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 Chris Lituma

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

Office: 247 Ellington PSB (MG), 243 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% (1.07% per seminar, 16 Jan – 7 May)

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
30 January	Dr. Jennifer Franklin (UT)	Competitive interactions between trees and herbaceous plants
6 February	Dr. Teresa Mathews (ORNL)	Managing mercury bioaccumulation in fish: lessons learned from long term biological monitoring programs in Oak Ridge
13 February	Dr. Virginia Dale (ORNL)	From Disturbance to Sustainability: Following Interesting Questions and Fun Opportunities
20 February	Kevin Hoyt and Richard Evans (UT)	ETREC FRREC: Proposed Oil and Gas Development Research Project

27 February	1. David Peters (MS, 2^nd) 2. Roberto Brenes (PhD, 2^nd)	Influence of Microhabitat Structure on Northern Bobwhite Survival on Reclaimed Mined Land Immunological Mechanisms Influencing Susceptibility of Amphibians to Infectious Diseases
6 March	No Seminar: Annual Meeting of the Tennessee Chapter of The Wildlife Society
13 March	1. Hagen Maraun (MS, 2^nd) 2. Andreas Attwenger (MS, 2^nd)	Wood Welding: An alternative to screws and adhesive Thermally modified wood
20 March	1. Justin Wolbert (MS, 1^st) 2. Maria Spriggs (PhD, 1^st)	Population characteristics of smallmouth bass and rock bass in the Little River, Blount County, Tennessee Assessment of clinical pathology, pathogen exposure, and impact of mercury in two reintroduced populations of American marten in Michigan
27 March	No Seminar: Spring Break
3 April	1. Ben Reichert (MS, 1^st) 2. Phillip Harnage (MS, 1^st)	Investigating the effects of urbanization on residual forest dynamics in urban areas of Knox, and Hamilton counties, Tennessee. Comparison of Rapid vs. Extended Sampling Methods for Benthic Macro-Invertebrates
10 April	1. Matt Moore (MS, 2^nd) 2. Matt Reed (MS, 1^st)	Invasive species in the forest and the complexity of their control Freshwater Mussels of the Buffalo River: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis
17 April	1. Thomas Turnbull (MS, 1^st) 2. David Clabo (MS, 2^nd)	Using Geospatial Tools to Asses the Urban Tree Canopy: A Comprehensive Tree and Soil Analysis for the City of Oak Ridge Site preparation techniques for the establishment of mixed pine-hardwood stands: 22-year results
24 April	1. Stephanie Prevost (MS, 1^st) 2. Mega Binti Abang (PhD, 2^nd)	Validating an Autonomous Aerial Acoustic Recording System (AAARS) in monitoring avian populations Feasibility of measuring individual trees using remote sensing
7 May (Tue, 12:30 – 2:30 pm)	1. Chris King (MS, 1^st) 2. Seth Basinger (MS, 2^nd)	Collaborative Management Efforts in National Forests of the Southern Appalachian Region: A Critical Analysis Deer camera surveys: Helping managers avoid the pitfalls