Natural Resources (NRES)
First of two sequential 0-credit courses that are also linked to digital badges through CASNR. Course uses video modules provided through partnership with San Diego Zoo's Global Academy for some content.
Description: Professional development experiences for careers in animal rehabilitation centers, zoos, or aquariums that involve captive animals. Topics covered include introductory animal care and use, animal learning, regulations, inspection readiness, working safely with animals, and bioethics.
This course is a prerequisite for: NRES 41
Prerequisites: NRES 40 (or concurrent)
Second of two sequential 0-credit courses that are also linked to digital badges through CASNR. Course uses video modules provided through partnership with San Diego Zoo's Global Academy for some content.
Description: Professional development experiences for careers in animal rehabilitation centers, zoos, or aquariums that involve captive animals. Topics covered include nutrition, safe handling and restraint, zoological record keeping, environmental systems, and trust-based animal training.
Prerequisites: Permission
Description: Experiences in an established professional development program in Natural Resources.
Prerequisites: Junior standing in Plant Biology degree program
Required for graduation. Offered every Fall during the first 5 weeks. Pass/No Pass only.
Description: Development of an experiential portfolio and completion of an online survey as part of assessment activities.
Description: Introduction to natural resource disciplines. Fisheries, wildlife, forestry, grasslands, climate, and water science. Participate in field exercises in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Description: Agricultural and natural resource systems. The interrelationship and the impact of increased human involvement on these systems.
Description: Past, present and future climate change. Climate science basics in the context of global changes (such as global warming, droughts, deforestation) that impact Earth and its inhabitants. Future climate change scenarios and possible impacts.
Online only
Description: The flora of the earth is constantly being re-distributed by natural and human forces. As plant species change locations, they affect ecosystems, but how? In this course, students will learn how invasive plants establish and spread in ecosystems and develop an understanding of their impacts on ecosystems from local to global scales.
Description: Introduction to Earth's natural resource systems. Interactions between the geosphere (solid earth) and the hydrosphere. The atmosphere and biosphere over many different spatial and temporal scales, and role of humans as part of the system.
Description: Introduction to the scientific, social, and economic dimensions of historical and contemporary water systems. Students will develop an understanding of hydrologic systems and analyze and engage in decision-making about complex challenges associated with water resource use.
This course is a prerequisite for: SCIL 300
Description: Explore and distinguish the basic concepts, values, and stewardship of wildlife and natural resource conservation in agricultural and natural ecosystems. Examine the philosophies of ecosystem services and stewardship within a dynamic human-dominated world. Students will explore and analyze current issues related to conservation of wildlife and other natural resources.
This course is a prerequisite for: SCIL 300
High school earth sciences, chemistry and mathematics courses recommended.
Description: Emphasizes understanding the natural world and improving science literacy by learning the scientific method. Contemporary environmental problems are presented along with relevant questions. The scientific method along with fundamental concepts of chemistry, physics and biology are used to present possible solutions to environmental issues.
Description: Become familiar with the concepts and challenges associated with biological, ethical, welfare, and administrative aspects of zoo science and captive animal care. Conduct an ethology study using the scientific method.
Description: The Great Plains region offers considerable ecological and cultural diversity, encompassing more than 600 million acres which have been occupied by humans for over 12,000 years. Introduction to the different populations who have called the Great Plains home, and how they have made a living on this landscape. Investigate Native American life ways in the Great Plains from the time of initial colonization up to European contact and the dramatic changes experienced during the historic era. Select topics centered on contemporary socio-ecological systems on the Plains and how understanding of past Plains experiences can be used to inform on these contemporary issues.
Prerequisites: Limited to Freshman or Sophomore classification only
Description: Introduction to fisheries and aquatic ecology. Familiarize with current research and critical review of literature. Guidance on careers in aquatic ecology. Initial field sampling experience.
Description: Interdisciplinary study of the natural environment, social environment, human heritage, arts and humanities of the Great Plains.
Description: An introduction to the naming, identification, and natural history of woody trees and shrubs in North American with emphasis on trees common to Nebraska. Covers morphology, natural site conditions, wildlife and human uses of woody trees and shrubs.
Description: Develop an understanding of the science of the climate system and the climate's influence on our environment. Learn about climate interactions, impacts of changing climate conditions, and actions to reduce these impacts, particularly on natural resources. Develop competency in assessing scientific information about the global climate and learn that such information is essential in making informed decisions about natural resource management.
