Natural Resources (NRES)

Description: Implement best practices for scientific computing. Practice with a scientific workflow from the design of the sampling scheme, through generation of the data in the field or lab, up to the point of analysis. Understand cognitive constraints on visualization. Use modern software tools to produce publication quality data visualizations.

Description: A survey of ecological and sociological frameworks used in the applied ecological research. Emphasis on fisheries and wildlife, grasslands, forests, aquatic habitats, and human dimensions of natural resources.

Description: Biology and ecology of aquatic insects.

Description: Identification of aquatic insects to the family level.

Description: Model-based inference for ecological data, generalized linear and additive models, mixed models, survival analysis, multi-model inference and information theoretic model selection, and study design.

Description: Learn concepts from the social sciences relevant to planning and evaluating education, extension, and behavior change programs and initiatives. Learn to develop an evaluation protocol and collect data for planning and evaluating programs.

Description: Learn communication and social psychology theories and techniques to improve science communication, educational programs, and environmentally responsible behavior change.

Description: Principles of plant physiology which underlie the relationship between plants and their physical, chemical and biotic environments. An introduction to the ecological niche, limiting factors and adaptation. An overview of the seed germination and ecology, plant and soil water relations, nutrients, plant energy budgets, photosynthesis, carbon balance and plant-animal interactions. An introduction to various field equipment used in ecophysiological studies.

Description: Quantitative study of water relations in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. Basic physical processes, which describe the movement of water in the soil and the atmosphere, and the physiological processes, which describe water movement inside of the plant. Stomata physiology and the effects of internal water deficits on photosynthesis, respiration, nitrogen metabolism, cell division and cell enlargement. Results from integrative models used to study the relative importance of environmental versus physiological factors for several plant-environment systems.

Description: Physical factors that create the biological environment. Radiation and energy balances of earth's surfaces, terrestrial and marine. Temperature, humidity, and wind regimes near the surface. Control of the physical environment through irrigation, windbreaks, frost protection, manipulation of light, and radiation. Applications to air pollution research. Instruments for measuring environmental conditions and remote sensing of the environment.

Description: The earth as a system and the "real world" applications of fundamental physical science processes in this system. Interaction of energy and matter in the geosphere, in the hydrosphere, and in the atmosphere. The earth's relationships to the sun, moon, and other astronomical objects in the solar system.

Description: Spatial arrangements of ecosystems, the interaction among component ecosystems through the flow of energy, materials and organisms, and alteration of this structure through natural or anthropogenic forces.

Description: Major leaders in conservation and ecology that emphasizes agricultural and cultural issues and relationships with the environment.

Description: Fundamental concepts in the Earth and physical sciences in the understanding of Earth's natural resource systems. Rock and mineral, water, soil, and energy resources. Social factors, human dependence, and the impact of these on natural resource systems.

Description: Principles of digitizing earth observations. Manipulate spatial data, create maps, and conduct spatial analyses. Use GIS to analyze and solve real-world questions in agriculture and natural resources.

Description: First in a two-part series developing narrated visual media to tell a conservation or natural resource story. Utilizes various technologies including trail cameras, time-lapse camera systems, GoPro's, traditional video and audio, as well as conventional photography and software editing programs.

Description: Second in a two-part series finalizing a narrated visual media project that tells a conservation or natural resource story. Utilizes various technologies including trail cameras, time-lapse camera systems, GoPro's, traditional video and audio, as well as conventional photography and software editing programs.

Description: The roles of woody plants in sustainable agricultural systems of temperate regions. Emphasis on the ecological and economic benefits of trees and shrubs in the agricultural landscape. Topics include: habitat diversity and biological control; shelterbelts structure, function, benefits and design; intercropping systems; silvopastoral systems; riparian systems; and production of timber and specialty crops. Comparison of temperate agroforestry systems to those of tropical areas.

Description: Remote sensing of the earth from aerial and satellite platforms. Aerial photography, multispectral scanning, thermal imaging, microwave remote sensing techniques. Data acquisition and image analysis. Physical foundations of remote sensing using electromagnetic energy and energy-matter interactions. Applications in geographic, agricultural, environmental and natural resources analyses.

