Wetlands Ecology and Management

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, 4^th edition (ISBN 978-0-471-69967-5) or

Wetlands, 2000, 3^rd 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 ½ 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”