FWF 410 RECOGNIZED

(University article on incorporating new technology)

 

Instructor:                              Dr. Matthew J. Gray (mattjgray@utk.edu)

Phone:                                     974-2740 (office)

Office:                                     247 Ellington Plant Sciences Building

Office Hours:                         M-W-F: 8:00–11:00 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 Assistants:             Jonathan McCurry (jmccurr4@utk.edu, 101 PSAB or 203 Ellington, 974-2635)

                                                Cindy Longmire (clongmir@utk.edu), 104 PSAB, 384-1230)

 

 

Course Goal:              To expose students to the principles and steps necessary to perform a wildlife habitat analysis and write a professional management plan.

 

Course Content:         Topics and activities will include an introduction to habitat and wildlife ecology, habitat sampling designs and techniques, statistical

analysis and presentation of 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, Ramas GIS, Microsoft Excel, and SAS 9.1 software.

 

Academic Assessment:

 

Weights of Academic Assessments and Grading Scale:

 

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

 

            ● Tests:                                                50%     (each test 25%)           

            ● Final Project & Presentation:             25%     (group project)

            ● Lab Assignments & Homework:        10%     (group and independent assignments)

            ● Plant Collection:                                10%     (independent project: due 27 October 2005)

            ● 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 Chapter of the Wildlife Society).  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 6 December 2005.  A volunteer form (see below) 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).

 

            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 (excused or unexcused) 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.  The Nantahala trip will count for 2 labs.

 

Specifications for a Make-up Paper

 

Full Syllabus

Teaching Resources:

Homework

         

Handouts

            Class Role and Groups (as of 8/23/05)

            Plant Collection

            Plant Collection Grading Sheet

            Kyker Bottoms WMA Location Maps

            Additional Kyker Maps—Lab #1         PRINT OFF and take to LAB #1

            Lab #1 Exercise           PRINT OFF and take to LAB #1

            Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge Directions

            Blackboard Instructions            Website:  http://online.utk.edu

            Lab #2 Exercise           PRINT OFF and take to LAB #2

            I.C. King Park Directions

 

Required Readings

 

TEST #1 Material

1)      Trimble GeoExplorer XM Tutorial.  Handout in class.

2)      Oderwald and Boucher (2003).  GPS after selective availability.  Journal of Forestry 101(4):24−27.

3)      Hall et al. (1997).  The habitat concept and a plea for standard terminology.  Wildlife Society Bulletin 25:173−182.

4)      McNab, W. H, and S. A. Browning.  1992.  Preliminary ecological classification of arborescent communities on the Wine Spring Creek watershed, Nantahala National Forest.  Pages 213-221 in J. C. Brissette, editor.  Seventh Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference, Mobile Alabama.

5)      Jones, B., and C. Harper.  2004.  Habitat management.  Pages 47-59 in Ruffed Grouse Ecology and Management in the Appalachian Region.  Final Project Report of the Appalachian Cooperative Grouse Research Project.

6)      Elzinga et al. (2001) Book: Chap 12 (pp. 209-224, 226)

7)      Sutherland (1996) Book: Chap 3 (pp. 111-124)

8)      Elzinga et al. (2001) Book: Chap 8 (pp. 116-134), Chap 11 (196-198)