Habilitation: 2023, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
PhD: 2007, Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
BA: 2001, Animal Behavior, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
My research interests include human–wildlife interactions, behavioral flexibility of wild species, mitigation of human–wildlife conflicts, and nature conservation at landscape and transboundary scales. I am passionate about (innovative) field techniques, conservation partnerships, One Health, community science, and promoting women in science.
2021 Research Associate and Lecturer, University of Alberta / Yukon University, Canada
2018-2019 Consultant, Wildlife Conservation Society, USA and Canada
2018-2020 Fellow, The Safina Center, USA
2017 Visiting Scientist, Colorado State University, Fish, Wildlife & Conservation Biology, USA
2016–2017 AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, USA
2013–2019 Research Associate, University of the Free State, Zoology & Entomology, South Africa
2016 Consultant, WildAID, USA
2013–2016 Junior Research Fellow, Durham University, Evolutionary Anthropology, UK
2013 Consultant, Environmental Investigation Agency, UK
2010–2012 Postdoc and Lecturer, Princeton University, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, USA
2008–2009 Consultant, Wildlife Conservation Society, Tanzania
- 2023–2025 – Effects of border militarization on Białowieża Forest. Research conducted along the Polish–Belarusian border within the Natura 2000 and UNESCO World Heritage area of the Polish side of Białowieża Forest, using a variety of field methods, with the aim to assess ecological impacts (e.g., noise, alien and invasive plant species) and consequences for animals (activity, interactions with people) of Poland’s border militarization. Funding: NAWA Urgency Grant
- 2018–2020 – Molt phenology of mountain goats. A largely community science–based project employing camera traps, iNaturalist, and other citizen science outreach, platforms and tools to research the timing of shedding of winter coats by mountain goats in relation to elevation and latitude (Colorado–Alaska–Yukon), year, and mountain goat sex and explore a possible climate signal on phenological patterns of molt. Funding: Wildlife Conservation Society, U.S. National Park Service, The Safina Center
- 2013–2017 – Risk, fear, and cognition in samango monkeys. Field experiments in two Afromontane forest sites in South Africa, testing monkeys’ responses to natural predators and humans (including researchers), and comparing landscapes of fear between private and state reserves. Funding: EU COFUND, Claude Leon Foundation, Primate Conservation Inc.
- 2008–2014 – Savanna elephants in the Udzungwa Mountains forests of southern Tanzania. Population monitoring, mitigation of human–elephant conflicts (largely using beehive fences), and helping develop local conservation capacity. Funding:S. Fish and Wildlife Service African Elephant Conservation Fund
- 2002–2007 – Behavioral flexibility and demography of Zanzibar red colobus in unprotected coastal forests. Doctoral research on an endemic, endangered species at two then still unprotected areas using line transects, demographic monitoring of focal groups, behavioral observations, plant phenology monitoring and vegetation surveys. Funding: Wildlife Conservation Society, Leakey Foundation, Primate Conservation Inc., Royal Anthropological Institute, American Society of Primatologists
K Nowak, SA Richards, M Żmihorski, N Selva, A Wiktoruk, S Gutiérrez-Zapata, B Jaroszewicz. 2025. Footprint of state border infrastructure extends beyond the border: Tree damage and roadkill along a forest road in Białowieża Forest, northeastern Poland. Biological Conservation 310: 111348
