Geoff Miller, PhD

Geoff Miller, PhD

Wildlife ecologist specializing in animal movement and species interactions between carnivores across spatial scales.

CV

mill8849@umn.edu Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota

Education

PhD, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN2025

Advisor: James D. Forester

BA, Environmental Science, summa cum laude, Goshen College, Goshen, IN2019

Research Experience

Postdoctoral Associate, University of Minnesota2025–present

St. Paul, MN

  • Estimating white-tailed deer density in an urban park in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.
White-tailed deer.

Graduate Researcher, University of Minnesota2019–2025

St. Paul, MN · Advisor: James D. Forester

  • Led field work and data analysis for the Twin Cities Coyote and Fox Project, including GPS collaring, stable isotope diet analyses, den studies, and public relations.
A coyote.

Aquatic Biology Crew Leader, City of Elkhart2019

Elkhart, IN · Supervisor: Daragh Deegan

  • Led backpack and barge electrofishing surveys of fish populations.
  • Conducted a study of brown trout diet in the Little Elkhart River.
Me with a brown trout.

Research Technician, Purdue University, Integrated Deer Management Program2019

Goshen, IN · Supervisor: Pat McGovern

  • Set and retrieved trail cameras for winter white-tailed deer surveys in northeastern Indiana.
White-tailed deer.

Research Experience for Undergraduates Fellow, Blandy Experimental Farm, UVA2018

Boyce, VA · Advisor: Kyle J. Haynes

  • Tested host-mediated effects of artificial light at night on the feeding preferences of larval monarch butterflies.
Monarch caterpillar undergoing choice experiment.

Independent Research in Game Theory, Goshen College2017

Goshen, IN · Advisor: David Housman

  • Modeled the coevolution of yucca moths and yucca plants with strategic and repeated games, testing the evolutionary stability of cheating and mutualistic strategies.
Yucca moth in yucca flower (from WikiMedia Commons).

Aquatic Biology Intern, City of Elkhart2017

Elkhart, IN · Supervisor: Daragh Deegan

  • Electrofishing surveys, macroinvertebrate sampling to assess river health, and community outreach.
Me with a northern hogsucker.

Research Technician, Mpala Research Centre, Goshen College2016

Laikipia County, Kenya · Advisor: Ryan L. Sensenig

  • Measured effects of fire on browsing by elephants and giraffes on whistling thorn, and the response of ant–acacia mutualisms to burning.
Elephants on the savanna.

Publications

  1. Rooney, B., … Miller, G. D., … McShea, W. J. (2025). "SNAPSHOT USA 2019–2023: The first five years of data from a coordinated camera trap survey of the United States." Global Ecology and Biogeography, 34(1), e13941. Link
  2. Haynes, K. J., Miller, G. D., Serrano-Perez, M. C., Hey, M. H., & Emer, L. K. (2023). "Artificial light at night increases the nighttime feeding of monarch butterfly caterpillars without affecting host plant quality." Basic and Applied Ecology, 72, 10–15. Link

In preparation

  • Miller, G. D., Jack, A. K., Forester, J. D. "A (prairie) wolf at the door: Modeling coyote (Canis latrans) potential distribution and overlap with native canids in South America."

Reports

  • McCann, N. P., Miller, G. D., Forester, J. D., Craft, M. E., & Worsley-Tonks, K. E. L. (2022). "Mapping habitat use and disease of urban carnivores." Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, and Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota. Link

Presentations

  • Miller, G. D., McCann, N. P., Forester, J. D., Craft, M. E. The residential shield: Tradeoffs in urban red fox selection across spatial scales suggest a human shield from coyotes. Oral presentation, International Association of Landscape Ecology, Athens, GA, April 2026.
  • Miller, G. D., McCann, N. P., Forester, J. D., Craft, M. E. Who’s the top dog? Movement analyses suggest humans facilitate spatial partitioning in competing urban canids. Oral presentation, Great Lakes Chapter of the Ecological Society of America, Athens, GA, April 2024.
  • Miller, G. D., Forester, J. D. A (prairie) wolf at the door: What are the consequences for South American canids if coyotes shoot the Darién Gap? Oral presentation, Ecological Society of America, Portland, OR, August 2023.
  • Miller, G. D., Hey, M. H., Emer, L. K., Perez, M. C. S., Haynes, K. J. Artificial light at night alters feeding behavior of a diurnal caterpillar via effects on host-plant quality. Oral presentation, ALAN e-Conference, Virtual, June 2021.
  • Miller, G. D., Housman, D. Game theory models of evolution in the yucca moth–yucca plant obligate mutualism and the cheater yucca moth. Oral presentation, Goshen College Research Symposium, Goshen, IN, December 2018.
  • Miller, G. D., Haynes, K. J. Do monarchs like it when milkweed gets lit? Effects of light pollution on larval monarch butterfly preference for common milkweed. Oral presentation, Blandy Experimental Farm Research Forum, Boyce, VA, July 2018.

Teaching

Guest lectures

  • Introduction to Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of MinnesotaFall 2025
  • Vertebrate Field Methods, University of MinnesotaFall 2020, 2022, 2025; Spring 2021, 2023, 2024
  • Principles of Wildlife Management, University of MinnesotaFall 2023
  • Field Biology, Anoka-Ramsey Community CollegeFall 2020, 2022, 2024; Spring 2020–2022, 2025
  • GIS in Environmental Science and Management, St. Thomas UniversitySpring 2024
  • Principles of Wildlife Management, South Dakota State UniversityFall 2022
  • Urban Ecology, Concordia CollegeSpring 2021
  • Animal Ethics, Macalester CollegeSpring 2021

Teaching assistant

  • Mammalogy, University of MinnesotaFall 2022
  • Vertebrate Field Methods, University of MinnesotaFall 2021
  • General Chemistry II, Goshen CollegeSpring 2018
  • Organismal Biology, Goshen CollegeSpring 2018
  • Introductory Chemistry, Goshen CollegeFall 2017

Grants, Awards and Scholarships

  • Pilot Sequencing Program, University of Minnesota Genomics Center2024
  • David Tilman Research Award, University of Minnesota, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior2022
  • Dayton Bell Museum Fund Summer Fellowship, Bell Museum2022
  • Natural History Award, Bell Museum2022
  • James W. Wilkie Fund for Natural History Award, Bell Museum2021
  • Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Honorable Mention, National Science Foundation2021
  • EEB Summer Fellowship, University of Minnesota, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior2020, 2021
  • EEB Graduate Program Research Award, University of Minnesota, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior2020
  • Program for Excellence in Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science2020
  • Sustainability Scholarship, Air & Waste Management Association2018
  • Research Experience for Undergraduates Fellowship, National Science Foundation, University of Virginia2018
  • Cass County Conservation Club Scholarship, Cass County Conservation Club2015

Other Professional Experience

  • Mammalogy Curatorial Assistant, Bell Museum2023
  • Scientific Consultant, British Broadcasting Corporation2021
    Located coyotes for filming in the Twin Cities.

Outreach

  • Interviews with MPR News, the Minnesota Star Tribune, Pioneer PBS, and others. See In the Media.