Faculty Profile for Dr. Ivan Castro-Arellano

Biography Section

Biography and Education

Dr. Ivan Castro-Arellano is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department at Texas State University. He earned his Ph.D. (2005) and M.S. (2000) in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas State University and his B.S. (1997) from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. His research focuses on the effects on anthropogenic disturbance on natural systems, with special emphasis on pathogen-host interactions. He has done work also on invasive and endangered mammal species. His projects have covered several pathogens like hantaviruses, Borrelia (and other tick-borne pathogens), Leptospira and Trypanosoma.

Teaching Interests

Within our wildlife degree program, I have prepared and offered five different courses which are part of the core degree plan for our BS in Wildlife Biology. These courses are: Techniques in Wildlife Management (BIO443/5435), Wildlife Management (BIO4423-5423), Biological Resources: Conservation and Planning (BIO4319), Wildlife and Recreation: Impact, Management, and Policy (BIO4304-5304), Conservation of Large Mammals (BIO4324-5324). I also developed and have offered the graduate course Ecology of Infectious Diseases in Wildlife (BIO7414). I also developed and implemented a Study in America (SIA) program that I have taught during summer sessions from 2018 to 2022, and again in 2024 (2025 group already selected). My SIA program consists of two courses (BIO4303/5304, Wildlife and Recreation, Impact, Management and Policy; BIO5351H/BIO5324, Conservation of Large Mammals) and it includes a 2.5-week field trip to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. This Yellowstone SIA offering has been very popular among students and has always reached the enrollment cap.

Research Interests

My research has focused on anthropogenic disturbance on natural systems, mainly on 3 areas: pathogen-host interactions, the ecology of activity patterns, and the impacts of natural resource use on wildlife. I consider myself an ecologist and mammalogist with a conservation-oriented view. My research has covered ecology questions of several pathogens like hantaviruses, Borrelia (and other tick-borne pathogens), Leptospira and Trypanosoma. My work also seeks to ascertain the role of activity overlap as a factor structuring mammal communities and how anthropogenic disruption of time use affects these assemblages. I developed a null model randomization algorithm for a specialized application in this research area. Finally, I have worked on the effects that reduced impact logging and wind energy generation have on wildlife species.