Oded Keynan is an ecologist, zoologist and educator. Oded explores the relationships between individual development and behavior, group size, and population dynamics in the cooperatively breeding Arabian Babbler (Turdoides squamiceps). His key interests are the social and environmental factors promoting group growth or extinction, the interactions between animals and humans, and the effect of agriculture and human settlement on the behavior and the ecology of desert birds and mammals.

He holds a Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University and Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Over the years, Oded has conducted research on desert ecosystems, focusing on cooperation and social behavior in animals, especially Arabian babblers. Beyond his research, he founded and directed “Arava Greenhouse,” an educational initiative that brings students from across the country to the Arava to explore ecology, sustainability, and desert agriculture. For the past two years, Oded has served as Head of Academic Development at the Dead Sea and Arava Science Center (MOP). Alongside his scientific and educational work, he has been active as an environmental volunteer and co-founded the organization Sustainable Desert.