A 2 credit hour course covering the methods and techniques necessary for identifying common wood species. Topics include macroscopic wood properties, hardwood and softwood structure, and the systematic thought processes for successful identification of 27 wood species.
This course provides a basic knowledge of United States (U.S.) policy and law as it applies to management and administration of forests and related natural resources on public and private land. Topics include the sources, development, and analysis of relevant laws, administrative regulations, and other policies. Judicial decisions addressing the management of National Forests, biodiversity, wildlife and water resources, and other specific issues will be discussed. The course is composed of four sections.
Covers the evolution, taxonomy, biogeography, biology, and natural history of mammals, emphasizing North American fauna. All mammalian orders extant (and extinct) in North America will receive coverage, emphasizing major morphological differences among groups, and physiological and behavioral adaptations to North American climates and ecosystems. Lecture discussions will cover major physiological systems (digestive, excretory, reproductive, etc.), energetics, diet and nutrition, reproductive patterns, and anatomical differences unique to each taxonomic order.
Advanced biology and natural resources course about the ecology of freshwater environments. Course material covers 1) interactions among freshwater species and between the species and their aquatic environment, 2) how these interactions influence distribution and abundance of freshwater species, and 3) conservation and management of freshwater species and aquatic systems.
Discussion-based course focused on describing urban ecosystems, the processes determining patterns of abundance and distribution of organisms in urban ecosystems, the interactions among organisms in the urban environment, the interactions between humans (and societies) and nature in urban environments, and some aspects of urban planning and urban forestry as it relates to ecology and the environment.
This is a 3-hour travel-based experiential learning course designed to immerse students in some of the most biodiverse areas in the U.S. Students will experience and learn about the ecology, geology, conservation, and management activities and policy of these areas by: 1) visiting several representative protected areas (e.g.
Principles of landscape ecology and their applications to contemporary ecological issues. Students will learn and apply the tool of geographic information system (GIS) and spatial analysis to problems in natural resource ecology, management, and conservation. Course covers the following topics: principles of landscape ecology (e.g., patch, mosaic, and scale), quantification of landscape patterns, formation and dynamics of landscape patterns, role of disturbance, landscape models and their applications.
This course provides students with hands-on experience in a diverse array of modern research methods used by ecologists and evolutionary biologists, including techniques used in: molecular genetics, chemical ecology, behavioral studies, motion analyses using high-speed video, image analyses for morphometrics and color, and field techniques in both aquatic and terrestrial systems. Lecture, one hour; laboratory, three hours per week.
The study of ecosystem structure and function with emphasis upon eastern deciduous forest ecosystems. Topics discussed will include energy flow, mineral cycling, the influence of disturbance upon ecosystem properties and dynamic processes in the development of ecosystems.
Design and analysis of optimization models in renewable resource management. Includes survey of applications in mathematical programming, CPM-PERT, Markov processes and Game theory. Case examples are used to demonstrate applicability and problem formulation in management of industrial and public forests.
