Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Seminar

Instructors: Dr. Matthew Gray (mgray11@utk.edu) and Dr. Sharon Jean-Philippe (jeanphil@utk.edu)

Seminar Assistants: Roberto Brenes and Emily Hockman

Phone: 974-2740 (MG), 974-2946 (SJP)

Office: 247 Ellington PSB (MG), 281 Ellington PSB (SJP)

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 85%

● Attendance 15% (1.15% per seminar, 29 Aug – 21 Nov)

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
12 September	Dr. Stacy Clark (USFS)	Overcoming challenges to American chestnut restoration through research
19 September	Dr. Marko Debeljak (Jozef Stefan Institute)	Data Mining in Forest Ecology and Forestry
26 September	Dr. Dalia Abbas (TSU)	Forestry Operations and Logistics Analysis
3 October	Dr. Dave Ostermeier (UT)	Governing the environment in complex times: Facing our reality

10 October	1. Josh Osborn (MS, 1^st) 2. Matt McClanahan (MS, 1^st)	Proportional Habitat Use and Energetic Carrying Capacity of American Black Ducks Wintering in Western Tennessee Habitat Use and Food Availability of Nonbreeding Waterfowl in Western Tennessee
17 October	1. Andy Vander Yacht (MS, 2^nd) 2. Lauren Maestas (MS, 2^nd)	Midstory Herbicide Treatments as a Useful Tool in the Restoration of Oak Savannas and Woodlands in the Mid-South Species composition and prevalence of Borrelia infections in Ixodes spp. ticks from the southeastern coastal United States
24 October	1. Teresa Moody (MS, 1^st) 2. Yujie Meng (PhD, 2^nd)	Evaluating Plestiodon spp. skinks as potential reservoir hosts for the Lyme disease bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi Preparation, structure and mechanical properties of switchgrass cellulose nanocrystals
31 October	1. David Peters (MS, 1^st) 2. David Clabo (MS, 1^st)	Northern Bobwhite Population Ecology on Reclaimed Mined Land Optimum Timing and Application of Prescribed Fire and Stem Clipping to Obtain Maximum Sprouting Success in Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata)
7 November	1. Mega Binti Abang (PhD, 1^st) 2. Seth Basinger (MS, 1^st)	Nitrogen level and water stress influence on physiology of several tree species White-tailed Deer Habitat Use and Movements Integrated with Factors Influencing Vehicle Collisions in Middle Tennessee
14 November	1. Andreas Attwenger (MS, 1^st) 2. Hagen Maraun (MS, 1^st)	Lignin-based carbon fibers Alteration of the solvent mixture ratio in the organosolv fractionation process for optimization of quality and yield of both cellulose and lignin
21 November	1. Kaitlin O’Connell (MS, 2^nd) 2. Brian Hughett (MS, 1^st)	Increasing male black bear capture probabilities using a two-wire hair sampling system Stratification of forest community classifications to increase the accuracy of forest growth and yield models