| Natural Resources |
NR 802 - Workshops
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
Short-term courses (generally a few days to two weeks)
offered off-campus by the A) Watershed Ecology and
B) Sustainable Schools, as well as C) Nature Study covering
a broad variety of environmental and natural resource
topics; D) GLOBE (Global Observations to Benefit the
Environment) Teacher Training; E) Community Mapping;
F) Forest Watch; G) Tools of Inquiry. May be repeated.
Special fee required depending on topic. Cr/F.
NR 802A - Workshop in Watershed Ecology
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
NR 802B - Workshop in Sustainable Schools
Credits:
2.00
NR 802C - Workshop in Nature Study
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
NR 802D - Workshop in GLOBE Teacher Training
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
See description for NR 802. Cr/F.
NR 802E - Workshop in Community Mapping
Credits:
2.00
See description for NR 802. Cr/F.
NR 802F - Workshop in Forest Watch
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
See description for NR 802. Cr/F.
NR 802G - Workshop in Tools of Inquiry
Credits:
2.00
See description for NR 802. Cr/F.
NR 809 - Fire Ecology Seminar
Credits:
2.00 or 3.00
Lectures, guest lectures, and student presentations dealing
with the natural role of fires in wildland communities, fire
adaptations in plant and animal species. Human responses to
wildland fires and prescribed fire applications. Optional
set of one-half to one-day field trips for an additional
1 credit. Prereq: basic ecology course. Special fee. (Not
offered every year.)
NR 812 - Sampling Techniques
Credits:
2.00 to 4.00
Techniques of sampling finite populations in environmental
sciences; choice of sampling unit and frame, estimation of
sample size, confidence limits, and comparisons of sample
designs. Prereq: applied statistics or equivalent. (Not
offered every year.)
NR 813 - Quantitative Ecology
Credits:
4.00
Applied quantitative techniques: basic concepts in
probability and statistics applied to ecological systems;
population dynamics; spatial patterns; species abundance and
diversity; classification and ordination; production; and
energy and nutrient flow. Additional credit for in-depth
mathematical analysis of a particular topic. Prereq:
introduction courses in calculus, statistics, and ecology.
(Not offered every year.)
NR 814 - Ecosystems of Puerto Rico
Credits:
1.00
Field examination of a variety of tropical ecosystems in
Puerto Rico including cloud forest, montane rain forest,
tropical dry forest, mangroves, and coral reefs. Field study
supplemented by appropriate readings from the scientific
literature and expert presentation. Students are responsible
for round-trip airfare and personal expenses. Prereq: two of
the following three: 1) ecology course; 2) introductory soil
or geology course; 3) introductory water resource management
course; permission.
NR 830 - Terrestrial Ecosystems
Credits:
3.00
Processes controlling the energy, water, and nutrient
dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems; concepts of study at the
ecosystem level, controls on primary production,
transpiration, decomposition, herbivory; links to
Earth-system science, acid deposition, agriculture. Prereq:
forest ecology; introduction to botany; principles of
biology;/ or permission. Lab. (Also offered as EOS 830.)
NR 853 - Decision Sciences in Natural Resources Management
Credits:
4.00
Application of decision-science methods (optimization,
simulation, input-output, and statistics) to natural
resources problems. Emphasis is on practical work in
evaluating projects, dealing with risk and uncertainty,
analyzing regional impacts, valuing non-market resources,
and exploring sustainability of managed forest. Prereq:
economics of forestry or intermediate microeconomics.
Special fee. Lab.
NR 857 - Photo Interpretation and Photogrammetry
Credits:
4.00
Practical and conceptual presentations of techniques for
using remote sensing, specifically aerial photographs, in
natural resources. Includes photo measures of scale, area,
parallax and object heights; flight planning; photo
geometry; an introduction to the electromagnetic spectrum;
and photo interpretation and mapping. Concludes with an
introduction to digital remote sensing including
multi-spectral scanners, radar, and thermal imagery and a
brief discussion of geographic information systems (GIS).
Applications to forestry, wildlife, land-use planning, earth
sciences, soils, hydrology, and engineering. Prereq:
algebra. Special fee. Lab.
NR 859 - Digital Image Processing for Natural Resources
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to digital remote sensing including
multi-spectral scanners (Landsat and SPOT) radar and
thermal imagery. Hands-on image processing including
filtering, image display, ratios, classification,
registration, and accuracy assessment. GIS as it applies to
image-processing. Discussion of practical application. Use
of ERDAS image processing software. Knowledge of PCs and
DOS required. Prereq: Photo Interpretation and
Photogrammetry or equivalent and permission.