Description: To explore interactions between birds and people from economic and scientific perspectives, understand societal conflicts between feral cats and birds, hazards birds present to aircraft, the economics of bird feeding, how commercial bird hunting clubs work, how populations are affected by collisions with vehicles, windows and towers, the taxidermy industry and museum science, and hunting organizations such as Pheasants Forever and Ducks Unlimited.
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.
Description: Introduction to problems faced in fulfilling the ever increasing human needs while maintaining ecosystem and biodiversity. The integration of biological fields such as wildlife biology, ecology, evolution, and genetics with non-biological fields such as economics, philosophy, and politics to the dilemma this presents.
Description: Identification, basic management and design uses of trees and shrubs for sustainable landscapes, with an emphasis on native plants and plants adapted to the Plains states. Emphasis is on live specimens in outdoor environments, supported by online resources.
Description: Characteristics of commercially available trees and shrubs used in urban landscapes. Compares differences among cultivars, design uses, and management issues using a combination of live specimens in outdoor environments and online resources.
Description: Identification of herbaceous plants with ornamental value in the landscape including native and introduced annuals, perennials, grasses and cultivars. Typical ecological associations, environmental tolerances and/or intolerance, cultural requirements, and design characteristics.
Recommended to have basic computer skills
Description: Theory and applications of geospatial information technology (GIT) with emphasis on real-world applications to natural resources. Overview of GIT, focusing on introduction of remote sensing, the global positioning system (GPS), and geographic information systems (GIS). Introduction to data collection, spatial data representation, georeferencing, spatial data analysis, and remote sensing image analysis.
Prerequisites: Sophomore status
Offered off-campus during academic breaks at Cedar Point Biological Station. Course fee applies.
Description: Field and laboratory skills needed for wildlife management emphasizing wildlife and vegetation surveys, mark-recapture of wildlife, radio-telemetry, aging and forensic methods, and habitat assessment.
Prerequisites: Permission
Credit hours calculated (similar to NRES 233 and NRES 463L) as a laboratory with 2-3 contact hours per credit hours because of field work and independent study.
Description: Introduction to field and laboratory skills used for fisheries and wildlife management emphasizing animal and habitat surveys, capture methods, radio-telemetry, sexing and aging methods, and habitat assessment using independent experiential learning.
Prerequisites: PLAS 153
Description: Grassland ecology and management is relevant to students with education and career goals in managing natural resources in Nebraska and the Great Plains. About 50% of the land area in Nebraska is classified as grassland (or rangeland) and is the land type with the most opportunity for enhancing biodiversity and wildlife habitat. Applying ecological principles and social values to managing rangeland resources, students will develop a knowledge and appreciation for the various grassland management uses and techniques available to resource managers.
Description: The influence of culture on individual perspectives related to the concepts of sustainability and the relationship that humans have with the environment. The role of ethics, religion, and historical setting on the individual and cultural perspectives related to environmental challenges at the local to global scales.
Prerequisites: SOIL 153
Description: Develop a life-long interest in observing and studying soil health and ecosystems. Provide the necessary academic skills to incorporate soil health principles into real-world applications, including natural resource conservation, evaluation of regenerative practices, and promotion of environmental sustainability. Prepare professionals and advocates of soil ecosystems.
Description: An introduction to photography in natural resources and conservation. Provides a solid photography foundation for applications in research projects, science communication efforts, and the field of conservation.
Prerequisites: 3 hrs biological sciences.
Description: Impact of exotic species and invasive organisms: agricultural and medical emerging disease; predicting biological invasions; biological control; regulatory, monitoring, and control efforts; ecological impact.
PLAS/SOIL 153 recommended, but not required. This course includes an inter-collegiate Soil Judging contest that takes place in the North Central region of the United States during the course of the class, or a course-based undergraduate research experience.
Description: Apply fundamental knowledge to the description of soils in the field. Application of techniques employed in writing descriptions of soil morphology and in classifying and interpreting soils.
Prerequisites: High school chemistry or one semester college chemistry; one course in geology or physical geography or soil.
Description: Survey of the water science from the perspective of both natural and social sciences. Water budget, precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff and stream flow, groundwater, water quality parameters, economics of water, water policy, water law and water politics.