Description: Principles of water chemistry and their use in precipitation, surface water, and groundwater studies. Groundwater applications used to determine the time and source of groundwater recharge, estimate groundwater residence time, identify aquifer mineralogy, examine the degree of mixing between waters of various sources and evaluate what types of biological and chemical processes have occurred during the water's journey through the aquifer system.

Description: Introduction to the basic methods and practical applications of remote sensing to map, monitor and assess agricultural and natural resources and other environmental changes

Description: Field techniques as they relate to remote-sensing campaigns. Research methods, systematic approaches to data collection, field spectroscopy, collecting ancillary information linked with spectroscopic data sets as well as aircraft or satellite missions and subsequent analyses of acquired data.

Description: Fundamental concepts related to understanding Earth's changing natural systems in the past, present, and the future. The cycling of matter and energy; the relationship between human activity and environmental change; and the consequence of these relationships.

Description: The structure and function of forest ecosystems including their response to global change; emphasis on forest succession and disturbance regimes in order to understand the dynamics of forested landscapes.

Description: Identification, biology and ecology of weedy and invasive plants. Principles of invasive plant management by preventative, cultural, biological, mechanical and chemical means using an adaptive management framework. Herbicide terminology and classification, plant-herbicide and soil-herbicide interactions, equipment calibration and dosage calculations.

Description: Integrated lectures, lab exercises and field experience provide an understanding of GPS technology and applications. Students will learn to collect, correct and use GPS data in a geographic information system (GIS) environment.

Description: Leadership in theories, research, and practices in public organizations and natural resource agencies.

Description: Introduction to, and understanding of, human dimensions of natural resource management. Interdisciplinary theories and frameworks for understanding and addressing natural resources management will be examined. Historical, psychological, cultural, and social influences will be reviewed. Integrative approaches to sustainable ecosystem management will also be explored.

Description: Overview of the technical and sociocultural dimensions of global food insecurity.

Description: Climate-change issues serve as a context to develop research questions and design a discete, locally oriented research project through which they define a problem, analyze data, and develop conclusions to potentially impact decision-making in their community. Designed for science educators. NRES 830 is offered fall semesters.

Description: Ecology and identification of North American waterfowl, management of habitats and populations, and current management issues.

Description: Examine science behind global climate change. Use primary data sets to understand the implications for climate change at global and regional/local scales. Focus on potential impacts on human systems including drought, sea level rise, severe weather and populations most likely to be impacted by climate change. Designed for science educators. NRES 832 is offered spring semesters.

Description: Survey of methods used to obtain data and make decisions for wildlife management. Scientific methods for wildlife science; monitoring and surveys; construction of management plans; habitat use, classification, and management; harvest management.

Description: Examination of formal and informal environmental education and interpretation. Knowledge, application and practice relevant to science teachers and park, extension, museums, and zoo educators.

Description: Integration of principles of ecology, plant and animal sciences, crop protection, and rural landscape planning and management for sustainable agriculture. Includes natural and cultivated ecosystems, population and community ecology, nutrient cycling, pest management, hydrologic cycles, cropping and grazing systems, landscape ecology, biodiversity, and socioeconomic evaluation of systems.

Description: Survey of mammalian evolution with emphasis on the origin, radiation, and phylogenetic relationships of Cenozoic fossil mammals. Overview of climatic and ecological changes affecting mammalian adaptations and hands on experience with fossil specimens.

Description: From cultural taboos to the current socio-ecological framework, the art and science of natural resource management has and continues to evolve. The primary focus of this course is to introduce students to the concepts of structured decision making and adaptive management, but in doing so the course will explore the history of natural resource management and the various management paradigms that have and continue to dominate resource management. At the completion of this course students will have an understanding of the theory and practice of adaptive management as well as an understanding of why we continue to move toward a more transparent and scientific methodology of natural resource management.

