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

Phone:                                     974-2740 (office)

Office:                                     247 Ellington Plant Sciences Building

Meeting Time and Place:       8:30–12:00 and 1:30–5:00        M,Tu,W,Th,F   114 PSB or 156/157 PBB (alternate location)

 

Course Goal:                          To expose students to the basic principles of wetland ecology and management via class lectures and field experiences.

 

Required Text:                       Wetlands, 2000, 3rd edition (ISBN 047129232X)

Authors:                                  William J. Mitsch and James C. Gosselink

 

Course Credits:                      2 credits

Course Duration:                   2–17 March 2006

 

Tentative Schedule:

 

27 February–3 March:

 

Monday

Tuesday

Wed

Thursday

Friday

Morning

 

 

 

Tennessee

TWS

Meeting at Paris Landing State Park

Wetland Definition, Wetland Regulations

Waterbird, Amphibian, and Wetland

Plant ID

Afternoon

 

 

Wetland Classification via Cowardin et al. (1979)

Amphibian Declines,

Human Impacts

 

6–10 March:

 

Monday

Tuesday

Wed

Thursday

Friday

Morning

Bottomland

Sedimentation,

Wetland

Values

Carrying Capacity Estimation

Guest Lecture

 

OPEN

(Study)

 

2006 Southeastern Wildlife Conclave at

 

Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee

 

http://orgs.tntech.edu/tws/

Afternoon

Wetland Management

 

 

(Finish up if necessary)

 

OPEN

(Study)

PRACTICUM

(Classification & Waterbird, Amphibian, and Plant ID)

 

13–17 March:

 

Monday

Tuesday

Wed

Thursday

Friday

Morning

Wetland Impoundment Construction

OPEN

(Study)

Drive to Noxubee Wildlife Refuge

Meet Dr. Rick Kaminski, MSU Presentations

 

 

Drive back to Knoxville

(7−8 hours)

Afternoon

Answer DUD Questions, Final Exam Review

EXAM (1:30−4:00)

 

Visit Briefly with Refuge Staff, Watch Video

Meet Noxubee Staff & Tour Refuge

1NOTE:           We will meet in 156/157 PBB for 2–8 March due to WFS 445 (Bird) Lab in 114 PSB. 

 

2NOTE:           Lab practicum will begin at 2:00 p.m. in 156/157 PBB.  Students can study in 156/157 PBB until 1:00 p.m. on 8 March. 

                                               

Academic Assessment:

 

Weights of Academic Assessments and Grading Scale:

 

The exam, lab practicum, homework assignment, and participation (field trip attendance) will be weighted as follows:

 

            ● Exam:                                                50%     (Tuesday, 14 March 2006 at 1:30 pm in 114 PSB)   

            ● Lab Practicum:                                  30%     (Wednesday, 8 March 2006 at 2:00 pm in 156/157 PBB)

            ● DUD Assignment:                              10%     (due Monday, 13 March 2006 before 5:00 pm)

            ● Participation:                                     10%

 

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 however must be related to wetlands or wetland fauna (e.g., amphibians, waterbirds).  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 28 April 2006.  A volunteer form (see below) must be filled out by the supervising individual.

 

            VOLUNTEER FORM

 

Attendance:   

Attendance on the field trip to Mississippi will count for 10% of your final grade.  You must participate in all field trip activities to receive 10% (2% deduction for each missed activity). Attendance at lectures is not mandatory.

 

Full Syllabus

 

Teaching Resources:

Homework Assignment

          DUD Calculations          (Due: Monday, 13 March 2006)

Handouts

          Required Wetland Plants

          Required TN Anurans

          Required Waterfowl

            Required Shorebirds

 

Required Readings

          •What are Wetlands?               Chap 2, Chap 6 (155–164, Hydric Soils), Chap 21 (754–758)

          •Wetland Regs & Programs     Chap 18, Chap 19 (653–668)

          •Wetland Classification            Chap 21 (737–744)

USFWS (Cowardin) Classification System (pages 9-44 if questions after lecture)

          •Wetland Losses & Impacts     Chap 4 (71–89), Chap 17 (611–625)

•Amphibian Declines & Mngt  Principles for Management of Aquatic-Breeding Amphibians (Semlitsch 2000, JWM 64:615-631)

•Bottomland Sedimentation     Hatchie River Shoals and Valley Plugs (Diehl 2000)      