K Nowak, J Cerri, S Kudrenko, A Kopatz, I Stachowicz, N Selva, AA Berhe, I Kojola, N Šprem. 2025. Weaponizing Europe’s borders imperils wildlife. Science 389: 358-359. (letter)
K Nowak, A Olszańska, A Pietrzyk-Kaszynska, K Niedziałkowski, M Giergiczny, K Simonienko, B Jaroszewicz. 2024. Border militarization affects people’s interactions with nature in Białowieża Forest. Ambio 54: 175-183. doi: 10.1007/s13280-024-02113-5
J Poole, A Dobson, R Bonham, F Pope, V Fishlock, J Goodall, P Granli, F Ihwagi, D Ole Kaelo, P Kahumbu, W Kiiru, PC Lee, K Lindsay, C Moss, SM Hamisi, N Njiraini, K Nowak, JO Ogutu, G Ojwang, M Okello, S Poole-Granli, C Sayiale, M Wamithi, L Waruingi. 2024. Stop elephant hunting in Tanzania borderlands. Science 385: 265-266. (letter)
H Clements et al. 2024. The bii4africa dataset: Impacts of land use on the abundance of sub-Saharan Africa’s fauna and flora. Scientific Data 11. doi: 10.1038/s41597-023-02832-6
K Nowak, D Bear, A Dutta, M Traphagen, M Żmihorski, B Jaroszewicz. 2023. Threats to conservation from national security interests. Conservation Biology 38: e14193. doi: 10.1111/cobi.14193
AS Bernstein et al. 2022. The costs and benefits of primary prevention of zoonotic pandemics. Science Advances 8: eabl4183. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abl4183
CT Callaghan et al. 2022. The benefits of contributing to the citizen science platform iNaturalist as an identifier. PLoS Biology 20(11): e3001843. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001843
NJ Cordeiro, F Rovero, MJ Msuha, K Nowak, A Bianchi, T Jones. 2022. Two ant-following bird species forage with three giant sengi (Rhynchocyon) species in East Africa. Biotropica 54: 590-595. doi: 10.1111/btp.13101
S Mubareka et al. 2022. Strengthening A One Health Approach to Emerging Zoonoses. FACETS 8: 16-79. doi: 10.1139/facets-2021-0190
B Jaroszewicz, K Nowak, M Żmihorski. 2021. Poland’s border wall threatens ancient forest. Science 374(6571): 1063; doi: 10.1126/science.abn0451 (letter)
K Nowak, J Berger, A Panikowski, DG Reid, AL Jacob, G Newman, NE Young, JP Beckmann, SA Richards. 2021. Using community photography to investigate phenology: a case study of coat molt in the mountain goat with missing data. Ecology and Evolution 10: 13488-13499.
J Copper Jack, J Gonet, A Mease, K Nowak. 2021. Traditional Knowledge underlies One Health. Science 369: 1576. (letter)
A Dobson et al. 2021. Ecology and economics of pandemic prevention. Science 369: 379-381. (policy forum)
K Nowak, PC Lee, J Marino, M Mkono, H Mumby, A Dobson, R Harvey, K Lindsay, D Lusseau, C Sillero-Zubiri. 2019. Trophy hunting bans present opportunity for change. Science 366: 434-435. (letter)
A le Roux, N Mathibane, K Nowak. 2019. Wild samango monkeys balance risk and opportunity to interact with novel objects in village gardens. International Journal of Primatology 40: 661-670.
MTB Olsen, J Geldmann, M Harfoot, DP Tittensor, B Price, P Sinovas, K Nowak, NJ Sanders, ND Burgess. 2019. Thirty-six years of legal and illegal wildlife trade entering the USA. Oryx 55: 432-441.
EA McCullagh, K Nowak, A Pogoriler, JL Metcalf, M Zaringhalam, TJ Zelikova. 2019. Request a Woman Scientist: A database for diversifying the public face of science. PLOS Biology 17(4): e3000212.
K Nowak, A Barnett, I Matsuda (Eds). 2019. Primates in Flooded Habitats: Ecology and Conservation.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
K Nowak, B Coles. 2019. Worldwide ecology of mangrove-dwelling monkeys. In Primates in Flooded Habitats: Ecology and Conservation. Nowak K, Barnett AA, & Matsuda I (Eds.). Cambridge University Press.
K Nowak, F Maisels, L Baker, H Rainey. 2019. Conservation value of Africa's flooded habitats to non-human primates. In Primates in Flooded Habitats: Ecology and Conservation. Nowak K, Barnett AA, & Matsuda I (Eds.). Cambridge University Press.
