Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Seminar

Graduate Seminar in Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries

WFS 512, FOR 512, FWF 612

Fall Semester 2016

University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Instructors: Dr. Matthew Gray (mgray11@utk.edu) and Dr. David Harper (dharper4@utk.edu)

Seminar Assistants: Davis Carter, Lauren Watine, and Coy Blair

Phone: 974-2740 (MG), 976-1121 (DH)

Office: 247 Ellington PSB (MG), 108 CRC MAST (DH)

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% (1.25% per seminar, 31 Aug – 23 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
21 Sept	Dr. Neelam Poudyal	Gray ghosts across the Appalachians: A social science approach to assist invasive species management on public forests
28 Sept	No Seminar Currently Scheduled
5 Oct	Meredith Hayes Stephen Peairs	Antimicrobial Advantages of Parental Care in Madtom Catfishes Hardwood Silvopasture: A Viable Land Management Option in Tennessee?
12 Oct	David Clabo Caylor Romines	Methods for Establishing Mixed Shortleaf Pine-Hardwood Forests Southern Appalachian Brook Trout: A Habitat Study for Future Restoration
19 Oct	Santosh Neupane Wade GeFellers	An Empirical Analysis of the Degree of Household Dependence on Community Forestry of Nepal Across Hilly and Terai Region An evaluation of plant community response and resulting habitat quality following tall fescue eradication and crop field abandonment in the Mid-South
26 Oct	Chrissy Henderson Kyle Brazil	Avian Response to Oak Savanna and Woodland Restoration Natives First: Is it Time for a Native Plant Preference Policy for Publicly Funded USDA Conservation Practices?
2 Nov	Davis Carter Katie Harris	Identifying Factors Responsible for Ranaviral Disease Outbreaks In Great Smoky Mountains National Park An Evaluation of the Effects of Prescribed Fire Seasonality on the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) in East Tennessee
9 Nov	Reilly Jackson Lauren Watine	The Effect of Psuedogymnoascus destructans on the Foraging and Hibernation Ecology of Endangered Bats in Tennessee Determinants of a rainforest carnivore community in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve
16 Nov	Carlotta Caplenor Allison Shimer	Preparing for a Warmer Future: Impacts of Climate Change in U.S. National Parks Geosmithia morbida: Another Forest Fatality or Not So Bad?
23 Nov	Coy Blair Heather Slayton	Assessing survival, movements, space use, nuisance behavior, and denning ecology of American black bears released from the Appalachian Bear Rescue Thinning as a Component of Integrated Pest Management for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid on the Cumberland Plateau: Effects on Canopy and Forest Floor Temperatures