Description: Apply fundamental grassland ecology principles to grassland conservation and identify grassland establishment and management practices appropriate for different environmental and cultural situations. Based on field study, critically analyze management options and outcomes for several grasslands and develop a management plan for a grassland resource.

Description: Exposure to technologies such as spectroscopy, discrete automated colorimetry, chromatography and mass spectrometry used for environmental testing. Hands-on training in calibration, operation and sample analysis, proper use of analytical balance, volumetric glassware and micropipettes, creating and maintaining a laboratory notebook, and development and understanding standard operational procedures. Advanced in-lab training in analytical laboratory techniques and operation of advanced instrumentation used in commercial and research environmental laboratories.

Description: Characteristics of Great Plains ecosystems, interrelationships of ecological factors and processes, and their application in the management of grasslands. Interactions of fire, vegetation, grazing animals and wildlife.

Description: Acquire familiarity with the broad range of current STEM education research, outreach, and other activities taking place at UNL and across the nation in order to build a larger context for and connections to one's own STEM research and activities.

Description: Wildland plants that are important to grassland and shrubland ecosystem management and production. Distribution, utilization, classification, identification (including identification by vegetative parts), uses by Native Americans, and recognition of grasses, forbs, shrubs, exotic and wetland plants.

Description: Examines global change from a biological perspective, focusing on global change impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Considers the scientific literature on biological aspects of global change, and explores the methods used for studying global change, and involves presentation of brief, comprehensible oral and written summaries of this literature. Social, and economic aspects will also be considered.

Description: Measurement and monitoring of the important vegetation and environmental factors used to develop management guidelines in grasslands, savannas, woodlands, and wetlands. Emphasis on using ecosystem monitoring protocols for assessment of wildlife habitat, fuels management for wild-land fire, livestock production, and watershed function. Requires field sampling and travel to local field sites.

Description: Collection, processing, identification of common North American pollen types. Pollination ecology relating to scene reconstruction. Fundamental statistics and presentation requirements for a legal and scientific audience.

Description: Plant growth and development specifically of woody plants as viewed from an applied whole-plant physiological level. Plant growth regulators, structure and secondary growth characteristics of woody plants, juvenility, senescence, abscission and dormancy.

Description: Principles of population dynamics. Management strategies (for consumptive and nonconsumptive fish and wildlife species) presented utilizing principles developed.

Description: Environmental chemistry related to the fate and transport of organic contaminants in soil-water environments. Application of computer simulation models (i.e., MODFLOW) for predicting contaminant fate in aquifers. Basic chemical and biological principles of remediating contaminated soil and water.

Description: Impact of climate and extreme climatic events on society and societal responses to those events. Global in scope and interdisciplinary.

Description: Introduction to the principles of hydrology, with emphasis on the components of the hydrologic cycle: precipitation, evaporation, groundwater flow, surface runoff, infiltration, precipitation runoff relationships.

Description: Nature and characteristics of populations and communities. Interactions within and between populations in community structure and dynamics. Direct and indirect interactions and ecological processes, competition, predation, parasitism, herbivory, and pollination. Structure, functioning and persistence of natural communities, foodweb dynamics, succession, and biodiversity.

Description: Chemical and mineralogical properties of soil components. Inorganic colloidal fraction. Structures of soil minerals as a means of understanding properties, such as ion exchange and equilibria; release and supply of nutrient and toxic materials; and soil acidity and alkalinity. Forms and functions of organic matter in soil.

Description: Biological systems, from molecules to ecosystems, are analyzed using mathematical techniques. Strengths and weaknesses of mathematical approaches to biological questions. Brief review of college level math; introduction to modeling; oscillating systems in biology; randomness in biology; review of historically important and currently popular models in biology.

Description: A focus on the management of trees, parks, and green infrastructure in rural and urban communities. Perspectives from community planning, landscape architecture, urban forestry, natural resources, horticulture, and environmental policy. Development and implementation of green space and forest management plans encompassing societal needs and biological limitations in rural and urban communities.

Description: Survey of measurement techniques and principles used in characterizing the physical properties of soils. Includes analysis of experimental design and sources of experimental error. Techniques include: particle size analysis, soil water content, pore size analysis, field sampling techniques, soil strength, and saturated hydraulic conductivity.

