of the findings of Ben-David and her students is that chipmunks are more likely to survive the shorter winters resulting from climate change.[19] Ben-David also studies river otters of the Powder River Basin, and the effects of nearby oil drilling. Her work has revealed low populations of otters in the New Fork River, compared to areas nearby.[19][23]

Ben-David has received a variety of awards for her work including the Barrett-Hamilton distinguished ecologist award from the University of Manitoba in 2012 and the Excellence in Wildlife Education award from The Wildlife Society in 2016.[24][25] She was selected as a Wildlife Fellow of the Wildlife Society in 2017.[26] ‍

Personal life

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Ben-David has resided in Laramie, Wyoming, since 2000, and was naturalized as a United States citizen in 2009.[27][28]

Politics

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Ben-David announced her candidacy for the 2020 U.S. Senate election at the 2020 Wyoming Women's March in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on 18 January 2020.[29] On 18 August 2020, she placed first in a field of six candidates to become the Democratic nominee.[2][30]

Ben-David's platform centered on 'future-proofing' Wyoming's economy through diversification, including public investments in reclaiming old mines, capping oil and gas wells, and building wildlife crossings.[31]

She lost the general election to Republican Cynthia Lummis, gaining just 27% of the vote.

She was the Democratic nominee for state representative from Wyoming's 46th District in 2022, running against Republican incumbent Ocean Andrew.[32][33]

Electoral history

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2020

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2020 U.S. Senate Democratic primary in Wyoming
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Merav Ben-David 9,579 40.98%
Democratic Yana Ludwig 4,822 20.63%
Democratic Nathan Wendt 4,166 17.82%
Democratic Kenneth Casner 2,139 9.15%
Democratic Rex Wilde 1,823 7.80%
Democratic James DeBrine 843 3.61%
Total votes 23,372 100.0%
2020 U.S. Senate election in Wyoming[34]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Cynthia Lummis 198,100 72.85% +0.66%
Democratic Merav Ben-David 72,766 26.76% +9.31%
Write-in 1,071 0.39% +0.11%
Total votes 271,937 100.0%
Republican hold

2022

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2022 Wyoming House of Representatives Democratic primary, District 46[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Merav Ben-David Unopposed
2022 Wyoming House of Representatives election, District 46
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ocean Andrew (incumbent) 2,638 68.8%
Democratic Merav Ben-David 1,196 31.1%
Total votes 3,834 100%

References

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  1. ^ a b "November 7, 2016". University of Wyoming. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Israel-born ecology professor wins Wyoming Democratic Senate primary". Times of Israel. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  3. ^ "UW Professor Elected as TWS Fellow by the Wildlife Society". University of Wyoming. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Zoologist Merav Ben-David to Give UW Faculty Senate Speaker Series Talk". University of Wyoming. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  5. ^ Maltz, Judy (2014). "One, two, three, four – we opened up the Iron Door". Haaretz. No. November. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Cahan, Eli (19 October 2020). "In Wyoming, an ecologist seeks a new niche as a U.S. senator". Science. doi:10.1126/science.abf2639. S2CID 226356536.
  7. ^ "Merav Ben-David, Israeli-born scientist, wants to be the next Senator from…Wyoming?". The Forward. August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  8. ^ John, Julia (24 February 2017). "TWS names new Wildlife Monographs editor-in-chief". The Wildlife Society. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  9. ^ Stiller, Jesse (23 January 2020). "Prof's senate campaign hinges on realizing 'Equality State'". Campus Reform. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Merav Ben-David". University of Wyoming. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Merav Ben-David". Polar Bears International. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Merav Ben-David". Google Scholar. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  13. ^ Bowyer, R. Terry; Blundell, Gail M.; Ben-David, Merav; Jewett, Stephen C.; Dean, Thomas A.; Duffy, Lawrence K. (2003). "Effects of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill on River Otters: Injury and Recovery of a Sentinel Species". Wildlife Monographs. 153 (153): 1–53. JSTOR 3830746.
  14. ^ Esler, Daniel; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Matkin, Craig; Cushing, Daniel; Kaler, Robert; Bodkin, James; Monson, Daniel; Esslinger, George; Kloecker, Kim (January 2018). "Timelines and mechanisms of wildlife population recovery following the Exxon Valdez oil spill". Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography. 147: 36–42. Bibcode:2018DSRII.147...36E. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2017.04.007.
  15. ^ Holland-Bartels, L. E. (2002). Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Project Final Report Mechanisms of Impact and Potential Recovery of Nearshore Vertebrate Predators Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Project 99025 (PDF). Anchorage, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  16. ^ Peterson, Elizabeth K.; Schulte, Bruce A. (2016). "Impacts of Pollutants on Beavers and Otters with Implications for Ecosystem Ramifications". Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education. 157 (157): 33–45. doi:10.1111/j.1936-704X.2016.03212.x.
  17. ^ Rutishauser, Matthew (2002). "More than Our Guests: Research with Captive Sea Otters" (PDF). The Otter Raft. Spring/Summer (66): 4.
  18. ^ Rozell, Ned. "Oil-fed Otters May Provide Clues to Spill Damage". University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  19. ^ a b c Mast, Thaddeus (8 September 2015). "UW professor studies humans' effects on environment". Laramie Boomerang. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  20. ^ Brink, Nico W. van den; Arblaster, Jennifer A.; Bowman, Sarah R.; Conder, Jason M.; Elliott, John E.; Johnson, Mark S.; Muir, Derek CG; Natal‐da‐Luz, Tiago; Rattner, Barnett A.; Sample, Bradley E.; Shore, Richard F. (2016). "Use of terrestrial field studies in the derivation of bioaccumulation potential of chemicals". Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. 12 (1): 135–145. doi:10.1002/ieam.1717. PMID 26436822.
  21. ^ a b Falconer, Rebecca (20 July 2020). "Science Research flashes new warnings of polar bear survival due to climate change". AXIOS. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  22. ^ Victor, Jeff (8 June 2017). "Climate change puts polar bears on treadmill". Laramie Boomerang. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Case of the Missing Otters". Western Confluence. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  24. ^ "The Wildlife Society Honors UW's Ben-David". University of Wyoming. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  25. ^ Newman, Eve (26 November 2016). "UW professor wins national teaching award". Laramie Boomerang. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  26. ^ "UW Professor Elected as TWS Fellow by the Wildlife Society". University of Wyoming. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  27. ^ Kampeas, Rom (19 August 2020). "Merav Ben-David, an Israeli-American scientist, wins Wyoming's Democratic Senate primary - U.S. News". Haaretz. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  28. ^ "Merat". bendavid2020.com. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  29. ^ Lorenz, Jonna (19 January 2020). "Women rise to action at Wyoming Women's March for Equality". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  30. ^ "Merav Ben-David, an Israeli-American Scientist, Wins Wyoming's Democratic Senate Primary". Haaretz. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  31. ^ "Meet the climate expert running to be the first female scientist in the Senate". Grist. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  32. ^ Wolfson, Leo (2 June 2022). "House District 46: Albany County Race One Of The Few "Purple" Areas In Wyoming". Cowboy State Daily. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  33. ^ a b "Wyoming State Legislature Primary Election Results". The New York Times. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  34. ^ "Statewide Candidates Official Summary Wyoming General Election - November 3, 2020" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by
Charlie Hardy
 Democratic nominee for U.S. senator from Wyoming
(Class 2)
2020 		Most recent
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