Merav Ben-David (Hebrew: מירב בן-דוד; born 17 January 1959) is an Israeli-American ecologist, zoologist, and politician who is the chair of the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming.

She spent five years as a safari tour guide in Kenya, before moving to Alaska, where she studied wildlife management.

She was fascinated by local marine ecosystems, which included otters, mink, marten, polar bears, and the salmon they fed on.

[10][11] She has published more than 110 scientific papers that analyze the impact of climate change, invasive species, logging and pollution on animals, often using innovative research techniques.

[12] Among her most-cited works are studies applying stable isotope analysis to animal ecology to document changes in the diet of generalist predators; exploring the impact of flooding, predation, and salmon runs on vegetation in the Alexander Archipelago; and examining the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill on otters in Prince William Sound.

[11] She has worked for nearly 20 years with Steven Amstrup to study polar bear ecology in the Beaufort Sea and other areas.

[21] One of the behavioral patterns she has observed via satellite tracking is that polar bears show high fidelity to the local area of ocean in which they live.

[2][30] Ben-David's platform centered on 'future-proofing' Wyoming's economy through diversification, including public investments in reclaiming old mines, capping oil and gas wells, and building wildlife crossings.