HABITAT EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT

Instructor: Dr. Matthew J. Gray (mgray11@utk.edu) and Dr. Pat Keyser (pkeyser@utk.edu)

Phone: 974-2740 (MG); 974-7988 (PK)

Office: 247 Ellington Plant Sciences Building (MG) and 246 Ellington PSB (PK)

Office Hours: M-W-F: 8:00–10:00 or by appointment

Meeting Time and Place: 12:40–1:55 T,R 125 PSB (lecture)

2:10–6:20 T 276 AE or field trip (section 1)

2:10–6:20 R 276 AE or field trip (section 2)

Teaching Assistant: Jonathan McCurry (jmccurr4@utk.edu, 201 Ellington PSB, 974-3897)

Course Goal: To expose students to the principles and techniques used in performing a wildlife habitat evaluation. Techniques commonly used in managing grassland, forest and wetland systems for wildlife also will be covered.

Course Content: Topics and activities will include formalization of the definition of habitat, habitat evaluation and modeling, habitat sampling designs and techniques, statistical analysis and presentation of field data, and habitat management techniques in grasslands, forests and wetlands. Students also will be exposed to new technologies useful in habitat evaluation and management, and learn how to use Trimble® Pathfinder, Trimble® TerraSync, ESRI® ArcGIS 9.1, Microsoft® Excel, and SAS® 9.1 software.

Academic Assessment:

Weights of Academic Assessments and Grading Scale:

Tests, lab and homework assignments, plant collection, and participation (lab attendance) will be weighted as follows:

● Tests: 60% (3 tests, each 20%; no comprehensive final)

● Plant Collection: 20% (independent project: due 10 October 2006)

● Lab Assignments & Homework: 15% (group and independent assignments)

● Participation: 5% (lab attendance mandatory: see below)

Your course grade will be determined using the following scale:

Grade	Final Weighted Percent	Grade	Final Weighted Percent
A	90–100%	C	70–76%
B+	87–89%	D	60–69%
B	80–86%	F	<60%
C+	77–79%

Extra Credit:

You can positively influence your grade as much as 4.5% by volunteering for extra credit. Your volunteer work can be any activity related to forestry, wildlife or fisheries; however, it must be independent of a university organized event (e.g., volunteering at a deer check station for WFS 444 or activities associated with the Student Chapters of TWS or SAF). For every 8 hours of volunteer work, your final grade will be increased by 1.5% up to 4.5% (24 hours total). All volunteering must be completed by 5 December 2006. A volunteer form (see website) must be filled out by the supervising individual. Bill Smith (wildlife manager at Kyker Bottoms) often is looking for volunteer assistance (310-8691 cell, Bill.Smith@state.tn.us). Also, Wayne Schacher (consulting biologist for Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge) frequently needs help (457-4355 home, whschacher@natreserv.com). Lastly, graduate students in FWF are always looking for field or lab assistance—send an email to FWFGRADS@LISTSERV.UTK.EDU).

Extra Credit Form

Attendance: Attendance at labs is mandatory¹ and will count for 5% of your final grade.

Number of Labs Missed	Percent Added to Final Grade
0	5%
1	3%
2	1%
>2	0%

¹If you miss a lab and do not want percentage points deducted, you may perform volunteer work or write a 5-page research paper to compensate for this credit. If you choose to write a paper, the topic will be randomly selected from a pre-determined list (see below), and due exactly 2 weeks following the missed lab.

Specifications for a Make-up Paper

Full Syllabus

Teaching Resources:

Homework

Homework #1

Homework #2

Statistics Lab Assignment #1

Statistics Lab Assignment #2

Handouts

Class Role and Groups (as of 8/28/06)

Plant Collection

Plant Collection Grading Sheet