About

Erin McKenney is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University. She holds a Ph.D. from Duke University and an M.S. from North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on microbial ecology, nutrition, and comparative gut morphology, studying how gut microbes affect health and how humans can leverage or upset that balance. She has investigated evolutionary adaptation across scales and species, including non-human primates and carnivores, and has expanded her research to include sourdough and other fermented foods through citizen science initiatives. McKenney emphasizes cultivating critical thinking through active learning, designing courses around authentic research experiences, and implementing teaching approaches rooted in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) research. Her broader impacts include building reciprocal, collaborative, and long-lasting partnerships with students and the public to promote scientific literacy.

Research topics

• Food science
• Biology
• Genetics
• Ecology
• Biotechnology
• Mathematics
• Business

Selected publications

• African carnivore gut bacterial diversity and composition are associated with sample condition but not storage technique

  Figshare · 2026-03-24

  otherOpen access

  Abstract Non-invasive fecal sampling is essential for molecular wildlife studies such as gut microbiome (GMB) research, yet field conditions often limit preservation options. To test the effects of preservation methods on the results of GMB community composition, we compared gut bacterial communities in paired fecal samples preserved in stabilization tubes and air-dried in paper bags collected from anesthetized African lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Additional opportunistic samples from the ground around carnivore feeding sites that varied in moisture content were also analyzed. No differences in alpha or beta diversity were detected between preserved and dried samples, although bacterial beta diversity differed between preserved and opportunistic samples, supported by NMDS ordinations and PERMANOVA results. Core bacterial communities remained consistent across opportunistic sample conditions, indicating that host-associated taxa persist despite environmental exposure supporting the use of opportunistic samples for GMB studies in remote arid settings. However, consistent sampling protocols and future field-based desiccation studies remain critical for comparative analyses. These findings highlight that rapid air-drying offers a reliable, low-cost preservation option that maintains core microbiome patterns, expanding the feasibility of GMB research in remote or resource-limited field contexts where refrigeration and preservatives may be unavailable.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 3 of African carnivore gut bacterial diversity and composition are associated with sample condition but not storage technique

  Figshare · 2026-03-24

  articleOpen access

  Supplementary Material 3: Additional file 3. Host-stratified DESeq2 differential abundance results for spotted hyenas (PDF). Genus-level differential abundance analysis comparing Wet vs. IOS (panel a) and Wet vs. IOH (panel b) samples in spotted hyenas. Points represent significantly differentially abundant genera (adjusted p < 0.05), colored by phylum. Log2 fold change values indicate enrichment relative to Wet samples (negative values indicate enrichment in IOS or IOH; positive values indicate enrichment in Wet).

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 2 of African carnivore gut bacterial diversity and composition are associated with sample condition but not storage technique

  Figshare · 2026-03-24

  articleOpen access

  Supplementary Material 2: Additional file 2. Host-stratified DESeq2 differential abundance results for lions (PDF). Genus-level differential abundance analysis comparing Wet vs. IOS (panel a) and Wet vs. IOH (panel b) samples in lions. Points represent significantly differentially abundant genera (adjusted p < 0.05), colored by phylum. Log2 fold change values indicate enrichment relative to Wet samples (negative values indicate enrichment in IOS or IOH; positive values indicate enrichment in Wet).

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 1 of African carnivore gut bacterial diversity and composition are associated with sample condition but not storage technique

  Figshare · 2026-03-24

  articleOpen access

  Supplementary Material 1: Additional file 1. DESeq2 differential abundance results for storage technique in lions (PDF). Log2 fold-change plot showing genera identified as significantly differentially abundant between Wet and Dry lion fecal samples using DESeq2. Negative values indicate genera enriched in Wet samples, and positive values indicate genera enriched in Dry samples. Only taxa remaining significant after multiple-testing correction are shown.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 4 of African carnivore gut bacterial diversity and composition are associated with sample condition but not storage technique

  Figshare · 2026-03-24

  articleOpen access

  Supplementary Material 4: Additional file 4. Rarefaction curves for storage technique comparison (PDF). Rarefaction curves showing sequencing depth for all samples included in the storage technique analysis. Vertical dashed lines indicate the selected rarefaction threshold (5,000 reads) and the 10th percentile sequencing depth (7,885 reads).

