Daniel H. Pletscher, Professor, Wildlife Biology Director

Wildlife Biology is the study of wild animals, their habitats and their conservation. The Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology degree constitutes the preprofessional training for future employment in wildlife biology and management, and provides an excellent background in general ecology. The educational requirements for certification by The Wildlife Society can be met within the framework of the undergraduate program.

While employment opportunities do exist in wildlife management for students with the baccalaureate degree, many students plan to continue their education, through the master's degree to qualify for wildlife management or research positions.

Three optional curricula are offered in the Wildlife Biology Program: terrestrial, aquatic, and honors. All three emphases follow the same schedule of courses for the freshman and most of the sophomore year, then pursue different curricula for the last two years. Each leads to a B.S. in Wildlife Biology.

The University is well-suited for instruction in wildlife biology because of the excellent opportunities for field instruction and research, and the presence of such facilities as the Lubrecht Experimental Forest, Yellow Bay Biological Station at Flathead Lake, the Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station, the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, and the Roosevelt Memorial and Bandy ranches.

High School Preparation: In addition to general University admission requirements, for this or any other degree offered in the School of Forestry, the student should elect four years of mathematics and three years of science, including biology, chemistry and physics.

Special Degree Requirements

Refer to graduation requirements listed previously in the catalog. See index.

The student must complete the requirements for one of the emphases indicated below. A reading knowledge of a modern foreign language is suggested for students electing preparation for graduate work leading to a doctorate.

To obtain the B.S. in Wildlife Biology, the student must have a 2.5 grade point average in all courses taken at The University of Montana and a grade of C or better in all courses required for the major.

Suggested sequence subject to frequent change. Some courses are offered more than one semester.

Terrestrial and Aquatic Emphases

Wildlife Biology Honors Option

The honors curriculum is designed particularly for students with strong academic records who intend to do graduate work. Entrance into this option is open only to students who, at the beginning of the junior year of the wildlife biology program, have a grade-point average of 3.5 or above and who petition the faculty for entrance.

Honors students must complete either WBio 370, 470 and 494 (terrestrial emphasis) or Biol 308, 366 and WBio 494 (Aquatic emphasis). Honors students are encouraged to enroll also in WBio 497 Senior Thesis. The balance of the coursework for the junior and senior years will be developed in consultation with the honors student's faculty advisor and committee appointed by the director of the wildlife biology program.

All students in the honors option are required to meet with their faculty advisors prior to autumn semester registration of their junior and senior years to work out their course schedules.

Requirements for a Minor

To earn a minor in wildlife biology, the student must successfully complete the following coursework: Biol 103N, 104N, 201N, 250; For 330 or 360; WBio 180, 270, 370.

Courses

U = for undergraduate credit only, UG = for undergraduate or graduate credit, G = for graduate credit. R after the credit indicates the course may be repeated for credit to the maximum indicated after the R.

U 180 Careers in Natural Resources 2 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Same as For 180, Recm 180. Subject matter and fields of study within natural resources management. Topics include forestry, wildlife biology, range, water, recreation management, forest products production and other areas of opportunity for students seeking careers in natural resources.

U 195 Special Topics Variable cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

U 270 Wildlife Management Issues 2 cr. Offered autumn. Same as For 270. An exploration of wildlife conservation issues and problems facing wildlife managers; suggestions for solution.

U 275 Wildlife Conservation 2 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., sophomore standing or consent of instr. For non-wildlife biology majors. Principles of animal ecology and framework of wildlife administration as a basis for the conservation of wild birds and animals, and biodiversity.

U 295 Special Topics Variable cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

UG 370 Wildlife Habitat Conservation and Management 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., junior standing in wildlife biology, an ecology class, or consent of instr. Application of principles of wildlife biology to conservation and management of wild bird and mammal habitats including field applications.

UG 371 Wildlife Habitat Conservation and Management Laboratory 1 cr. Offered intermittently. Prereq., wildlife biology major; coreq., WBio 370. Field applications of principles of wildlife biology to conservation and management of wild bird and mammal habitats.

UG 373 Wildlife Techniques 2 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., any statistics course; one 300-level ecology or wildlife biology course. Lab and field oriented class in commonly-used wildlife research and management techniques.