Description: Explore human environmental interaction on the Great Plains. Samples a variety of Great Plains cultures and time periods to explore past use of the Great Plains environment. Evaluation of attributes and related data critical to the operation of past social-ecological systems with reference to changing climatic/ecological dynamics, human environmental impacts, and the sustainability of various indigenous and western modes of land use on the Great Plains. Investigate knowledge of these processes and how they can be of relevance to contemporary issues of Great Plains land management and resource utilization.
Prerequisites: Permission.
Description: Special topics in natural resources.
Prerequisites: One semester BIOS and one semester CHEM
Description: Introduction to the principles of toxicology as they apply to environmental contaminants, agri-chemicals, and industrial and naturally occurring chemicals.
Prerequisites: ACE 1 course. Sophomore or higher.
Description: Written and oral communication skills for natural resource management including writing for the media, grant writing, conflict resolution and advocacy.
Description: The study of the structure and function of woody plants, with a focus on trees growing in temperate climates. Covers the basics of wood physiology in terms of the biological, physical, and chemical processes utilized by tree to function. The anatomy and morphology of trees with a focus on the impacts of tree maintenance to the structure and function of landscape trees.
Biogeography is a highly interdisciplinary science, relying heavily on ecology, geological science, and climatology. It is global in scope and offers the latest knowledge in understanding organism distributions, and the factors that determine those distributions.
Description: Introduction to the basic concepts of biogeography, the study of distributions of plants and animals, both past and present.
Description: Discussion of the history, biology, and management of the world's forest resources with emphasis on the Great Plains region. Topics include: forest types and their relationship to site conditions, ecological principles of forest management, basic forest management practices, economic and policy decisions in forest management. The field-oriented lab emphasizes tree identification, forest ecology, forest management and wood products.
Description: Applied ecology, conservation biology, population biology, and enhancement of vertebrate, non-domestic animal populations through management. Emphasis on policy, decision-making, and management options involving people, habitat, and wildlife.
This course is a prerequisite for: ASCI 321
Description: Introduction to the basic concepts and ideas relevant in the human dimension of fisheries and wildlife management. Covers social, cultural and economic values, attitudes and behavior of individuals and groups of various stakeholders in fisheries and wildlife management.
Prerequisites: NRES 319 or concurrent enrollment
Outdoor and analytical laboratory field trips required.
Description: Demonstrations and hands on participation in sampling of soil-air-water environments.
Prerequisites: Junior standing
Description: Covers practical application of the science of tree growth, development, and management in human dominated landscapes. Tree selection for varying landscapes and objectives, proper planting and pruning, identification and correction of tree defects, and working with tree pest issues.
Description: National curricula are available to formal and non-formal environmental and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) educators. Become certified in a series of national environmental education curricula such as Project WILD, Project WET, Project Aquatic WILD and Project Learning Tree. Apply skills and curricula by teaching others through experiential service learning.
Prerequisites: Junior standing.
Description: Conflicts and common ground perpetuated by increasing demands on our natural resources. Policy development and issue analysis stressed. Historical policy actions reviewed and evaluated.
Prerequisites: Class standing of sophomore or above with at least one semester of chemistry and biology.
Description: Provides a comprehensive understanding of how environmental exposures to physical, chemical and biological hazards influence human health. Offers basic knowledge in the core concepts of toxicology, exposure and risk, vulnerable populations and the interrelationship between human, animal and environmental health.
Description: Fundamentals of prevention and control of damage caused by vertebrate pests, principally birds and mammals. Philosophical, ecological, and behavioral basis for controlling population levels or individuals of pest species.
Prerequisites: PLAS/SOIL 153; MATH 102 or 103; two semesters chemistry (CHEM 105A and 105L, CHEM 106A and 106L, CHEM 109A and 109L, CHEM 110A and 110L) and WATS/GEOG/NRES 281
Description: Chemical and physical processes that influence the fate and transport of contaminants (inorganic, organic, microbial) in soil-water environments. Extent, fate, mitigation and impact of various sources of pollution. Remedial technologies used for environmental restoration of contaminated environments.
Prerequisites: Junior or Senior Standing
Description: Processes that give rise to spatial and temporal differences in climate. Various interrelationships between humans and climate. Influence of climate on building styles, the economy, water resources, human health, and society. Humans' inadvertent and purposeful modification of the atmosphere.
