| |
Department of Rangeland Ecology
and Management
R. J. Ansley, Jr., T. W. Boutton, D. D. Briske,
J. R. Conner, T.D.Forbes, W. T. Hamilton, C. W. Hanselka, C. R.
Hart, S. L. Hatch, R. W. Knight, M. M. Kothmann*, U. P. Kreuter,
D. K. Loh, R. K. Lyons, A. McGinty, B. Mohanty, M. K. Owens, W.
E. Pinchak, J. L. Schuster, F. E.Smeins, J. W. Stuth, C. A. Taylor,
Jr., R. W. Teague, D. N. Ueckert, J. W. Webb, S. G. Whisenant,
L.D. White, R.E.Whitson (Head), B. P. Wilcox, X. Wu
* Graduate Advisor
Graduate studies lead to the MAgr,
MS and PhD degrees in Rangeland Ecology and Management. The MS-thesis
and PhD degrees place emphasis upon fundamental research into
the ecology, conservation and integrated management of rangeland
resources. The MAgr and MS-nonthesis degrees are professional
(nonresearch) programs providing advanced instruction on the
ecology and management of rangeland resources.
The MAgr degree program is designed
to give students broad academic training combined with practical
experience to develop management skills. The program includes
a work internship on a rangeland resource or in the range-livestock
industry, and emphasizes a diversified, multidisciplinary set
of courses involving faculty with both scientific and industry
experience. The MS degree is designed to give the student an
advanced understanding of rangeland ecology and management. The
degree prepares the student for further graduate work or careers
in the public or private sector of environmental or resource
management, research, teaching and extension.
Facilities and equipment are available
for advanced instruction and student research in all phases of
rangeland ecology and management. Field sites and facilities
are available throughout Texas for the study of biosystematics,
biogeochemistry, economics, range animal and plant nutrition,
watershed management, plant ecology, landscape ecology, natural
resource policy, resource management, ecological restoration,
vegetation manipulation, knowledge engineering and simulation
modeling and ecosystem management. The department is an approved
participant in the U.S. Department of Energy graduate student
global change program.
Graduate courses are designed to develop
the academic skills of individuals and to advance their knowledge
in the professional field of rangeland ecology and management
and supporting disciplines. Departmental seminars supplement
the individual education of graduate students and serve to relate
the most recent research findings applicable to the discipline.
Individually planned graduate programs assure a sound education
for each candidate.
Students in the Department of Rangeland
Ecology and Management are required to have adequate preparation
in rangeland ecology and management as well as one or more supporting
fields such as animal science, botany, economics, soil science
and wildlife science. There is no foreign language requirement
for the PhD degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management.
(RLEM)
601. Rangeland Resource Management.
(3-0). Credit 3.
Basic concepts and theories of
rangeland resource management; trends in range classification,
grazing management and improvement practices. Prerequisite:
Graduate classification in agriculture or related subject matter
areas.*
602. Ecology and Land Uses.
(3-0). Credit 3.
Ecological foundations for sustained
use of natural resources; climatic, edaphic, biotic and cultural
factors in land resource allocation; land and cover viewed
with respect to population dynamics, succession and climax,
gradients and graduation, equilibria and imbalance. Prerequisite:
Graduation classification in agriculture or in allied subject.*
603. Range and Forest Watershed
Management. (3-0). Credit 3.
Management of range and forest
watersheds; influence of range and forest practices on runoff,
interception, infiltration, erosion and water quality; current
literature and research advances.*
604. Grazing Management and
Range Nutrition. (3-0). Credit 3.
Nutritional ecology of domestic
and wild herbivores on rangelands; vegetation and animal response
to various grazing management practices; diet selection, quality,
intake and supplementation of herbivores.*
607. Range Plant Ecophysiology.
(3-0). Credit 3.
Investigation
of physiological mechanisms influencing ecological patterns
and processes, including plant acclimation and adaptation
in contrasting habitats, abiotic controls on species productivity
and distribution, relevant conceptual and experimental approaches,
and integration among ecological scales. Prerequisites: RENR
205 or MEPS 313 or equivalent; graduate classification.
