WILDLIFE ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
Fall 2009 704:464
Lecture: Tuesday 9:15 to 10:35, ENR 123
Lab: Tuesday 11:05 to 1:55, ENR 237A
Dr. Alison Seigel  109 Meteorology  seigel@aesop.rutgers.edu  932-9634
Office Hours: By Appointment
TA: Holly Vuong  hvuong@rci.rutgers.edu  732-932-3209  ENR 166
TENTATIVE schedule:
Date
Lecture
Lab
1 Sept
Class Intro
Lab Intro
Intro to WL conservation and
management
15 Sept Estimating population parameters Trip to Chimney Rock Hawk
Hawk Migration
Watch (Exercise 5 due)
22 Sept Population growth
RAMAS 1, 2 and 3
Density dependent pop change
(Back up Hawk Watch day?)
29 Sept Guest: Patrick Carr on NJ
Start Black Bear Project (R1, 2, 3
Wildlife
due)
6 Oct
Population projection models
RAMAS 4
Predation
RAMAS 5
13 Oct
Genetic variation and fitness
RAMAS 6
Multiple populations
Review for final
(R4, 5 due)
20 Oct
MIDTERM Exam (R6 due)
27 Oct
Human perturbations
RAMAS 7
Populations at risk
3 Nov
Disease and parasites
Work on bear data (R7 due)
10 Nov Hunting, trapping, harvesting
RAMAS 8
17 Nov Conservation of grassland birds
Work on bear data (R8 due)
24 Nov Urban wildlife
Wildlife and economics
1 Dec
Nongame and endangered species Black bear presentations
8 Dec
Movie? Catch-up?
Black bear presentations
FINAL EXAM:
Monday, December 21st
Readings
Mills 1, 2
Mills 4
Mills 5, 6
Mills 7,
8
Mills 9,
10
Mills 11,
12
8am to 11am
General course objectives:
1. Students will be able to apply biological and ecological principles, especially at the
population level, to the management and conservation of wildlife populations and
their habitats.
2. Students will become familiar with the primary literature in the field of wildlife
biology and learn to critically evaluate scholarly articles.
3. Students will improve their critical thinking and problem solving skills through case
studies.
Objectives will be achieved through:
1. Lectures and class discussion – please do not hesitate to ask questions during lectures
and discussion. If you have a question it is highly likely there is another student with
the same question! Class discussion is an essential component in creating an effective
learning environment.
2. Assigned readings – please keep up with readings for the class. It will enhance your
understanding of the lecture topic and help generate informed discussion.
3. Videos – I will use video clips to demonstrate topics discussed.
4. Student presentations – presenting information to the class is a great way to learn, as
it requires a solid understanding of the material being presented and consideration of
how to effectively convey information. It’s also great practice for any public speaking
you will have to do in the future.
5. Exams – the midterm and final will require critical thinking and synthesis of the
material covered.
Course policies:
1. If you miss class, you are responsible for obtaining class notes and assignments from
another student in the course.
2. Please notify me ahead of time if you will need to make up an exam or a lab for a
valid reason (e.g. illness, emergency, etc.)
3. Follow the Rutgers honor code. Assignments are to be done on your own unless
otherwise specified.
GRADE:
Mid-term 25%; Final exam 35%; Lab 40% (graded individual lab
exercises 10%; peer-evaluations 10%, group presentation and report 20%)
TEXTS:
Conservation of Wildlife Populations: Demography, Genetics, and
Management L.Scott Mills, 1st Edition
(Distributed in lab) Applied Population Ecology Akcakaya et al. 1999
LAB: Lab will focus on wildlife population dynamics. We will be working through
exercises using RAMAS EcoLab 2.0 software and the Applied Pop Ecology pdf
textbook. This population modeling software can be found only on the computers in ENR
237A. At the end of each assigned chapter are exercises. You will be responsible for
working through each assigned exercise on your own in lab, answering the associated
questions, and turning it in the following week. Based on what you learn from those
exercises you will work with black bear data to create your own management plan and
present it to the class at the end of the semester.