Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Seminar

Instructor: Dr. Matthew Gray (mgray11@utk.edu)

Seminar Assistant: Dr. Jason Hoverman (jhoverma@utk.edu)

Phone: 974-2740 (MG), 974-0831 (JT)

Office: 247 Ellington PSB (MG), 230 Ellington PSB (JT)

Meeting Time and Place: Wed, 12:20 − 1:10 p.m., 160 Plant Biotechnology Building

Course Goal: To provide an opportunity for forestry, wildlife and fisheries graduate students to practice delivering professional presentations and to increase opportunities for graduate students and faculty to interact.

Expected Outcomes: Students will develop skills in constructing and delivering PowerPoint presentations and in answering questions related to their graduate research and natural resource principles, concepts and issues.

Course Credits: 1 credit

Academic Assessment:

Weights of Academic Assessments:

● Presentation 80%

● Attendance 20% (1.54% per seminar, 9 Sept – 7 Dec)

Course grade will be determined using the following scale:

Grade	Final Weighted Percent	Grade	Final Weighted Percent
A	90–100%	B	80–86%
B+	87–89%	C+	77–79%

Full Syllabus

Presentation Grading Sheet

Examples of Contemporary Natural Resource Topics

Presentation Schedule:

Date	Name (MS/PhD; 1^st/2^nd Seminar)	Title
9 September	Dr. Pat Keyser	Center for Native Grasslands Management: Opportunities and Challenges
16 September	Dr. Tim Young	Do we really need statistics in science?
23 September	Dr. Scott Schlarbaum	Fading forests: the threat of exotic forest pests to North American ecosystems
30 September	1. Consuelo Brandeis (PhD,1^st)	Timber Mill Closures and Procurement Zone Characteristics - Is there a Link?
7 October	1. Jennapher Teunissen Van Manen (MS, 1^st) 2. Leila Pinchot (PhD, 1^st)	Using Stable Isotopes to Assess Longitudinal Diet Patterns of American Black Bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Testing early establishment and competitive ability of Chestnut (Castanea Mill.) seedlings on the Cumberland Plateau of Eastern Kentucky
14 October	1. Trent Jett (MS, 2^nd) 2. John Hull (MS, 2^nd)	Introduced fish species: What do the locals think? The challenges of invasive species control in forests
21 October	1. Chris Miller (MS, 2^nd) 2. Adam Klobucar (MS, 1^st)	Site and substrate treatments influence American chestnut budset and survival Competitive Interactions Between Appalachian Hardwood Species and Different Groundcovers on the Steep Slopes of Strip Mine Sites
28 October	1. Michael Drewry (MS, 2^nd) 2. Andrew West (MS, 1^st)	Genetic structure and gene flow of black bear in the southern Appalachian Mountain Avian Response in Production Stands of Native Warm-Season Grasses
4 November	Dr. Tom Brandeis (USFS)	Forest Inventory and Monitoring in the Caribbean: Objectives, Methods and Results
11 November	1. Jessica Harmon (MS, 1^st) 2. Beth Aubuchon (MS, 1^st)	Evaluation of Acaracide Applicators to Manage Ticks and Tick-borne Disease in a Tennessee Retirement Community Root growth and mine soil moisture profiles on newly reforested steep slopes
18 November	1. William DeBord (MS, 1^st) 2. Stephen Grayson (MS, 2^nd)	Effects of Two Prescribed Fires Across Four Levels of Canopy Cover on Northern Red Oak and Red Maple Regeneration Light pollution: ecological effects and implications
25 November	1. Kevin Hamed (PhD, 1^st) 2. Carrie Lowe (MS, 2^nd)	Impacts of Climate Change and Human Land Use on Southern Appalachian Impacts of wind energy development on wildlife
7 Dec (Monday) 12:30 – 2:30 pm	1. Amanda Pierce (MS, 2^nd) 2. Stuart Hale (MS, 1^st) 3. Aju Sahadevan (MS, 1^st) 4. Beth Summers (MS, 2^nd)	Are we artificially shifting to smaller bucks through harvest choices? Applied Ecosystem Services in Working Forests Effect of CO₂on wood properties of Liquidambar styraciflua after 10 years of enrichment Use of Index of Biotic Integrity Models for Assessment of Ecological Function