Description: Physical, chemical, and biological processes that occur in fresh water. Organisms occurring in fresh water and their ecology; biological productivity of water and its causative factors; eutroplication and its effects.

Description: Soil from a microbe's perspective-growth, activity and survival strategies; principles governing methods to study microorganisms and biochemical processes in soil; mechanisms controlling organic matter cycling and stabilization with reference to C, N, S, and P; microbial interactions with plants and animals; and agronomic and environmental applications of soil microorganisms.

Description: Principles of soil physics. Movement of water, air, heat, and solutes in soils. Water retention and movement, including infiltration and field water regime. Movement of chemicals in soils.

Description: Current issues in conservation biology. Theoretical principles from the areas of ecology and genetics to effectively preserve and manage biological diversity and small populations.

Description: Fisheries biology emphasizing the determination and evaluation of vital statistics for the management of fish populations. Basis of specific management techniques.

Description: Field and laboratory skills needed for fisheries biology emphasizing the determination and evaluation of vital statistics for the management of fish populations. Applied data collection and fish sampling techniques will be used.

Description: Elements of climate systems, El Nino/LaNina cycle and monsoons, natural variability of climate on interannual and interdecadal scales. Paleoclimate, and future climate, developed climate change scenarios and climate change impacts on natural resources and the environment.

Description: Physical, chemical and biological processes that occur in wetlands; the hydrology and soils of wetland systems; organisms occurring in wetlands and their ecology wetland creation, delineation, management and ecotoxicology.

Description: Discussion and practical application of principles and practices of measuring meteorological and related variables near the earth's surface including temperature, humidity, precipitation, pressure, radiation and wind. Performance characteristics of sensors and modern data collection methods are discussed and evaluated.

Description: Theory, processes, and mechanisms underlying lake and reservoir water quality degradation and/or pollution. Remediation of eutrophication and its effects. Current techniques used to restore and protect degraded lakes.

Description: Biology of birds emphasizing the behavior and ecology of this group. Topics include avian diversity, systematics & evolutionary history, flight, foraging, migration, communication, reproductive biology, population ecology and conservation biology.

Description: Emphasis on applied soil physics. Discussion of theoretical principles followed by field and laboratory exercises and applications. Fluxes of water, solutes, air, and heat through the soil. Emphasis on water infiltration, water retention, other soil hydraulic properties. Components of soil water balance. Management of soil water.

Description: Human adaptive systems and their ecological contexts. The dynamic inter-relationships between subsistence, technology, social behavior, human demography, and ecological variability.

Description: Fossil and living amphibians and reptiles. Anatomy, classification, ecology and evolution.

Description: Holistic approach to the selection and analysis of planning strategies for protecting water quality from nonpoint sources of contamination. Introduction to the use of methods of analyzing the impact of strategies on whole systems and subsystems; for selecting strategies; and for evaluating present strategies.

Description: Evolution, natural history, ecology, and functional morphology of planetary mammals and mammals of the Northern Great Plains.

Description: Spatial relationship of soil properties on various parts of landscape typical of the Plains, causal factors, and predictions of such relationships on other landscapes. Grouping these properties into classes, naming the classes, and the taxonomy that results from this grouping. Application of a taxonomy to a real situation through making a field soil survey in a region representative of the Plains border, predicting land use response of various mapped units as it affects the ecosystem, and evaluating the effectiveness of the taxonomic system used in the region surveyed.

Description: Regional differentiation of the climates of the earth on both a descriptive and dynamic basis. The chief systems of climatic classification.

Description: Interaction between earth's climate and the hydrologic cycle. Energy and water fluxes at the land-atmosphere interface. Atmospheric moisture transport, precipitation, evaporation, snowmelt, and runoff. Impacts of climate variability and change on the hydrologic cycle.