U 374 Hunter Check Stations 1 cr. (R-2) Offered autumn. Students learn techniques for determining species, age and sex of game animals, then work 3-5 days as volunteers at hunter check stations operated by management agencies.

U 395 Special Topics Variable cr. (R-12) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

U 396 Independent Study 1-6 cr. (R-6) Offered every term.

U 398 Cooperative Education Experience Variable cr. (R-15) Offered every term. Prereq., consent of department. Extended classroom experience that provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. Prior approval must be obtained from the faculty supervisor and the Cooperative Education Office.

UG 441 Field Methods in Fishery Biology and Management 1-4 cr. Offered autumn. Prereq., Bio 308 or 357; consent of instr. Same as Biol 415. Field instruction by practicing biologists in techniques for evaluating and managing aquatic habitats and fish populations..

UG 470 Conservation of Wildlife Populations 3 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., 300-level animal ecology class, WBio 370, and senior standing. The mandate for and the management of rare, over-abundant, and harvested wild bird and mammal populations.

UG 472 Wildlife Handling and Veterinary Perspectives 2 cr. Offered intermittently. Field techniques associated with wildlife capture and handling. Ethical and legal issues, field organization, animal care and handling, chemical immobilization, veterinary emergincies and human safety.

UG 494 Senior Wildlife Seminar 1 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., senior standing in wildlife biology or consent of instr. Analysis and discussion led by students of current topics in wildlife biology.

UG 495 Special Topics Variable cr. (R-12) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

U 496 Independent Study Variable cr. (R-10) Offered every term. Prereq., consent of instr. Original investigations or problems not related to student's thesis.

U 497 Senior Thesis 1-3 cr. (R-6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., consent of instr.; senior standing. Preparation of major paper based on study or research of a topic selected with an advisor according to needs and objectives of student.

U 498 Cooperative Education Experience 1-6 cr. (R-6) Offered every term. Prereq., consent of department. Extended classroom experience that provides practical application of classroom learning during placements off campus. Prior approval must be obtained from the faculty supervisor and the Cooperative Education Office.

G 562 Wildlife Habitat, Structure and Function 3 cr. Offered spring. Prereq., For 330, 360; WBio 370; or consent of instr. Study of selected topics in habitat classification and analysis, and animal-habitat interactions.

G 570 Applied Population Ecology 3 cr. Offered spring odd-numbered years. Prereq., courses in ecology, statistics, and calculus. Application of advanced population ecology tools and concepts to the evaluation of human perturbations on wildlife populations. Topics include methods to detect declining trends, the interacting components of population viability analysis, and identification of strategies to reverse declines.

G 575 Frontiers in Conservation Research 2 cr. (R-6) Offered autumn. Prereq., upper-level course in conservation genetics or populations genetics. Same as Biol 575. Exploration of current topics in conservation biology with emphasis on genetic issues in conservation.

G 580 Readings in Population Dynamics 1 cr. (R-6) Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., consent of instr. Discussion of recent papers on interface of population dynamics, ecological interactions, and wildlife management.

G 594 Graduate Seminar in Wildlife Biology 1 cr. (R-3) Offered autumn. Prereq., graduate standing in ildlife biology or consent of instr. Analysis of selected problems in wildlife biology and conservation.

G 595 Special Topics Variable cr. (R-12) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

G 596 Independent Study Variable cr. (R-10) Offered every term. Prereq., graduate standing and consent of instr. Original investigations or problems not related to student's thesis.

G 597 Research Variable cr. Offered every term. Prereq., graduate standing in wildlife biology or consent of instr. Graded pass/not pass only.

G 599 Professional Paper Variable cr. (R-6) Offered every term. Prereq., graduate standing in wildlife biology and consent of instr. Professional paper written in the area of the student's major interest based on either primary or secondary research. Subject matter must be approved by graduate committee. Graded pass/not pass only.

G 697 Research 1-15 cr. (R-15) Offered every term.

G 699 Thesis Variable cr. (R-10) Offered every term. Prereq., graduate standing in wildlife biology. Preparation of thesis.

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