WLF 448: Fish & Wildlife Population Ecology

Fall 2008

This page is always under construction: Check it regularly

Datea	Topicb, c	Required Readings
Aug 25	Course Information	Mills 3-16
Aug 27	Introduction to Population Ecology	Mills 17-37
Aug 29	ECOLOGY AND SCIENCE I.  Scientific Investigations	Hobbs and Hilborn 2006; Braun 67-68 (The research management connection)
Sept 1	No class - Labor Day
Sep 3	Modeling in Fish and Wildlife
Sep 5	Modeling continued
Sept. 8	Guest Lecture:  Chip Corsi (IDFG, Panhandle Regional Supervisor) Expanding lake trout population in Pen d'Oreille and impact on bull trout, kokanee and rainbow fishery
Sep 10	INTRODUCTION TO POPULATIONS   Course Project What is a Population?	Cushing 1981:49-70
Sep 12	Guest Lecture:  Pete Zager (IDFG) Managing predators and prey in Idaho
Sep 15	POPULATION DISTRIBUTIONS I. Ecological Theory of Population Distributions	Krebs 32-104; 86-104 (recommended)
Sep 17	II. Estimating Distributions	Krebs 41-85 (recommended)
Sep 19	Estimating Distributions (cont.)	Van Horne 1983
Sep 22	POPULATION ABUNDANCE Population Parameters: Density/Abundance Total counts	Mills 59-76
Sep 24	Distance Estimation Line Transects and Variable Circular Plots	Braun 106-146
Sep 26	Removal methods	Cushing 95-117
Sep 29	Mark-recapture
Oct 1	Mark-recapture cont.
Oct 3	Modeling Probability of Detection Aerial surveys
Oct 6	Indices of Population Abundance/Density Sampling Strategies
Oct 8	EXAM I   Review session (Oct. 6; 5pm; CNR 10)
Oct 10	Evolutionary Aspects: Dr. Chris Caudill
Oct 13	Evolutionary Aspects: Dr. Chris Caudill
Oct 15	Sampling Strategies (cont.)	Mills 91-99
Oct 17	MODELING TIME-SERIES of ABUNDANCE Modeling Population Growth   Unlimited	Mills 114 - 131
Oct 20	Unlimited (cont.)	Recommended: Humbert et al. (in review)
Oct 22	Density Dependence	Recommended: Sibly et al. (2005)
Oct 24	Modeling Population Growth (cont.)     Viability	Dennis and Otten (2000)
Oct 27	Viability (cont.)   Environmental Covariates	Recommended: Staples et al. (2005): Viable Population Monitoring
Oct 29	DEMOGRAPHIC-BASED POPULATION MODELS Population Parameters: Fecundity, Mortality, Movements
Oct 31	Continued... Population Parameters: Fecundity, Mortality, Movements	Mills 76-87 Braun 160-175
Nov 3	PROJECT PROPOSAL DUE Sex ratio (see Mills text)
Nov 5	Continued... Population Parameters: Fecundity, Mortality, Movements
Nov 7	EXAM II
Nov 10	Guest Lecture: Dr. Jon Firehammer	Zheng and Mathisen 1998 NAJFM 18(4):872-885 Inseason forecasting of Southeastern Alaska pink salmon abundance based on sex ratios and commercial catch and effort data
Nov 12	Guest Lecture: Brett Bowersox (Regional Fisheries Biologist, IDFG)
Nov 14	Demographic-based Population Models	Mills 132-158
Nov 17	Demographic-based Population Models (cont.) Metapopulation Models
Nov 19	INTERSPECIFIC INTERACTIONS I.  Competition   Case Study: Ocelots and bobcats
Nov 21	Competition  (cont.) Case Study: Stream fish in Oklahoma
Nov 24 - Nov 28	FALL RECESS - NO CLASS
Dec 1	II. Predation	Mills 159-175
Dec 3	III. Harvest	Mills 287-307
Dec 5	EXAM III
Dec 8	PROJECT REPORT DUE (In Class) ADDITIONAL TOPICS (Time permitting) Genetic Approaches to Studying Fish and Wildlife Populations
Dec 10	Collapsing Fish Populations:
Dec 12	Recovery of Imperiled Species
Dec 18	FINAL EXAM (comprehensive):  7:30 - 9:30 am

 

^a Dates of lecture topics/exams are approximate. Depending on class participation and interest, more or less time may be spent on a particular subject. Exam dates may change in accordance with class progress.

^b To view or print lecture notes (handouts), click on the main topic heading. The second-level headings are bookmarks to specific information contained within that particular lecture topic. Caution: do not just print out the main-topic pages; also look for links to additional material such as tables, figures, examples, etc.

^c Some topics will not be covered in lecture or will be reviewed only briefly. In most cases, information on these topics will be presented in assigned readings, handouts, or laboratory sessions. Furthermore, the lecture notes provided here are not comprehensive, i.e., you must attend lecture and lab to get all the information. You are responsible for information presented in lecture and lab, as well as information from assigned readings, handouts, and class discussions.

References For Required Readings:

Bookhout, T. A., editor. 1994. Research and management techniques for wildlife and habitats. Fifth ed., rev. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, Md.

Gulland, J. A.  1988.  Fish population dynamics, 2nd edition.  John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York.  (on reserve at CNR Copy Center)

Guthery, F. S.  2004.  Commentary: the flavors and colors of facts in wildlife science.  Wildlife Society Bulletin 32:288-297. (on reserve at library)

Hilborn, R. and M. Mangel.  1997.  The ecological detective.  Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.  (on reserve at library and CNR Copy Center)

Krebs, C. J. 2001. Ecology: the experimental analysis of distribution and abundance. 5th ed.  Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, CA.  695 pp. (required text)

Lakatos, I.  1978.  The methodology of scientific research programmes.  Cambridge University Press, New York, New York, USA.  (on reserve at CNR Copy Center)

Van Horn, B.  1983.  Density as a misleading indicator of habitat quality.  Journal of Wildlife Management 47:893-901.  (on reserve at CNR Copy Center)

Revised: 19 October 2009