Associate Professor of Biology

  • Office: Sutton Science Center
  • Department: Division of Natural Sciences
  • Phone: 865-981-8009
  • Email: dave.unger@maryvillecollege.edu
  • Education: B.S., Eastern University M.S., University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Ph.D., University of Kentucky

Dr. Unger began his work at Maryville College in fall 2012.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky where he studied the ecology of a recolonizing black bear (Ursus americanus) population. He received his Master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he investigated the reproductive ecology and homesite (den and rendezvous site) selection by grey wolves (Canis lupus nubilus). His general interests involve the wonder and complexity of all living things including behavior, anatomy/physiology, adaptation/evolution, and ecology. His favorite classes to teach include Bio222: Ecology and Evolution, Bio321: Vertebrate Zoology, and Bio311: Natural History of the Great Smoky Mountains. His research interests originally focused on carnivore ecology, predator/prey interactions, and the influence of predation on natural selection and biodiversity. Since arriving at Maryville College, however, all Dr. Unger’s research has been designed to involve and benefit his students. Undergraduates working with Dr. Unger have been involved in a wide range of research, including work on Gopher Tortoises on Cumberland Island National Seashore (Georgia), American Marten ecology and prey consumption (Michigan), and tropical reef ecology (Bonaire, Municipality of the Netherlands). He now concentrates his student centered research in and around Blount County, TN at the doorstep of Great Smoky Mountains National Park where he works with students studying salamanders, box turtles, American Chestnut restoration, stream macroinvertebrates, wildflower diversity, and wetland ecology. Finally, Dr. Unger and his students are collecting preliminary data toward a possible reintroduction project involving the native Eastern Hellbender (the second largest salamander in the world) in a local stream system.