Description: Become proficient in valuable skills regarding methods, techniques and standards for obtaining field data regarding Herpetofauna for various applications. Gain knowledge of the principles for conservation and management of Herpetofauna such as occupancy, population demographics, regional status, threat analysis, infectious disease occurrences and more. Ability to utilize critical thinking to propose solutions in regard to herpetological conservation and management situations/scenarios. Recognize and identify Nebraska Herpetofauna.
Prerequisites: PLAS/NRES/SOIL 279
This course includes a national- or regional-level inter-collegiate Soil Judging contest that takes place during the course of the class.
Description: Apply fundamental knowledge and improve field techniques to the description and interpretation of soils in the field. Application of techniques employed in writing descriptions of soil morphology and in classifying and interpreting soils.
Description: Overview of the major physical and human landscapes in Africa. Prominent past and current events will be placed into a spatial context in an attempt to develop insight into the interrelationships that exist among people, cultures, countries, economies, and the environment, not only within Africa, but between Africa and the rest of the world.
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.
Description: Efficient job-hunting. Resumes, cover letters, mock interviews, and dining etiquette.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor(s). One college level course in photography or equivalent, and knowledge of the basics of shooting still photographs or video using digital cameras. Open only to College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources students.
Can be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours by consent of instructor.
Description: Concepts and techniques related to use of remote and automated digital camera technology to capture images in agriculture and natural resources contexts to communicate a narrative/story. Completion of individual project using a variety of technologies including camera traps, time-lapse camera systems, remote triggered cameras, as well as traditional audio and video and conventional photography.
Description: Scientific and research training and necessary soft skills for researchers, using grasslands as a study system. Provides individualized opportunities for engagement with scientific methods, which include experiential learning, acquisition and refinement of skills that enhance higher-learning opportunities, and increased marketability for future employment or postgraduate degrees.
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
To be supervised and evaluated by a NRES faculty member.
Description: Research, literature review, or extension of course work.
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
International travel required. Choice of subject matter and coordination of off-campus study is at the discretion of the instructor.
Description: Independent, mentored research experience illustrating the diversity of approaches to research in natural resources found around the world.
Prerequisites: Junior standing or above in natural resources.
Description: Seminar involving technical aspects of forestry, fisheries, and wildlife management.
Prerequisites: Junior standing; 4 hrs ecology; and 4 hrs botany or plant physiology.
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing, MATH 106 or equivalent, 5 hrs physics, major in any of the physical or biological sciences or engineering.
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing; 12 credit hours in natural resources, environmental studies, or closely related fields
Description: Overview of the human dimensions of natural resources issues. Exploration of the socioeconomic, cultural, and political aspects of human behavior and how these interact with, might influence, or are influenced by the environment.
Prerequisites: Junior standing.
Offered on the World Wide Web (WWW) fall semester of odd-numbered years and in the classroom fall semester of even numbered-years.
Description: Major leaders in conservation and ecology that emphasizes agricultural and cultural issues and relationships with the environment.
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.
Prerequisites: 12 hours biological or agricultural sciences.
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.
Prerequisites: Junior Standing
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing
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
Prerequisites: NRES 418/818
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: Introduction to ecological, social, and institutional issues. Engage in discussions of important zoonotic diseases, diseases of conservation concern, non-infectious threats, and strategies for assessing and managing wildlife health.
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing.
Familiarity with mapping and GIS recommended.
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing
Description: Leadership in theories, research, and practices in public organizations and natural resource agencies.
Prerequisites: Junior standing
Description: Overview of the technical and sociocultural dimensions of global food insecurity.
Prerequisites: NRES 311
Description: Ecology and identification of North American waterfowl, management of habitats and populations, and current management issues.
Prerequisites: GEOG 217
Practical experience or other formal preparation in GIS may be substituted for prerequisite by permission.
Description: GIS-focused programming, scripting, and spatial analysis using the Python and R programming languages. Topics include: the ArcPy library, algorithm development, open source geospatial libraries, and the manipulation and analysis of geospatial data.
Prerequisites: NRES 311
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.
Requires 20 hours of service.
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.
Prerequisites: For PLAS/NRES 435: Senior standing. For AGRO/NRES 835: 12 hrs biological or agricultural sciences.
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.
Prerequisites: Junior or Senior Standing
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.
Prerequisites: UG: Junior Standing; Grad: None
Recommended: introductory ecology and introductory soils courses
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing.
