Applied Wildlife Science (EFB 491)

Meeting times

 

T, TH (recitation):  12:30-1:25 pm,
T (lab):  2:00-5:00 pm, Baker Lab

3 credits

 

Course Intent and Organization

 

In this course students learn how wildlife populations are
enumerated, affected by intrinsic and extrinsic forces, and
managed in light of competing demands for natural resources. 
Students apply techniques and analytical tools that are routinely
used by wildlife biologists, and increase their proficiency in
information management and communication.  The course
extends Wildlife Ecology and Management (EFB 390) by
providing practical experience, prepares students for the capstone
course Management of Wildlife Habitat and Populations
(EFB 493), and provides  marketable, ‘hands on’  experience
applying the concepts and tools used by biologists in the
monitoring and management of wildlife populations.  The class
is restricted to EFB students with a declared major of Wildlife
Science or by permission of the instructor. 

 

Pre-requisite:  EFB 390

 

Upon completion of this course,
students should be able to:

 

 1.  design statistically rigorous studies of wildlife
populations – their distribution, size, habitat
relationships, and interactions in space and time

 

 2.  use field studies and population models to guide
management actions

 

 3.  effectively communicate the results of field studies
and modeling exercises, emphasizing the strength
of evidence and associated uncertainty

 

 4.  use computer software tools – Excel, Presence, Distance, Mark, and ArcGIS – to effectively manipulate, visualize, and analyze wildlife data

 

Course materials 

 

The required text for this course is:  Conservation of
Wildlife Populations: Demography, Genetics, and
Management (by Scott Mills, © 2007).  Copies of the book
are available in both SU book stores, on reserve in Moon
Library, and on Amazon.com.   All other course materials such as supplementary readings, lab instructions, software, and datasets will be distributed via blackboard (accessible via blackboard.syr.edu) or handed out in class.

Additional course requirements

 

Attend a professional conference:— Interacting with professional biologists and managers is a crucial part of developing a career in wildlife ecology.  Your best opportunity to routinely interact with professionals, keep abreast of the issues in your region (and indeed world-wide), and find job opportunities is to become actively involved in a professional society.  The primary society serving the interests of wildlife professionals is The Wildlife Society (TWS; http://www.wildlife.org), a non-profit organization that runs a program of credential certification, peer-reviewed publications, conferences, policy statements, working groups, and job lists.  Students currently or previously enrolled in EFB 390 have been required to become a member of this society.  In this course you are required to go one step further, one that will serve you well as you approach the end of your student career and embark on your professional career.  Once you leave ESF, the Wildlife Society (not ESF) is the key to staying connected to your profession.  So invest the time to serve your society, and in this course you will start building your professional network now.

 

Complete a group term project:—  Students will work in teams of 3-4 to design, implement, analyze, and report on a population of gray squirrels in the Syracuse region using an occupancy modeling or distance-sampling approach (techniques covered in the first part of the term).  Teams will be organized after these topics are covered in class, and will work together to layout a proper sampling design, and conduct a brief pilot study to estimate the time commitment required to complete their full sampling effort.  Your project grade will be determined as a function of the overall quality of the research, ability to communicate the research effectively in the presentation, as well as individual contributions to the project (determined by peer review).

 

 

 

Young animals, such as this bison calf , are especially vulnerable to predators, severe weather events, and other mortality causes.

In this course you will explore the management actions that influence demographic processes and the stability of wildlife populations.

Conditions that lead to poor animal visibility, such as patchy snow conditions during aerial surveys, can bias population estimates.  How many elk can you see in this picture? 

In this course you will explore techniques used to enumerate animal populations and consider sampling issues that influence their utility.