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Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Graduate Courses |
The 400 - 500 courses are graduate level courses open to selected senior undergraduate students (at the 400 level). The 700 and 800 courses are only open to graduate students.
Course titles are linked to the most recent syllabus for that course.
WL 413-513 Advanced Fisheries Management 3 credits, Fall semester (even years). Principles and techniques of selected practices for lentic and lotic fisheries sampling, assessment, and management. Prerequisite: WL 367, WL 412, or consent of instructor.
WL 415-515 Upland Game Ecology and Management 3 credits, Fall semester (even years). Upland game birds and mammals as components of ecosystems. Effects of farming; industry; social change; technology; and federal, state, and private programs on game and non-game species. Techniques for individual species management. Prerequisite: WL 411 or consent of instructor.
WL 417-517 Large Mammal Ecology and Management
3 credits, Spring semester (even years). Large mammal life histories and distributions. Relationships of nutrition, reproduction, interspecific competition, and predation to management of large mammal habitat and harvest. Techniques for research and management of big game. Prerequisite: WL 411 or consent of instructor. 3 credits, Spring semester (even years).
Topic Outline and Reading List, Introduction, Aging, Chapter 6, Chapter 15
WL 419-519 Waterfowl Ecology and Management 3 credits, Fall semester (odd years). Analysis of ecological and socio-economic factors affecting waterfowl habitat and populations. State and federal programs affecting wetland drainage and preservation. Field inspection of waterfowl habitat in the north-central states. Prerequisite: WL 411 or consent of instructor.
WL 421-521 Grassland Fire Ecology 3 credits, Fall semester (even years). The course describes the ecological effects of fire on grassland ecosystem components, from soil and vegetation to wildlife and beef cattle. It also provides insight into the history of fires, the people who used them and why, the parts of a fire, how fires behave in relation to fuel and weather, and the conducting and safety of prescribed burns. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
WL 425-525 Wildlife Nutrition and Disease Introduction
3 credits, Fall semester (odd years). Emphasis is placed on nutrient requirements and acquisition, conditions and characteristics of important diseases, and their management implications. Focal areas include the biochemical, physiological, and ecological bases for studying nutrition and disease; nutrition and disease relationships to wildlife and habitat; protein, energy, vitamin, and mineral requirements and their relationships to disease; and strategies for satisfying nutritional requirements. Prerequisite: WL 425-425L, consent of instructor.
Belay et al. CWD Potential Transmission to Humans
DelGuidice et al. 1995 Nutritional Restriction
Digestion and Nutrient Metabolism (Chapter 14)
Energy Requirements for Maintenance (Chapter 8)
Gastrointestinal Anatomy and Function (Chapter 13 Part I)
Gastrointestinal Anatomy and Function (Chapter 13 Part II)
Hamel et al. 2009
Lab - Foraging Theory and Models
Nutrient, Energy, Protein and Water (Chapter 2-4)
Protein Requirements for Maintenance (Chapter 9)
Tamguney et al. 2009 Nature - CWD
ABS 482-582 International Experience (3 credits) This will be a team-mentored class. Students will work one on one or in small groups with professors that have knowledge of the global region and culture that will be visited. Students will participate in a one-to-three week travel/study abroad experience to another nation(s) to experience and evaluate diverse food/agricultural systems.
WL 492-592 Special Topics in Wildlife and Fisheries 1-3 credits, all semesters. Students may secure small-group instruction in a variety of special topics. Contact department head concerning planned special topics. Prerequisite: graduate or senior undergraduate and consent.
WL 592 Special Topics - Ecological Model 3 credits, Spring semester. An introduction to the theory, methodology, and application of ecological models as they pertain to natural resource management issues. Emphasis will be placed on problem-driven approaches, steps involved in the modeling process, kinds of models, model classification, and model application and interpretation based on real-world examples.
WL 592 Special Topics - Mark-Recapture Analysis 3 credits, Spring semester. This course provides an introduction to Mark-Capture-Recapture (MCR) techniques to study animal populations. MCR methods were originally developed to estimate population size. They have been expanded to address survivorship, population growth rate, dispersal and movements, cost of breeding, and recruitment to answer important questions in evolutionary ecology, population dynamics, metapopulation dynamics, and conservation biology and management. This class with focus on the practical applications of MCR analyses using program MARK.