          •Wetland Values                      Chap 16 (571–591)

•Wetland Construction            Chap 19 (668–680)

NWRC Waterfowl Habitat Management Handbook 13.4.8

Waterfowl Habitat Management Handbook for LMRV

          •Wetland Management            Chap 17 (625–638)

NWRC Waterfowl Habitat Management Handbook 13.4.6

NWRC Waterfowl Habitat Management Handbook 13.2.1

Greentree Reservoir Handbook (Fredrickson and Batema 1992; Chaps 1, 2, 5, 6, & 8)

 

•Duck-use Days                        TME for Acorns & Other Foods (Kaminski et al. 2003)

(need for assignment)                 Predicting Seed Yield (Laubhan 1992)

Predicting Seed Yield (Gray et al. 1999a)

                                                New Method to Predict Seed Yield (Gray et al. 1999b)

                                                Current DUDs for LMAV (Reinecke and Kaminski 2005)          

 

•Wood duck Biology                Population Status (Davis 2005)

                                                Wood Duck Brood Ecology (Davis et al. 2002)

 

Supplemental Resources

          USACE Wetland Delineation Manual (1987)

          USACE Wetland Delineation Form

          TN Hydric Soils List

          NRCS Keys to Soil Taxonomy

          NRCS Field Indicators of Hydric Soils

          USFWS National Hydrophyte List (1996)

          USFWS Wetland Status and Trends (2000)

          Bottomland Hardwood Guidebook: GTRs (King and Fredrickson 1998)

          Shorebird Management Handbook (Helmers 1992)

          North American Waterfowl Management Plan (2004)

          USFWS Moist-soil Management Guidelines (Strader and Stinson 2005)—New Publication**

Testing Preparation

          Lab Practicum Requirements  

Exam Review

 

 

Internet Resources:

Lectures: 

          “What is a Jurisdictional Wetland?”           “What is a Jurisdictional Wetland?” (PDF)

          “USFWS Wetland Classification”                “USFWS Wetland Classification” (PDF)

          “Global Amphibian Declines”                     “Global Amphibian Declines”  (PDF)

          “UT Amphibian Disease Program”             “UT Amphibian Disease Program” (PDF)

          “Wetland Losses & Human Impacts”          “Wetland Losses & Human Impacts” (PDF)

          “Hardwood Bottomland Sedimentation”    “Hardwood Bottomland Sedimentation” (PDF)

          “Wetland Values”                                       “Wetlands Values” (PDF)

          “Moist-soil Management”                           “Moist-soil Management” (PDF)      

          “Green-tree Reservoir Management”          “Green-tree Reservoir Management” (PDF)

          “Wetland Carrying Capacity”                     “Wetland Carrying Capacity”  (PDF)

          “Wetland Impoundment Construction”      (slides, handouts, video)

Websites (Class)

          USFWS Hydrophyte List

          USGS Wetland Hydrology Site

          USGS Wetland Loss Site

          Louisiana Coastal Wetland Loss

          RAMSAR Wetland Values

          NWRC Waterfowl Management Site

Websites (Wetland Conservation Programs)

          Wetland Reserve Program       WRP Brochure      Tennessee WRP Website 

          Tennessee Partners Program    TPP Brochure

Conservation Reserve Program (Forested Riparian Buffer Practice)  Iowa Brochure

Websites (Wetland Conservation & Professionals)

            Society of Wetland Scientists           

RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands

            Ducks Unlimited

Lab Resources:

Lectures:

 

          “Tennessee Anuran Identification”              “Tennessee Anuran Identification” (PDF)

 

          “Shorebird Identification”                           “Shorebird Identification” (PDF)

 

          “Waterfowl Identification”                          “Waterfowl Identification” (PDF)

 

Websites

          Vascular Plant Identification and Taxonomy:      http://tenn.bio.utk.edu/vascular/vascular.html

 

Tennessee Amphibian Identification:                  http://www.leaps.ms/ and http://www.state.tn.us/twra/frogs.html

 

Waterfowl Identification:           http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tools/duckdist/duckdist.htm and http://www.ducks.org/waterfowling/gallery/                  

 

Shorebird Identification:            http://samigbird.fws.gov/shorid.htm (click on ‘Learn to identify Shorebirds’)

 

 

 

Wetlands Class Photos

Spring Camp 2006

 

 

 

Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge

 

Lectures and Lab Exam