Wetlands ecology and management

WFS 340

Fall Semester 2016

University of Tennessee-Knoxville

 

 


Instructor:                             Dr. Matthew J. Gray (mattjgray@utk.edu) and Chris Graves (cgraves2@utk.edu)

Phone:                                   MG: 974-2740 (office), 385-0772 (cell); CG: 828-550-7909

Office:                                   247 Ellington PSB (MG), 275 Ellington PSB (CG)

 

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

 

Required Readings:                 Handed out in class or emailed.

 

Recommended Texts:            Wetlands, 2007, 4th edition (ISBN 978-0-471-69967-5) or

                                                Wetlands, 2000, 3rd edition (ISBN 0-471-29232-X)

                                                    By: William J. Mitsch and James G. Gosselink

 

                                                Wetland Restoration and Construction, 2011 (978-0-9834558-0-6)

                                                    By: Thomas Biebighauser

 

Course Credits:                     2 credits

Course Duration:                  7−23 Nov, 2 Dec 2016

 

Tentative Schedule:

 

7–11 November:

 

Monday

Tuesday

Wed

     Thursday

Friday

Morning

Introduction to WFS 340 (Gray)

Reptile ID
(B. Sutton, TSU)
 
 

What is a wetland?

Wetland values & losses (Gray)
 

Surveying Wetlands
(A. Ludwig, BESS ; Graves)
Meet at 8 :00 am
 
Annual cycle of wetland wildlife (Gray)
Waterfowl Regulations
(J. Feddersen, TWRA) –
115 Ellington
 
Wetland Management
(above continued and GTRs) – Gray
 

Afternoon

Waterbird ID and Wing Characteristics
(Graves)
 
West TN Wetland Losses
(S. Oswalt, USFS)
Wetland Restoration & Conservation (Graves)
 
TAMP Workshop
(12 – 4:00 pm,
B. English)
 
Wetland Management (moist-soil management & agriculture) – Gray Capacity Estimation
(Lecture, Assignment, Lab Exercise) – Gray
 

 

14–18 November:

 

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Morning

 

OPEN
(Study for Lab Practicum)

 

Leave for Noxubee NWR (8:00 am)

 

Noxubee NWR
(wetland management: waterfowl capture; moist-soil, GTR & lake management; DED field exercise)
 

**Mist netting at night for owls & bats**

 

Noxubee NWR
(non-game management: RCWs, bats, squirrels)
 

 

 

 

Leave Noxubee NWR at 9:00 a.m. and return to Knoxville

by 5:00 p.m.

Afternoon

LAB PRACTICUM (2:00−4:00)
(160 Plant Biotech)

 Visit Briefly with Refuge Staff, Watch Video, Set up Camp

 

 

 

21 – 25 November:

 

Monday

Tuesday

Wed

Thursday

Friday

Morning

 

Lick Creek Bottoms WMA Field Trip
(7:30 am) – return before
5 pm
 

 

OPEN
(Study for Lecture Exam)

LECTURE
EXAM
(9:00−11:00)
Hollingsworth

 

NO CLASS

THANKSGIVING

HOLIDAY!

Afternoon

 

 


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:                                            40% (Wed, 23 November 2016 at 9:00 am)          

            Lab Practicum:                              30% (Monday, 14 November 2016 at 2:00 pm)

            ● DED Assignment:                          10% (due Friday, 2 December 2016 by 5:00 pm)

            ● Management Plan:                         10% (due Friday, 2 December 2016 by 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%

 

 

 

 

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 02 December 2016.  A volunteer form (see website) must be filled out by the supervising individual, and submitted to Dr. Gray.

 

            VOLUNTEER FORM

 

Attendance:  

Attendance is required during all guest lectures (0.5% each x 4 = 2%) as well as the TAMP Workshop (1%) and field trips to Lick Creek Bottoms WMA (1%) and Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi (1.5% for each ˝ day = 6%) for a total of 10% of your final grade. Attendance at other lectures is not mandatory but strongly recommended.