NR 860 - Geographic Information Systems in Natural Resources
Credits:
4.00
Introduction to the use of geographic information systems
(GIS) for use with natural resources including data input,
manipulation, storage, analysis, and display. Accuracy of
spatial data and use of digital elevation models. Discussion
of practical applications. Use of PC Arc/Info software.
Prereq: permission. Lab.
NR 864 - Vegetation Sampling and Analysis
Credits:
4.00
Methods for sampling plant populations and communities,
especially estimation of abundance. Analysis of pattern,
measurement of species diversity, and relation of abundance
to environmental factors. Ordination and classification of
communities. Modeling of succession. Prereq: statistics; and
general ecology or equivalent. Lab. Special fee.
NR 865 - Community Ecology
Credits:
4.00
Properties of biotic communities, especially biodiversity.
Effects of physical stress, disturbance, competition,
predation, positive interactions, and dispersal on community
properties. Community dynamics, including succession and
stability. Prereq: applied biostatistics and general
ecology. Special fee. Lab.
NR 896 - Summer Institute in Environmental Education
Credits:
8.00
The Summer Institute is an intensive (8 credit), team-taught
educational experience that immerses students in a process
of inquiry explicitly designed to connect and integrate work
in the focus areas of: Pedagogy, Environmental Science, and
Human Patterns and Environmental Transformations. Classroom
and field-based activities help students experience the
interdisciplinary nature of environmental education
firsthand, while beginning to construct a plan for deepening
their understanding through an individually designed program
of graduate study. Prereq: Bachelor's degree, permission.
(Also offered as EDUC 896.)
NR 897 - Special Topics
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
Course is designed as an "Experimental Course", for the
purpose of introducing a new course or teaching a special
topic for a semester in Environmental Conservation,
Forestry, Soil Science, Water Resources, and Wildlife
Management. Permission required. Special fee on some
sections.
NR 899 - Master's Thesis
Credits:
1.00 to 10.00
Usually 6 credits, but up to 10 credits when the problem
warrants. Cr/F.
NR 902 - Ecological Ethics and Values
Credits:
4.00
Increasingly fundamental philosophical questions, including
spiritual values questions, are posited concerning the
ecological/environmental challenge of our time, its causes,
and its resolution. Examination of these questions, put
forth with ethics and values approaches. Students work to
develop responses to both problem identification and
resolution. Lab.
NR 903 - Approach to Research
Credits:
3.00
The meaning of science and the application of logic in the
scientific method. Principles and techniques of scientific
research. Survey of experimental design procedures.
Organization of investigative work, problem analyses,
working plans, and scientific writing. Prereq: permission.
NR 930 - Modeling of Forest Ecosystems
Credits:
3.00
Computer modeling of energy, water, and nutrient dynamics of
forest ecosystems; review of existing ecosystem models,
modification of an existing model. Original programming of
new model required as course project. Prereq: Terrestrial
Ecosystems or permission. (Also offered as EOS 930.)
NR 947 - Current Issues in Ecosystem Ecology
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
Examines current issues in ecosystem ecology and
biogeochemistry by weekly discussion of primary research
articles. Topics covered include elemental interactions in
biogeochemical processes, mechanisms regulating nitrogen
losses from terrestrial ecosystems, and hydrologic-chemical
interactions in streams and groundwater. Special fee. Cr/F.
NR 993 - Natural and Environmental Resources Seminar
Credits:
1.00
Presentation and discussion of recent research, literature,
and policy problems in the natural and social sciences
influencing resource use. Cr/F.
NR 995 - Investigations
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
Investigations in Natural Resources may include topics in
environmental conservation, forestry, soil science, water
resources, and wildlife management. Permission required.
NR 996 - Natural Resource Education
Credits:
1.00
Responsibilities include set-up, teaching, and grading of
one lab section per week or equivalent lecture experience.
Required of all M.S. degree students in the department.
Cr/F.
NR 997 - Special Topics
Credits:
1.00 to 4.00
Course is designed as an "Experimental Course", for the
purpose of introducing a new course or teaching a special
topic for a semester in Environmental Conservation,
Forestry, Soil Science, Water Resources, and Wildlife
Management. Permission required.
NR 998 - Directed Research
Credits:
4.00
Student designs and conducts original research that
culminates in a paper of publishable quality. Alternative to
NR 899 for those choosing non-thesis degree option. Cr/F.
IA (continuous grading).