Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? There have been myriad opportunities for the students to grow professionally. In addition to regular classes, each student conducted an indeptendent research project, participated in professional meetings, presented abstracts and in the case of two students have produced a number of publications. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Yes--Four Ph.D. students have been supported in this program. As highlighted in previous project reports they have each had a productive graduate career.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The students engaged in many leadership activities including presentations at scientific meetings, winning fellowships, providing guest lectures in the University and contributing to university service. Specific examples include: Received PERC graduate fellowship and attended graduate fellowship program this summer in Bozeman, MT Participated in Liberty Fund/PERC colloquium: Reconciling Ecology and Economics Received Tom Slick graduate research fellowship TAMU College of Agriculture Guest lectured two lectures in ESSM 416/ ESSM 626 Fire and Natural Resource Management : “Pyric Herbivory” and “Legal constraints to prescribed fire use” Organized relocation assistance for international students displaced by new development -Dean's Award selection advisory committee -Department of Ecosystem Science and Management department head search committee -Center for Teaching Excellence TA Mentor Tom Slick Graduate Research Fellowship (from 2012-2013) -Ecological Society of America Graduate Student Policy Award -2nd place oral presentation at 50th Annual Soil Survey-Land Resource Workshop -GSA South Central Section travel grant -Selection as Center for Teaching Excellence Teaching Assistant Mentor
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Project report for 12-CA-11330126-064 Genomic Analysis of Loblolly Pine - Sequencing and Mapping.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
R. Washington-Allen, S. Thompson, D. Hays, A. Delgado, J. Li, W. Brademan, S. Popescu, R. Martinez Pena, E. Huber Sannwald, C. Brademan, R. March, J. Johnson, N. Modala, M. Reeves, J. Mitchell, G. Moore, C. Edgar, and W. Kulawardhana. The use of remote sensing technologies to assess dryland production and degradation. Ecological Society of Mexico. March 18-22, 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
G. Moore, C. Edgar, J. Vogel, R. Washington-Allen, R. March, R. Zehnder. Widespread Tree Mortality from the 2011 Texas Drought: Consequences for Forest Structure and Carbon Stocks. American Geophysical Union. San Francisco, CA. December 9-13, 2013
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
J. Tracy, R. Coulson, and R. March. Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Habitat Suitability and Connectivity Under Simulated Conditions of Tamarisk Beetle Herbivory and Willow Restoration. US Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (US-IALE). Austin, TX. April 14-18, 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
R. March, R. Washington-Allen, G. Moore, and C. Edgar. Detecting Statewide Tree Mortality from the 2011 Texas Drought. US Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (US-IALE). Austin, TX. April 14-18, 2013.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Society for Ecological Restoration, Texas Chapter and Texas Riparian Association Joint Conference, Junction, TX. Contributed Talk Drought-induced woody plant mortality and community composition shifts in an encroached texas savanna: comparing the 1950s and the 2000s. Carissa L. Wonkka, Dirac Twidwell, Charles A. Taylor Jr. Chris B. Zou, Jeremiah J. Twidwell & William E. Rogers.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Society for Ecological Restoration, Texas Chapter and Texas Riparian Association Joint Conference, Junction, TX. Contributed Poster Interactive effects of prescribed fire and grazing on woody encroachment and invasive grass abundance in a southeastern Texas coastal prairie. Michele Clark, William E. Rogers, Carissa L. Wonkka , & Terry Blankenship.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Ecological Society of America 98th Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN. Contributed Talk Can novel combinations of prescribed extreme fire and herbicide be used to overcome resprouting woody plant resilience and restore degraded rangelands in the southern Great Plains? William E. Rogers, Dirac Twidwell, Carissa L. Wonkka, Urs P. Kreuter & Charles A. Taylor, Jr.
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Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The purpose of this project is that of supporting graduate students focusing on forestry related areas. The project is currently supporting four graduate students. In addition our program emphasizes opportunities for leadership in the sciences. Each of the students have made good progress on course work and have initiated their research. The research areas include erosion analysis, spatial analysis, human dimensions, genetics, and basic ecology. Students have participated in a number of conferences including the American Geophysical Union, Ecological Society of America, and the Texas Wildlife Society. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The project is developing the leadership skills of four outstanding graduate students in the forestry related area.
Publications
- Berg, M. 2011. Taking the Plunge: Looking to Constructed Ponds for a Better Big-Picture Understanding of Upland Ecohydrological Processes. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.
- Wonkka, C.L., W.E. Rogers, D. Twidwell, F.E. Smeins, M. Fujiwara. 2012. Exploring population level herbivore effects on an endangered terrestrial orchid. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland OR.
- Rogers, W.E., C.L. Wonkka, D. Twidwell, F.E. Smeins. 2012. Effects of fire and herbivory on an endangered terrestrial orchid in TX post oak savanna. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland OR.