Description: Classes will involve lectures and discussion of lecture material and assigned scientific literature. Students will read and interpret the appropriateness of genomic methods and analyses applied in peer-reviewed journals, articulate approaches to collect and analyze genomic data, including the assumptions and limitations of each approach, summarize principles underlying the genetics of natural populations, explain intra-individual, intra-population, among population, among species and community genetic/genomic approaches as it relates to conservation practices, and design a study that applies genomic approaches to inform conservation actions.

Description: This two-day short-course is designed to aid students development of theoretically grounded practical approaches to facilitate and manage environmental conflict. The course will provide students with skills to perform well in conflict situations and help students manage conflict in diverse environmental contexts. The program blends presentations, group discussions, conflict analysis, and strategy design exercises and simulations into a highly engaging learning environment. Participants learn from each other and develop personalized tools that can be applied immediately. wo-day short-course taught fall semester of even numbered years.

Description: Fundamental physical drivers operating in stream and river ecosystems and how those vary in space and time. Major classes of organisms associated with stream ecosystems and their functional roles. Fundamental controls on biotic diversity in stream and river ecosystems and its variance. Major aspects of stream ecosystem function including energy flow and nutrient cycling. Ecosystem services provided by stream and river ecosystems and causes and consequences of human impacts on streams and rivers. Underlying principles of bioassessment and current methods of stream restoration.

Description: Evaluation of the conserved physiological principles that are broadly used across animal groups, as well as the many unique adaptations used by specific taxa. Focuses on all major vertebrate groups, including fish, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and links the physiological mechanisms that allow them to survive to the environments in which they live. Highlights methods scientists use to gather physiological information, and the ways in this information can be used by scientists in a variety of different fields.

Description: A synthesis across the notion of "utility" as represented in traditional environmental and natural resource economics, "ecology" in ecological economics, and "community" in behavioral economics. Ideas from thermodynamics with a focus on renewable resources. Development, organization, and enhancement of eco-business, eco-industry, eco-government and eco-communities.

Description: Seminar on current water resources research and issues in Nebraska and the region.

Description: Active listening and critical thinking activities related to seminars on current natural resources research and issues in Nebraska, the Great Plains, and throughout the world.

Description: Professional certification from the National Association of Interpretation. Practical skills for developing quality interpretive programs for museum, nature center, zoo and park visitors. Theoretical foundations of interpretation.

Description: Receive professional certification from the National Association of Interpretation. Practical skills for staff and volunteers of museums, nature centers, zoos and parks to provide quality customer service.

Description: Occurence, movement, and development of water in the geologic environment.

Description: Fishes, their taxonomy, physiology, behavior, and ecology. Dynamics of fish stocks and factors regulating their production.

Description: Presentations of special non-thesis topics, and/or research plans, and/or thesis research results.

Description: Writing is the core of how we communicate our scientific findings; fostering good writing skills now will help you throughout your career regardless of if you remain in academia. This class is suitable for all graduate students working on a proposal or a manuscript, or who want to focus on improving their academic reading and writing skills.

Description: Read classic (highly cited, generally 25-75 years old) papers and more recent follow-up (<10 years) papers on topics relevant to many areas of aquatic ecology. The goal is to read the basis of the concepts taught in modern Limnology courses and to see how these concepts are currently evolving in the literature. Students will be responsible for choosing a topic and classic paper from a list (see below) and finding (with help) a modern follow up to the issue, and then will lead the group discussion on that topic.

Description: Group educational tours to sites that illustrate the diversity of approaches to natural resources management found around the world.

Description: Immersive learning experiences in natural resources.

Description: Individual or group projects in research, literature review or extension of course work under supervision and evaluation of a departmental faculty member.

Description: Design, develop and complete a project that requires synthesis of the course topics covered in the primary area of emphasis.

Description: Current issues in natural resource sciences.

Description: Concept of resilience, especially ecological resilience, and resilience theory. Both theoretical and applied aspects of ecological resilience, and the development of resilience theory. Prominent issues in resilience science and applications to practical problems in natural resource management.

Description: Understanding and use of crop simulation models and ability to build crop models. Studying principles and quantitative descriptions of crop production ecology. Offered fall semester of odd-numbered calendar years.

