Matthew Gray
Associate Professor
Matt Gray is an Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology in the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and he is a member of The UT Center for Wildlife Health. Dr. Gray’s expertise is wetland ecology, with emphasis on waterbird conservation and amphibian diseases.
Dr. Gray received his B.S. in fisheries and wildlife management from Michigan State University, M.S. in wildlife ecology and statistics from Mississippi State University, and Ph.D. in wildlife science and mathematics from Texas Tech University. Dr. Gray’s M.S. research focused on moist-soil management, seed mass prediction, and green-tree reservoir management. His doctoral research examined the influences of agricultural cultivation on amphibians using playa wetlands in west Texas. Dr. Gray also performed wetland research in Puerto Rico between his M.S. and Ph.D., and did a post-doc in ecology at Texas Tech University.
Dr. Gray instructs Wetlands Ecology and Management (WFS 340) and Advanced Wetland Ecology (WFS 536), which teaches students about wetland delineation and classification, wetland function and values, human impacts on wetlands, and the management and conservation of waterbird communities. Dr. Gray also instructs Amphibian Ecology and Conservation (WFS 433/533), which exposes students to the life history and community ecology of amphibians, discusses possible factors responsible for the widespread decline of amphibians, and introduces students to novel conservation strategies . He also guest lectures on avian influenza and amphibian diseases in the Wildlife Health Curriculum. Prior to UT, Dr. Gray taught various courses at Texas Tech University, including statistics, calculus, general ecology, and waterfowl ecology.
Dr. Gray’s research interests include all aspects of wetland ecology, with past and current projects exploring wetland plant, amphibian, and waterbird communities. There are three primary focuses to his research program: (1) examining influences of humans on wetlands (2) managing wetlands for sustainable use, and (3) studying the ecology of amphibian diseases.
Contact Information
Matthew J. Gray, Ph.D.
247 Ellington Plant Sciences Bldg
Knoxville, TN 37996-4563
865.974.2740 [ofc]
865.974.4714 [fax]
Email: mattjgray@utk.edu
Websites:
Dr. Gray's Webpage
UT Wetlands Program
Amphibian Disease Program