ESC 350: Wildlife Biology and Conservation

ESRM 350: Wildlife Biology and Conservation

(ESRM 459)

Winter 2009, 5 Credits

Photo by Joy Manuwal Burke, Skagit Bay, February 26, 2005

".. There is a harmony in the natural world that makes the right thing easy and the wrong thing chaos;

that the right thing is revealed in being right, not just for now and for us, but for the earth and all those

who will inherit it; that there are natural principles, if we can discover them, to guide everything men

may wish to do with the land and water and the life they support".

Durward Allen, Our Wildlife Legacy, 1962.

Where: Lecture M,T,W 12:30, Bagley 154
Lab Sections: Tuesday 2:30-4:20; Winkenwerder 107 ; Wednesday 2:30-4:20 Winkenwerder 107
Instructor: Dave Manuwal, 311 Bloedel Hall, 685-5212, email: auklet@u.washington.edu, office hours: Tues: 9:30; Wed. 1:30 or by appointment.

Teaching Assistant: Katy Stuart, 110 Winkenwerder, 543-7232, email: kshipe@u.washington.edu, office hours: Tues 11:30, Wed. 1:30

Purpose: This course is designed to provide a foundation of understanding in wildlife science for undergraduates in Natural Science Disciplines (including Forest Resources, Biology, Environmental Studies, and Comparative Psychology). We assume you have a solid background in basic biology and some exposure to ecology and analytical methods. A strong interest in learning how and why humans affect wildlife is essential.
Objectives: We have 6 objectives: 1) Introduce you to the science of wildlife biology; 2) Expose you to the primary wildlife conservation literature; 3) Increase your understanding of local, regional, and global conservation issues; 4) Allow you to develop creative research skills; 5) Improve your writing and public speaking skills; and 6) Prepare you for upper division wildlife courses.
Text: E. G. Bolen and W. L. Robinson. 2003. Wildlife Ecology and Management, 5th ed.
Lectures: Lecture outlines and references will be available on this website. You are encouraged to print a copy of the powerpoint presentation and bring it to class where you can embellish them during lecture. Lectures are designed to probe important concepts, not cover all material in the chapters or readings. We will illustrate ideas in lecture with examples and bring current conservation issues to your attention.
Readings: The text is available for purchase. The readings can be downloaded as pdf files.Readings are designed to supplement lectures and provide a broad background in wildlife science. Readings are also designed to point you toward the primary scientific literature.
Course Requirements: YOU ARE RESONSIBLE FOR ALL ASSIGNED READING MATERIAL (except the optional readings), and ideas presented during lecture and lab meetings. Lectures will be adapted to class needs, rather than being constrained to cover all assigned material. Significant developments, not fully covered on available outlines, are likely during lecture and lab meetings. Therefore, your participation in class and lab may affect your grade.
Grading: Your grade will be determined by your test scores and lab projects. Make sure you review the format of the Journal of Wildlife Management for your two papers. There will be two midterm exams and a final. Exams will concentrate on recent material, but ALL WILL BE COMPREHENSIVE. They will include multiple choice and true/false kinds of questions. Total points will be determined in the following way:

Midterm 1 100 pts.

Midterm 2 100 pts.

Final 200 pts.

Lab 200 pts.:

Grizzly Written Report: 100 pts, or

Grizzly Debate participation 100 pts.

Elk Written Report: 100 pts, or

Elk Presentation participation 100 pts

TOTAL 600 pts.

Final grades are assigned according to the following scale:

4.0 = 92%

3.0 = 80%

2.0 = 70%

1.0 = 60%

Final Exam: March 19(Thursday) 8:30 - 10:20

Home

Contingencies: Excused absences and prior notification are required to receive make-up exams or delay assignments. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to let us know you will be unable to take an exam or turn in an assignment. Make-up exams may be written or oral, at the instructor's discretion. Assignments turned in late for unexcused reasons will be accepted, but discounted 15% for every week they are late.

Syllabus of Lecture Topics

Date	Lecture Topic	Text Chapter	Optional Extra Reading
1/5	Wildlife Conservation History & Legal Background	1, 22	Lewis and Clark Bioscience paper; Environmental education paper
1/6	Natural Resource Conservation: Battle for Wilderness video	2, 3
1/7	Animals and the physical environment
1/12	Population Ecology and Growth	5
1/13	Demography	5
1/14	Spatial Structuring of Populations
1/19	Martin Luther King, Jr. HOLIDAY
1/20	No class; watch the Presidential Inauguration
1/21	Midterm Exam 1 (Sample Exam)
1/26	Featured Species: Snow Geese
1/27	Population Regulation	4,8
1/28	Food and Feeding	7
2/2	Predators: Numerical and Functional Response		Project CAT; Thomas and Pletscher 2002
2/3	Predators: the grizzly (download lecture) In-class DVD	9	Pyare et al. 2004
2/4	Sampling Populations	9
2/9	Harvesting Wildlife	10, 20
2/10	Nonconsumptive Use of Wildlife (Battle for Wilderness video in class)	19, 20
2/11	Midterm Exam 2
2/16	Holiday - President's Day		Defenders of Wildlife
2/17	Wildlife in Parks: Yellowstone	16
2/18	Wildlife in Parks: Yellowstone: gray wolf DVD	16
2/23	Wildlife in Parks: Hawaii	16	Suburban wildlife paper
2/24	Megafaunal collapse in the Bering Sea: a controversy Guest lecturer; Glenn VanBlaricom	17	Springer et al. 2003 DeMaster et al. 2006 Wade et al. in press Wade et al. (Append) in press
2/25	Urban Wildlife	18
3/2	"Pale Male" video; Conservation of Migratory Wildlife (moved to lab time)	21
3/3	Extinction and Rarity, Exotic Species	19	Sudden oak death paper TWS Policy Statement
3/4	Endangered Species Management	19,21,22	ESA 1973, ESA Basics
3/9	Endangered Species Management	19,21,22	Restani and Marzluff 2001
3/10	Forest Management and Wildlife	15, 21
3/11	Review	15, 21

Siberian Snow Geese at the Skagit Wildlife Area, Nov. 29, 2005. Photo by Naomi Manuwal.

Syllabus of Lab Section Topics -SUBJECT TO CHANGE

All Labs meet in Winkenwerder 107 . All assignments are due at the beginning of your regularly scheduled lab section (unless noted otherwise). A penalty of 5 points per day will be assessed to late assignments.

LAB: Tuesday or Wednesday All labs meet in Winkenwerder 107.
Date	Activity	Assignment
6,7-Jan	Introductions, team selections; discuss paper; organize debate
13,14-Jan	Debate teams expected to meet/communicate to prepare for debate; other class members work on de-listing paper
20,21-Jan	HOLIDAY
27,28-Jan	Debate: De-listing of the grizzly bear Papers due on de-listing
3,4-Feb	Wildlife Research in eastern Washington Dr. Matt Vander Hagen, Wash. Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Wildlife Research in western Washington Dr. Scott Pearson, Wash. Dept. of Fish & Wildlife	Before you come to class, familiarize yourself with the website for the Washngton Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
10,11-Feb	Organize Featured Species 2 (Elk) presentation teams; other students begin literature review for paper.
17,18-Feb	HOLIDAY
24,25-Feb	Elk presentations; elk paper due
3,4-Mar	Lecture: Conservation of Migratory Wildlife

10,11-Mar	"Learning from the Land"video, discussion; Aldo Leopold and your academic pedigree; Q and A