Description: An introduction to key areas necessary for success in a scientific career.

Description: An interdisciplinary seminar with the Department of Civil Engineering. Contemporary environmental issues and water resource management.

Description: Forward and backward numerical analysis of groundwater flow systems and their interactions with other hydro-logic components. Groundwater model development and parameter estimation using MODFLOW, PEST, and other widely used modeling packages.

Description: Study of current research and trends in geographic information systems (GIS), GIScience, and GeoComputation. Advanced spatial analytical techniques and geospatial modeling emphasizing GIS applications in natural resources assessment, environmental analyses, agriculture, and land management.

Description: Aims to equip with an in-depth knowledge of conservation agriculture systems. Builds on scientific knowledge about the ecological functioning of agricultural landscapes by addressing the parallel influences of social, economic, and civil structures on agricultural system functioning, food security, cultural sovereignty, and environmental health. Explores the historical foundations, motivations, advances, and outcomes in global and local agricultural systems across time. Topics will focus on discovering ways scientific knowledge is correlated with historical occurrences and modern social perceptions. Content is selected to assist in developing multifaceted connections and clarity between their scientific understanding, the organization of agricultural systems, and the historical events that have influenced the development of modern food systems. Emphasis will be placed on harnessing individuals experiences and building discipline-based knowledge to prepare informed and perceptive agriculture science professionals with skills needed to strategically tackle modern agricultural production issues.

Description: Discussion of current literature and research on selected aspects of historical geography. Specific theme of course varies according to instructor.

Description: This 3-credit, graduate-level class teaches specific strategies, approaches, and tactics that can be used to design, or redesign, more resilient agricultural systems in efforts to withstand unprecedented weather variability and extremes related to climate change. The class unites transdisciplinary approaches to solution development by combining concepts of conservation agriculture, agroecology, biodynamic farming, biogeochemistry, permaculture, and biosystems engineering to plan, mediate, and regenerate current food systems to be more ecologically, economically, and socially resilient. Discussion topics center on land adaptation methods that protect and strengthen managed landscapes used for food production. Themes investigate ways to regenerate and advance agroecosystems, promote land investment, adapt infrastructure, reduce on-farm disaster risks, limit shocks to the agrifood supply chain, promote value-added incentives for controlling waste and pollution, identify food production and consumption patterns, and explore the concepts of circularity and solidarity.

Description: This 3-credit, graduate-level course examines agricultural systems located in diverse geographical locations across the globe. Select agriculture production systems will be individually investigated to understand the environmental history of the area, creation of active production practices, viability of current methods, and value-added benefits from adding enhanced conservation practices. Science-based development plans will be created for the agriculture systems explored, which will have targeted goals, project objectives, theories to change (opportunities, barriers, planned interventions), implementation strategies, and assessment indicators. Improvement plans for each agriculture system will prioritize conservation practices and reflect on economic strengths and limitations of the region, community considerations, and dietary needs of the local population. Agriculture systems examined will include a diverse grouping of large-scale and small-holder food and fiber systems in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

Description: Theoretical aspects of structure and function in aquatic systems managed for human needs, ecological processes, river-reservoir interface, energy flow (including fate and transport), population dynamics, and multiple-use systems.

Description: Advanced quantitative techniques of fishery science required to support management practices targeted at populations (recruitment, growth and mortality), communities (e.g., predator-prey interactions) and ecosystems (e.g., bio-stressors).

Description: Introduction to the estimation of demographic parameters from surveys and mark-recapture data. Emphasizes analytical skills used to estimate population vital rates, such as abundance, density, population size, survival rates, home range size, and movement rates. Reinforces use of multiple hypotheses in scientific investigations, as well as model selection processes.

Description: Understand carbon and nitrogen cycling in the soil ecosystem including feedbacks and implications for soil management, environment, and climate.

Description: Expected of all Agronomy and Horticulture graduate students. Presentation of thesis/dissertation or non-thesis topics in agronomy, horticulture or related subjects. Agronomy and Horticulture PhD students should enroll in this course twice.