 

Full Syllabus

 


Teaching Resources:

Homework Assignment

          DED Calculations (handouts in class)         (Due: Friday, 2 December 2016)

Handouts

 

            Required TN Anurans

            Required Reptiles

            Required Waterbirds

           

Recommended Readings (Wetlands Edition 3 [below]; Edition 4 see: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/ReadingList2008.pdf)

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

          •Wetland Regs & Programs     Chap 18, Chap 19 (653–668), Leibowitz et al. (2008)

          •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)

•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 Restoration (T. Biebighauser Readings)

•Why Should We Build Wetlands?    Chap 1 (7 – 9 pp)

•Locating Drained Wetlands              Chap 2 (10 – 27 pp)

•The Basics of Wetland Restoration   Chap 3 (28 – 39 pp)

•Restoration Photos  Website (9 links under “Wetland and Stream Restoration Photo Albums)

 

          •Wetland Management            Chap 17 (625–638)

Managing Wetlands for Wildlife (Gray et al. 2013)

Managing Small Impoundments for Wildlife (Gray et al. 2012)

NWRC Waterfowl Habitat Management Handbook 13.4.6

NWRC Waterfowl Habitat Management Handbook 13.2.1

Waterfowl Habitat Management Handbook for the Lower MS River Valley

Flooding Effects on Agricultural Seed (Foster et al. 2010)

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

 

•Duck energy-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)

                                                Scanning Technologies to Predict Seed Yield (Gray et al. 2009)  

DEDs in Tennessee Croplands (Foster et al. 2010)

 

 

•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)

          PARC Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles

Testing Preparation

          Lab Practicum Requirements 

Exam Review (not all topics covered)

 

 


Podcasts: (MP3 Format)

1.      iTunes Instructions: (you must first download iTunes to Listen to Podcasts)

1)      Go to http://itunesu.utk.edu

2)      Click on "Download iTunes & Quick Time"

3)      Click on “Download iTunes Free”

4)      Save iTunes to your hard drive and install.

2.      Link to iTunes to Listen to Podcasts:  Launch Podcasts in iTunes U 


Slides: (PDF Format)

Lectures: 

                 “What is a Jurisdictional Wetland?         

                 “Wetland Values

                 “Wetland Losses & Human Impacts

                 “Wetland Losses in West Tennessee(Sonja Oswalt, USFS)           

                 “Wetland Restoration and Conservation Programs: Part I" (Chris Graves)

"Wetland Restoration and Conservation Programs: Part II" (Chris Graves)

"Wetland Restoration and Conservation Programs: Part III" (Chris Graves)

Waterfowl Populations and Hunting Regulations (Jamie Feddersen, TWRA)

Moist-soil and Agriculture Management

Green-tree Reservoir Management        

Wetland Carrying Capacity 

                USFWS Wetland Classification(PDF) -- Not Covered in 2016

                Monitoring Ecological Restoration of Hardwood Bottomlands” (Summers and Gray; not on exam)

Websites (Class)

          USFWS Hydrophyte List

          USGS Wetland Hydrology Site

          USGS Wetland Loss Site

          Videos of Louisiana Coastal Wetland Loss 

          Historical Loss of Louisiana Wetlands

          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:

 

         “Common TN Reptiles: Dr. Bill Sutton” (2016) 

 

Waterfowl ID: Graves" (Graves -- 2016)

 

Shorebird ID: Graves" (Graves -- 2016)

 

Wading & Secretative Marshbird ID: Graves" (Graves -- 2016)

 

         Tennessee Anuran Identification (Gray- supplemental)

 

Anuran Call Mnemonics" (supplemental)

         Anuran ID: Graves" (Graves - supplemental)     

          Waterfowl Identification (Gray- supplemental)

Shorebird Identification (Gray- supplemental)

               

Websites

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

 

            Moist-soil Plant Identification         http://www.amazon.com/Moist-Soil-Wetland-Plants-Mississippi-Alluvial/dp/1617031461

 

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

Fall Camp 2010

 

L1020767.JPG

 

 

WFS 340 Video (2015)

 

Link to Wetland Restoration Photos (2015)

 

WFS 340 Video (2014)

 

WFS 340 Video (2013)

 

Link to Wetand Restoration Photos (2013)

 

WFS 340 Video (2005 -- 2012)

 

Link to Class and Fieldtrip Photos

 

 


Graduate Instructors:

No graduate instructors this year. 


Previous WFS 340 Websites

 

2015: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2015.htm

2014: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2014.htm

2013: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2013.htm

2012: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2012.htm

2011: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2011.htm

2010: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2010.htm

2009: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2009.htm

2008: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2008.htm

2007: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2007.htm

2006: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2006.htm

2005: http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/mgray/wfs340/340home_2005.htm