J Head, A Healy, K Nowak. 2019. Primates of African mangroves. In Primates in Flooded Habitats: Ecology and Conservation. Nowak K, Barnett AA, & Matsuda I (Eds.). Cambridge University Press.
C Scheijen, SA Richards, J Smit, T Jones, K Nowak. 2018. Efficacy of beehive fences as barriers to African elephants: A case study in Tanzania. Oryx 53: 92-99.
N Sekar, W Clark, A Dobson, PCF Coelho, PM Hannam, R Hepworth, S Hsiang, P Kahumbu, PC Lee, K Lindsay, CL Pereira, SK Wasser, K Nowak. 2018. International ivory policy: building on evidence-driven consensus. Science 360: 276-277. (letter)
K Lindsay, M Chase, K Landen, K Nowak. 2017. The shared nature of Africa's elephants. Biological Conservation 215: 260-267.
J Smit, R Pozo, J Cusack, K Nowak, T Jones. 2017. Using camera-traps to study the demography and behavior of crop-using elephants in Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Oryx 53: 368-376.
K Wimberger, K Nowak, R Hill. 2017. Reliance on exotic plants by two groups of threatened samango monkeys, Cercopithecus albogularis labiatus, at their southern range limit. International Journal of Primatology 38: 151-171.
K Nowak, K Wimberger, SA Richards, R Hill, A le Roux. 2016. Samango monkeys manage risk in a highly seasonal, human-modified landscape in Amathole Mountains, South Africa. International Journal of Primatology 38: 194-206.
K Nowak, SA Richards, A le Roux, R Hill. 2016. Influence of live-capture on the risk perceptions of habituated samango monkeys. Journal of Mammalogy 97: 1461-1468.
T David-Barrett, I Behncke Izquierdo, J Carney, K Nowak, J Launay, A Rotkirch. 2016. Life course similarities on social networking sites. Advances in Life Course Research 30: 84-89.
K Nowak, R Hill, K Wimberger, A le Roux. 2016. Risk-taking in samango monkeys at two sites in South Africa. In Primatology in the 21st Century. M Waller (Ed.). Springer.
K Nowak. 2016. Elephant Don: The Politics of a Pachyderm Posse by Caitlin O'Connell. The Quarterly Review of Biology 91 (1): 109. (book review)
RF Noss, A Dobson, R Baldwin, P Beier, CR Davis, DA Dellasala, J Francis, H Locke, K Nowak, R Lopez, C Reining, SC Trombulak, G Tabor. 2015. Bolder thinking for conservation. In Protecting the Wild: Parks and Wilderness, The Foundation for Conservation. G Wuerthner, E Crist, T Butler (Eds.). Island Press. pp. 16-20.
T Jones, K Nowak. 2015. Elephant Hideout: An unusual population of mountain-climbing elephants. In The Udzungwa Mountains – the Story of a Unique Rainforest in Eastern Africa. F Rovero, N Scharff, S Brogger-Jensen, F Pagh Jensen (Eds.). The Natural History Museum of Denmark. pp. 128-135.
K Nowak, A le Roux, SA Richards, C Scheijen, R Hill. 2014. Human observers impact samango monkeys’ perceived landscape of fear. Behavioral Ecology 25: doi: 10.1093/beheco/aru110
C Epps, K Nowak, B Mutayoba. 2014. Unfenced reserves, unparalleled biodiversity, and a rapidly-changing landscape: roadways and wildlife in East Africa. In Ecology of Roads: A Practitioner's Guide to Impacts and Mitigation. R van der Ree, C Grilo, and D Smith (Eds.). Wiley.
K Nowak, PC Lee. 2013. Status of Zanzibar red colobus and Sykes' monkeys in two coastal forests in 2005. Primate Conservation 27: 65-73.