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: Examine and build on the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to work in a zoo in various capactities including animal keeping, guest services and curation. Acquire knowledge in all aspects needed to manage zoos including individual species care, collections, guest services, species conservation, and AZA accreditation. Become familiar with the concepts and challenges associated with the biological, educational, ethical, and administrative aspects of zoo science through partnerships and interactions with local zoos.
Prerequisites: Junior standing.
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing and above
Background in ecology and NRES 418 recommended.
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing.
NRES 220 or equivalent, recommended.
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.
Prerequisites: FORS 120
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.
Prerequisites: NRES/WATS/SOIL/PLAS/GEOL 361 or graduate standing
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing or above.
Offered spring semester of even-numbered calendar years.
Description: Impact of climate and extreme climatic events on society and societal responses to those events. Global in scope and interdisciplinary.
Prerequisites: MATH 102 or above
Not available for credit for engineering students and not a substitute for CIVE 456.
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.
Prerequisites: PLAS/SOIL 153 or GEOL 101; CHEM 109A/L and CHEM 110A/L; CHEM 221 or CHEM 221A & CHEM 221L or 251..
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.
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, Graduate student or permission
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.
Prerequisites: Senior standing.
Recommend having a strong science background, including courses from the agronomic, environmental, microbiology, engineering or medicine disciplines.
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.
May be offered at Cedar Point Biological Station.
Description: Fisheries biology emphasizing the determination and evaluation of vital statistics for the management of fish populations. Basis of specific management techniques.
May be offered at Cedar Point Biological Station.
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing; and METR 475/875.
Offered fall semester of even-numbered calendar years.
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.
Prerequisites: CHEM 109A and 109L and CHEM 110A and 110L, or CHEM 105A and 105L and CHEM 106A and 106L; Junior or Senior Standing.
Offered even-numbered calendar years.
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.
Prerequisites: Junior standing; MATH 106; 4 hrs physics; physical or biological science major.
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.
Prerequisites: 12 hrs NRES or related fields.
Description: Theory, processes, and mechanisms underlying lake and reservoir water quality degradation and/or pollution and remediation of eutrophications and its effects. Current techniques used to restore and protect degraded lakes.
May also be offered at Cedar Point Biological Station.
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.
Prerequisites: NRES/BIOS 386
Description: Fossil and living amphibians and reptiles. Anatomy, classification, ecology and evolution.
Prerequisites: Senior standing.
Capstone course.
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.
May also be offered at Cedar Point Biological Station. Field trips are required and may occur outside of scheduled class time. Lab and field time emphasize diversity of mammalian families and species identification of Nebraska mammals.
Description: Evolution, natural history, ecology, and functional morphology of planetary mammals and mammals of the Northern Great Plains.
Prerequisites: PLAS/SOIL 153.
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.
Prerequisites: NRES/METR 370.
Description: Regional differentiation of the climates of the earth on both a descriptive and dynamic basis. The chief systems of climatic classification.
Offered spring semester of even-numbered calendar years.
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.
Prerequisites: NRES 222 or equivalent
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.
Prerequisites: Junior or above standing
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: The history, principles, and concepts of landscape ecology. Use and application of landscape structure, function in the planning, the design, and management of human and natural landscapes.
Prerequisites: Permission.
Off-campus travel may be required. Choice of subject matter and coordination of on- and off-campus study is at the discretion of the instructor.
Description: Group educational tours to sites that illustrate the diversity of approaches to natural resources management found around the world.
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
Description: Immersive learning experiences in natural resources.
Prerequisites: Junior standing.
Description: Topic varies and deals with different aspects of forage and/or range and/or livestock, turf and/or landscape grasses, natural habitats, and wetlands.
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
Description: Individual or group projects in research or management.
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing; School of Natural Resources (SNR) majors; permission and advanced approval of a plan of work.
Description: Off-campus work experiences sponsored by natural resource agencies, companies, and organizations. Students collaborate in the development of a plan of work that will identify student responsibilities, including a final written report.
Prerequisites: 6 hrs NRES or equivalent.
Description: Current issues in natural resource sciences.
Prerequisites: Permission of thesis adviser.
Requires conducting a scholarly research project and writing an undergraduate thesis.
Description: Independent engagement in the research process in natural resources to conduct a scholarly research project and write an undergraduate thesis.
Prerequisites: Admission to the University Honors Program and permission.
Description: Independent engagement in the research process in natural resources to conduct a scholarly research project and write an undergraduate thesis as a participant in the University Honors Program.