609. Plant and Range Ecology.
(3-0). Credit 3.
Investigation of community/ecosystem/landscape
distribution patterns, structure, spatial/temporal organization
and function, paleoecology, ecological succession, disturbance
regimes, ecological diversity and classification schemes. North
American rangelands (grasslands, shrublands, deserts, wetlands,
etc.) stressed but world ecosystems reviewed. Prerequisites:
RENR 205; RENR 215 or equivalent; graduate classification.*
610. Range Grasses and Grasslands.
(2-3). Credit 3.
Basic concepts of grass structure
and classification, recent advances in agrostological research,
genetic and ecological basis for patterns of variation and
evolution in grasses. Offered Spring Semester of even numbered
years.*
612. Restoration Ecology.
(3-0). Credit 3.
Conceptual framework for restoration
ecology and ecological restoration; background information,
restoration strategies and critical thinking skills; examination
of current literature and case studies involving numerous objectives,
problems, limitations, socioeconomic considerations and ecological
potentials. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.*
614. Advances in Range Improvement
Practices. (3-0). Credit 3.
Principles and recent advances
in brush and weed control with mechanical, chemical, burning
and biological methods; interrelationships of brush management
with grazing, wildlife and watershed management; planning and
economic analysis of range improvement practices.*
616. Fire and Natural Resources
Management. (2-3). Credit 3.
Behavior and use of fire in the
management of natural resources; principles underlying the
role of weather, fuel characteristics and physical features
of the environment related to development and implementation
of fire plans. Prerequisites: Graduate classification and approval
of instructor. Offered Spring Semester of odd numbered years.*
619. Ecology of Shrubs and
Shrublands. (3-0). Credit 3.
Structure and function of savannas,
woodlands and shrub-dominated landscapes in arid and semi-arid
regions; physiological ecology and population biology of contrasting
growth forms discussed and related to soils, herbivory, succession,
stability and dynamics of grass-woody plant interactions; current
literature emphasized. Prerequisites: RENR 205 or equivalent;
graduate classification.*
622. Nutrient Cycling: Global
and Ecosystem Perspectives. (3-0). Credit 3.
Biogeochemical cycles of carbon,
nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus and their interaction with
biotic and abiotic processes; biogeochemical processes investigated
at the global level and in several types of terrestrial ecosystems;
addressing global climate change, deforestation, acid precipitation,
ozone depletion. Prerequisites: RENR 205 or equivalent; graduate
classification.*
633. Wetland Plant Taxonomy.
(1-4). Credit 3.
Interpretation of plant morphologies
for keying and the identification of wetland plants from prime
habitats; plant communities including the plant's adaptation
to variation in salinity and soils; identification of inconspicuous
flowered plant species including sedges, rushes and grasses.
Prerequisite: RLEM 304 or approval of instructor. Offered Fall
Semester of even numbered years.*
635. Landscape Analysis and
Modeling. (2-2). Credit 3.
Introduction to quantitative methods
of landscape analysis and modeling for applications in natural
resource conservation and management; quantification of landscape
composition and configuration; spatial statistical methods
for characterizing landscape pattern; methods for hypothesis
testing with spatial data; landscape modeling approaches and
applications; current literature and software. Prerequisite:
Approval of instructor.*
681. Seminar. Credit 1 each
semester.
Current scientific work in natural
resource management and related subjects in American and foreign
fields. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
684. Professional Internship.
Credit 1 to 4.
Work study program for on-the-job
training in Master of Agriculture program in range science.
Prerequisite: Master of Agriculture candidate in rangeland
ecology and management.
685. Directed Studies. Credit
1 to 4 each semester.
Investigations not included in
student's research for thesis or dissertation. Lectures, conferences,
field work, reports. Prerequisite: Graduate majors or minors
in range science.
689. Special Topics in...
Credit 1 to 4.
Selected topics in an identified
area of range science. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite:
Graduate classification.
691. Research. Credit 1 or
more each semester.
Research for thesis or dissertation.
Prerequisite: Graduate majors in rangeland ecology and management.
*Field trips required for which departmental
fees may be assessed to cover costs.
|