WL 712 Wetland Ecology and Management 3 credits, Fall semester (odd years). Botanical, zoological, hydrological, pedological, and biogeochemical components of wetland systems are studied. Course includes the management of wetlands for various functional values, government jurisdiction in wetland regulation, and wetland classification. North American wetland systems are discussed with emphasis on northern glaciated prairie wetlands.
WL 713 Animal Population Dynamics 3 credits, Fall semester (even years). Methods of analysis and interpretation of vital statistics of animal populations. Current theories on natural regulation of animal populations. Particular emphasis on vertebrate species of economic, ecological, and/or recreational importance. Practical experience with computer modeling of animal populations.
Bobcat Harvest, Bobcat Harvest Update, Bobcat Necropsy, Bobcat Summary
Bobcat Trapping and Harvest: 04-15, 05-06, 06-07, 07-08
Maximum Sustained Yield Harvest Versus Trophy Management
Introduction to Populations, Chapter 2, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9,
Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 14
WL 714 Fish Structure and Function 3 credits, Spring semester (odd years). Emphasis on anatomy, physiology, and histology of fishes and how these areas relate to fish management, water pollution, and fish culture. Economically important game and cultured species are stressed.
WL 715 Wildlife Research Design 3 credits, Spring semester (odd years). Use of the scientific method for designing wildlife research and developing proposals. Practical experience with statistical data analysis via computer programs.
Readings:
1. Wilson, E. O. 2000. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge.
2. Keppie, D. M. 1990. To improve graduate student research in wildlife education.
3. Smith, N. S. 1988. Predictable results and peer review.
4. Scalet, C. S. 2007. Dinosaur ramblings.
Chapter 4 Sample Survey Strategies
Johnson 1980 Comparison of Usage and Availability of Measurements
Gillies et al 2006 Journal of Animal Ecology
Calenge and Dufour Ecology 2006
WL 717 Aquatic Trophic Ecology 3 credits, Spring semester (even years). Analysis of selected biological processes influencing the organization of aquatic communities. Complex trophic interactions and their effects on food web structure in lentic ecosystems are examined.
WL 718 Ecology of Aquatic Invertebrates 3 credits, Fall semester (even years). The identification of and ecological relationships associated with aquatic invertebrates: aquatic ecosystems of the north-central states are emphasized.
WL 719 Stream Ecology and Management 3 credits, Fall semester (odd years). Interrelationships of biotic and abiotic components of lotic ecosystems. Hydrologic and geologic influences on lotic habitat and biota will be stressed, as well as watershed management aspects.
WL 720 Quantitative Fisheries Science 3 credits, Fall semester (odd years). An advanced analytical fisheries course that focuses on quantitative techniques. Emphasis is placed on populations (e.g., recruitment, growth, mortality), and quantitative assessments of communities (e.g., predator-prey interactions) and ecosystems (e.g., biostressors). Suggested background courses include population dynamics, experimental design, and graduate statistics and/or biometry.
WL 721 Natural Resource Modeling 3 credits, Spring semester (odd years). An introduction to the theory, methodology, and application of ecological models as they pertain to natural resource conservation and management issues. Emphasis will be placed on problem-driven approaches, steps involved in the modeling process, kinds of models, model classification, and model application and interpretation based on real-world examples.
WL 722 Natural Resource Policy and Administration 3 credits, Fall semester (even years). Emphasis is placed on codified law and policy and non-codified policy of federal and state agencies, and their effects on the management and administration of fish and wildlife resources. Areas of study include development of agency policy, influence of policies on management, policy and resource conflict, and public involvement in the management process.
WL 790 Graduate Seminar Speaker Schedule 1 credit, Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Reports and discussions of current topics in wildlife and fisheries research and management.
Communication Skills Guidelines for Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations
Cory Mosby M.S. Proposal Seminar
Dan Spengler M.S. Completion Seminar
Indrani Sasmal Ph.D. Proposal Seminar
Lee Erickson M.S. Proposal Seminar
Luke Schultz M.S. Proposal Seminar
Matt Hennen M.S. Completion Seminar
Mick Hanan M.S. Completion Seminar
November 4th Guest Speaker Heather Morijah
WL 791 Independent Study Individualized instruction on specific research problems. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
WL 798 Thesis, M.S.
WL 898D Dissertation, Ph.D.