Wildlife Courses
WLF 101 (1 Credit) Spring
Survey of Wildlife Science (1+0)
Major aspects of wildlife biology and management, research of local
wildlife biologists and programs of management agencies. (Prerequisite:
Completion of a course emphasizing the biology of nonhuman organisms.)
WLF 201 (3 Credits) Spring
Wildlife Management Principles (2+3)
Application of ecological principles to the study and management of
wildlife populations and their habitat. Management of game and non-game
species considered. Computer exercises explore population dynamics, habitat use
and exploitation strategies. (Prerequisite: BIOL 271, previous microcomputer
experience desirable.)
WLF 303W (3 Credits) Fall
Wildlife Management Techniques (2+3)
Study of procedures used by wildlife biologists and managers to collect,
analyze, and disseminate information. Topics include using wildlife literature
and scientific writing; behavioral sampling; nomenclature, identification, and
sexing and aging of wildlife; census methods; habitat evaluation and
manipulation; biotelemetry; home range; food habits and modeling; and necropsy
procedures, animal condition, and wildlife diseases. Term paper required.
Laboratory fee: $30.00. (Prerequisites: WLF 201 or equivalent, BIOL 271.)
WLF 304 (1-3 Credits) Fall, Spring
Wildlife Internships
Practical experience in wildlife management in public or private agencies.
Projects are approved by faculty member and supervised by professional agency
staff. May not be substituted for courses required for major. (Prerequisite:
Permission of instructor.)
WLF 305 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Wildlife Diseases (2+3)
Basic concepts of parasitic, infectious, environmental, and nutritional
diseases. Specific study of Alaskan wildlife diseases. Basic necropsy technique
and chemical immobilization. Laboratory fee: $30.00. (Prerequisites: BIOL 105,
106 or equivalent and permission of instructor. Recommended: BIOL 310 and 317.
Next offered: 1997-98.)
WLF 410 (3 Credits) Spring
Wildlife Populations and Their Management (2+3)
The characteristics and ecology of wildlife populations and the knowledge
necessary for their wise management. Measures of abundance, dispersal, fecundity
and mortality, population modeling, competition and predation, and the
management of rare species and their habitats. Laboratory fee: $30.00.
(Prerequisites: BIOL 271, introductory statistics course and WLF 303 or BIOL
471.)
WLF 419 (4 Credits) Alternate Fall
Waterfowl and Wetlands Ecology and Management (3+3)
Ecology of waterfowl and associated wetland habitats. Management of
populations, including harvest and manipulation of habitats. Distribution,
abundance, taxonomy and identification of North American waterfowl. Laboratory
fee: $30.00. (Prerequisite: BIOL 271, 426, and WLF 201 or permission of
instructor. Next offered: 1997-98.)
WLF 431 (3 Credits) Spring
Wildlife Policy and Administration (3+0)
(Same as NRM 431)
Study of laws and agencies shaping wildlife management in North America.
History and current status of major policy issues. Organization of and funding
sources for state and federal programs in wildlife conservation. (Prerequisite:
A 3 credit course in wildlife management principles or permission of
instructor.)
WLF 460 (3 Credits) Fall
Nutrition and Physiological Ecology of Wildlife (3+0)
(Same as WLF 660)
Concepts and techniques used by wildlife biologists to understand
relationships between wild animals and their habitats. Techniques for
constructing energy and nutrient budgets of wild animals and applications of
these budgets to population level processes and habitat management.
(Prerequisites: BIOL 310, 271, WLF 201.)
WLF 602 (3 Credits) Fall
Research Design (3+0)
(Same as BIOL 602)
An introduction to the philosophy, performance and evaluation of
hypothetical/deductive research in the natural sciences, with emphasis on
hypothesis formulation and testing. Each student will develop a research
proposal.
WLF 603 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Biotelemetry (2+3)
An introduction to the basics of radio and ultrasonic telemetry and their
application to the study of the ecology, behavior and physiology of vertebrates
in terrestrial freshwater and marine environments. Review of concepts,
equipment demonstration and a class project to expose students to an important
tool for biological fisheries and wildlife investigations. Laboratory fee:
$30.00. (Prerequisites: Graduate standing; or senior with instructor approval.
)
WLF 612 (Credits Arr.) As Demand Warrants
Wildlife Field Trip
Trips to wildlife areas to acquaint students with principal animals of the
state and problems involved in their management. (Admission by arrangement.)
WLF 614 (2 Credits) Alternate Spring
Grazing Ecology (2+0)
(Same as BIOL 614)
The dynamics of herbivory, emphasizing the grazing process, and including
mechanisms of feeding, feeding behavior, habitat and plant selection,
physiological influences on feeding, plant and community level responses, plant
defenses against herbivory and management of grazing systems. (Prerequisite:
Graduate standing or approval of instructor.)
WLF 615 (2 Credits) Alternate Fall
Advanced Topics in Wildlife Management (2+0)
Political, economic, administrative and ecological aspects of wildlife
management in northern regions. (Prerequisite: Graduate standing in biology or
wildlife or permission of instructor. )
WLF 621 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Vertebrate Population Dynamics (2+3)
Assessing, describing, and interpreting the characteristics and dynamics of
wild populations. Estimates of survival, mortality, and recruitment rates, and
of population size, and assessment of population trends and welfare using data
from sources such as hunter-kill samples, composition counts, marking and
recapturing, predation, and various types of surveys. Students will proceed from
simplified artificial data sets to complex real ones. Both analytic and
simulation techniques will be used. Laboratory fee: $30.00. (Prerequisites:
Admission by arrangement: minimal preparation, equivalent to BIOL 271, MATH 200
and STAT 300.)
WLF 625 (4 Credits) Alternate Spring
Analysis of Vertebrate Population (3+3)
(Same as FISH 625)
Contemporary methods of estimation of fundamental population parameters,
abundance and survival, with their implication for management. Focus will be on
assumptions and methodology of estimation techniques. State-of-the-art computer
applications will be employed in laboratory exercises of actual and simulated
data. Laboratory fee: $30.00 (Prerequisites: BIOL 271 and an advanced course in
statistics.)
WLF 660 (4 Credits) Fall
Nutrition and Physiological Ecology of Wildlife (3+3)
(Same as WLF 460)
Concepts and techniques used by wildlife biologists to understand
relationships between wild animals and their habitats. Techniques for
constructing energy and nutrient budgets of wild animals and applications of
these budgets to population level processes and habitat management.
(Prerequisites: BIOL 210, 271, WLF 201.)
WLF 680 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Data Analysis in Biology (2+3)
(Same as BIOL 680 & STAT 680)
Biological applications of nonparametric statistics, including tests based
on binomial and Poisson distributions, analysis of two-way and multiway
contingency tables, and tests based on ranks; multivariate statistics, including
principal component analysis, ordination techniques, cluster analysis, and
discriminate analysis; and time-series analyses. Introduction to the use of the
computer and use of statistical packages. Each student will analyze a data set
appropriate to the student's research interests. Laboratory fee: $20.00.
(Prerequisites: STAT 300, STAT 401 and either graduate standing in a
biologically oriented field or permission of instructor.)
WLF 692 (1 Credit) Fall and Spring
Graduate Seminar (0+0+1)
Topics in fish and wildlife management explored through readings, talks,
group discussions and guest speakers with a high level of student participation.
(Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of instructor.)