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 3 of African carnivore gut bacterial diversity and composition are associated with sample condition but not storage technique

  Figshare · 2026-03-24

  articleOpen access

  Supplementary Material 3: Additional file 3. Host-stratified DESeq2 differential abundance results for spotted hyenas (PDF). Genus-level differential abundance analysis comparing Wet vs. IOS (panel a) and Wet vs. IOH (panel b) samples in spotted hyenas. Points represent significantly differentially abundant genera (adjusted p < 0.05), colored by phylum. Log2 fold change values indicate enrichment relative to Wet samples (negative values indicate enrichment in IOS or IOH; positive values indicate enrichment in Wet).

  PublisherDOI

• African carnivore gut bacterial diversity and composition are associated with sample condition but not storage technique

  Figshare · 2026-03-24

  otherOpen access

  Abstract Non-invasive fecal sampling is essential for molecular wildlife studies such as gut microbiome (GMB) research, yet field conditions often limit preservation options. To test the effects of preservation methods on the results of GMB community composition, we compared gut bacterial communities in paired fecal samples preserved in stabilization tubes and air-dried in paper bags collected from anesthetized African lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Additional opportunistic samples from the ground around carnivore feeding sites that varied in moisture content were also analyzed. No differences in alpha or beta diversity were detected between preserved and dried samples, although bacterial beta diversity differed between preserved and opportunistic samples, supported by NMDS ordinations and PERMANOVA results. Core bacterial communities remained consistent across opportunistic sample conditions, indicating that host-associated taxa persist despite environmental exposure supporting the use of opportunistic samples for GMB studies in remote arid settings. However, consistent sampling protocols and future field-based desiccation studies remain critical for comparative analyses. These findings highlight that rapid air-drying offers a reliable, low-cost preservation option that maintains core microbiome patterns, expanding the feasibility of GMB research in remote or resource-limited field contexts where refrigeration and preservatives may be unavailable.

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 2 of African carnivore gut bacterial diversity and composition are associated with sample condition but not storage technique

  Figshare · 2026-03-24

  articleOpen access

  Supplementary Material 2: Additional file 2. Host-stratified DESeq2 differential abundance results for lions (PDF). Genus-level differential abundance analysis comparing Wet vs. IOS (panel a) and Wet vs. IOH (panel b) samples in lions. Points represent significantly differentially abundant genera (adjusted p < 0.05), colored by phylum. Log2 fold change values indicate enrichment relative to Wet samples (negative values indicate enrichment in IOS or IOH; positive values indicate enrichment in Wet).

  PublisherDOI

• Additional file 5 of African carnivore gut bacterial diversity and composition are associated with sample condition but not storage technique

  Figshare · 2026-03-24

  articleOpen access

  Supplementary Material 5: Additional file 5. Rarefaction curves for sample condition comparison (PDF). Rarefaction curves showing sequencing depth for samples included in the sample condition analysis. Vertical dashed lines indicate the selected rarefaction threshold (5,000 reads) and the 5th percentile sequencing depth (9,022 reads).

  PublisherDOI

• Open Educational Resources for and as Assessment

  Utah State Research and Scholarship (Utah State University) · 2026-03-12

  bookOpen access

  The need to rethink assessment in higher education has become increasingly urgent due to the shift to remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent introduction of various generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. Globally, instructors are called to redesign their assessment practices to make them more innovative, authentic, and empowering.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Robert R. Dunn

  17 shared

• Diana J. R. Lafferty

  Northern Michigan University

  15 shared

• William Parker

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  12 shared

• Shu S. Lin

  Nanjing University

  11 shared

• Lydia K. Greene

  Duke University

  11 shared

• Larry J. Minter

  North Carolina Zoo Society

  10 shared

• Sierra J. Gillman

  University of Washington

  9 shared

• Lauren M. Nichols

  9 shared

Labs

• Erin McKenney LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Ecology

  University of California, Davis

  2009

• M.S., Ecology

  University of California, Davis

  2004

• B.S., Environmental Science

  University of California, Davis

  2002