K Harchut, C Standley, A Dobson, B Klaassen, C Rambaud-Althaus, F Althaus, K Nowak. 2013. Over-diagnosis of malaria by microscopy in the Kilombero Valley, Southern Tanzania. Malaria Journal 12: 159.
T Davenport, K Nowak, A Perkin. 2013. Priority Primate Areas in Tanzania. Oryx 48: 39-51.
A Dobson, K Nowak, JP Rodriguez. 2013. Conservation Biology, Discipline of. In: Levin SA (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, second edition, Volume 2, pp. 238-248. Waltham, MA: Academic Press.
K Nowak, PC Lee. 2013. "Specialist" primates can be flexible in response to habitat alteration. In: Marsh LK and Chapman C (Eds.) Primates in Fragments: Ecology and Conservation, Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects 49. New York, NY: Springer.
K Nowak. 2012. Mangrove and peat swamps: Refuge habitats for primates and felids. Folia Primatologica 83: 361-376.
N Reed, A Dobson, R Baldwin, P Beier, CR Davis, DA Dellasala, J Francis, H Locke, K Nowak, R Lopez, C Reining, SC Trombulak, G Tabor. 2012. Bolder Thinking for Conservation. Conservation Biology 26: 1-4.
K Nowak, PC Lee. 2011. Consumption of cycads by Zanzibar red colobus. Journal of East African Natural History 100: 123-131.
K Nowak, PC Lee. 2011. Demographic structure of Zanzibar red colobus populations in unprotected coral rag and mangrove habitats. International Journal of Primatology 32: 24-45.
S Wasser, K Nowak, J Poole et al. 2010. Response—Consequences of Legal Ivory Trade. Science 328: 1634-1635. (letter)
S Wasser et al…K Nowak. 2010. Elephants, Ivory, and Trade. Science 327: 1331-1332. (policy forum)
A Dobson, K Nowak. 2010. Does this photo make my range look big? Animal Conservation 13: 347-349.
K Nowak, T Jones, PC Lee. 2009. Using dung bolus diameter for age estimation in an unstudied elephant population in Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. Pachyderm 46: 47-52.
K Nowak, A Cardini, S Elton. 2008. Evolutionary acceleration and divergence in Zanzibar red colobus. International Journal of Primatology 29: 1313-1339.
K Nowak. 2008. Frequent water drinking by Zanzibar red colobus in a mangrove forest refuge. American Journal of Primatology 70: 1081-1092.
Select popular science and other writing
2021 Poland’s border wall will cut Europe’s oldest forest in half. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/polands-border-wall-will-cut-europes-oldest-forest-in-half-173735
2019 In the Alaska-Yukon Wilderness, Wildlife Crime Fighters Face a Daunting Task. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/06/yukon-alaska-wildlife-crime/
2019 Climate change and crime: New pressures for Pacific walruses and Alaska Native artists. The Revelator. https://therevelator.org/climate-crime-walrus-artists/
2018 Beehive fences and elephants: Tanzanian case study offers fresh insights. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/beehive-fences-and-elephants-tanzanian-case-study-offers-fresh-insights-101487
2017 Where the Dogs Lead. bioGraphic. https://www.biographic.com/where-the-dogs-lead/
2016 Rhinos Under the Gun. The American Scholar. https://theamericanscholar.org/south-africa-rhinos-under-the-gun/
2016 CITES alone cannot combat illegal wildlife trade. SAIIA Policy Insights. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Policy-Insights-34.pdf
2014 Chilean Patagonia Expedition to Foster Stewardship of the Unique Cape Horn Region. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/141210-chile-patagonia-cape-horn-biosphere-reserve
- ArcGIS certificate from British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK
- R-Statistics training at St. Andrew's CREEM, Scotland, UK
- Beekeeping certification, North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service & NC State Beekeepers, USA
- Yukon First Nations 101 – Yukon University, Yukon, Canada
- Women’s Survival 101, Mountain Shepherd Survival School, Virginia, USA