Daniel Karp, Ph.D.
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Conservation & Agriculture
USDA-Funded Research Shows Farms and Wildlife Can Thrive Together
At UC Davis, Daniel Karp leads studies on how we can protect wildlife while growing abundant, healthy safe food. His USDA-funded research shows that removing natural habitat from farmland—often done to reduce foodborne illness—can actually make things worse. Farms that preserve habitats attract birds that eat crop-damaging pests and are less likely to carry foodborne disease. Karp’s work helps farmers adopt win-win practices that support biodiversity, food safety and sustainable agriculture.
Helping Humanity
This research isn’t just about birds and farms. It is about protecting our food, our health and the natural world around us. Without continued federal funding, we risk losing science that helps farmers thrive while conserving the wildlife we all value. It also means fewer opportunities to train the next generation of scientists working to keep our food systems resilient and our natural ecosystems healthy.
"Without federal funding, we lose not only critical research that helps protect our food and wildlife, but also the people being trained to carry this work into the future."
—Daniel Karp