- Wonkka, C. L., W.E. Rogers, F. E. Smeins, J. R. Hammons, S.J. Haller, M. Ariza. 2012. The ecology and conservation of Navasota Ladies Tresses (Spiranthes parksii Correll), an endangered terrestrial orchid located in east-central Texas. Native Plants Journal 13:236-244.
- Wang, H.H., C.L. Wonkka, W.E. Grant, W.E. Rogers. 2012. Potential range expansion of Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica Thunb.) in Southern U.S. forestlands. Forests 3: 573-590.
- March. R. 2012 Texas Drought Tree Mortality. Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
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Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The second year of the project was used to complete recruiting of PhD students for the project and to integrate the group through collective activities and participating in common courses, seminars and workshops. The following five best applicants with M.Sc. Degrees were identified and enrolled into the program (Ph.D. in Forestry): 1) Matthew Donald Berg (M.Sc. with double major in Rangeland Ecology and Management and in Landscape Ecology) - Advisers: Dr. Brad Wilcox and Dr. Sorin Popescu; start date: September 1, 2010; 2) Carissa Wonkka (M.Sc. in Rangeland Ecology and Management) - Advisers: Dr. William Rogers and Dr. Urs Kreuter; start date: September 1, 2010; 3) Joshua Baggett (M.Sc. with double major in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management and in Water Resources) - Advisers: Dr. Georgianne Moore and Dr. Robert Washington-Allen. He started January 1, 2011 but quitted the program in June, 2011 and was substituted by Rosaleen March (M.Sc. in Rangeland Ecology & Management) - Advisers: Dr. Georgianne Moore and Dr. Robert Washington-Allen; start date: September 1, 2011; 4) Habibul Islam (M.Sc. in Biotechnology), funded by the matching fund from the TAMU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (50%) and Texas AgriLife Research (50%) - Advisers: Dr. Konstantin Krutovsky and Dr. Carol Loopstra; start date: September 1, 2011; 5) Dianne Stroman (M.Agr. in Wildlife & Fisheries Management) will join the program in January 2012 and will be funded by the matching fund from the TAMU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Texas AgriLife Research - Advisers: Dr. Urs Kreuter; start date: January 1, 2012. PARTICIPANTS: The program faculty who worked on the project: Krutovsky, K. V.; Gan, J.; Kreuter, U.; Loopstra, C. A.; Merton, P.; Moore, G. W.; Popescu, S. C.; Rogers, W. E.; Tjoelker, M. G.; Washington-Allen, R. A.; Wilcox, B.; Wu, B. The study of Habibul Islam is done in collaboration with US Forest Service (Dr. Dana Nelson and Dr. Nurul-Islam-Faridi). The project has provided multiple opportunities for the students to participate in the professional meetings and workshops in 2010-2011 listed above. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Completed Courses: AGEC 604 - Natural Resource Economics (Berg); ATMO 629 - Climate Change (Berg); BAEN 674 - Vadose Zone Hydrology (Berg); BIOL 635 - Plant Molecular Biology (Islam); CVEN 664 - Water Resources Engineering, Planning and Management (Berg); ESSM 601 - Current Issues in Ecosystem Science and Management (Wonkka); ESSM 635 - Ecohydrology (Berg); ESSM 655 - Remote Sensing of the Environment (Berg); ESSM 689 - Special Topics in Isotope Use in Ecology (Berg, Wonkka); MEPS 601 - Physiology of Plants (Islam); MEPS 650 - Plant Cell Culture and Crop Improvement (Islam); MEPS 681 - Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences Seminar (Islam); MEPS 689 - Molecular Ecology (Islam); SCSC 301 - Soil Science (Berg); WFSC 624 - Dynamics of Population (WFSC) (Wonkka). Current Courses: AGEC 659 - Ecological Economics (Wonkka); ESSM 621 - Physiological Plant Ecology (March); ESSM 631 - Ecological Restoration of Wetland and Riparian Systems (March); ESSM 652 - Advanced Topics in GIS (March); ESSM 681 - Ecosystem Science and Management Seminar (all students); GENE 603 - Genetics (Islam); MGMT 639 - Negotiations in a Competitive Environment (Berg); STAT 651 - Statistics in Research (Islam). Meetings Attended: 2010 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting (Berg); 2011 Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting (Berg, Wonkka with paper presentation); 2011 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting (poster presentation) (Berg, Wonkka coauthored paper presentation); 2011 Society for Range Management (paper presentation) (Wonkka). Activities: 2011-2012 ESSM Department Representative to Texas A&M Graduate Student Council (Berg); 2011-2012 Ecological Integration Symposium Planning Committee (Berg); Fall 2011 RLEM 305 Watershed Analysis and Planning Instructor (Berg); 2011-2012 University Disciplinary Appeals Panel (Berg); 2011-2012 Student Government Association Legislative Appeals Committee (Berg); Spring 2011 RLEM 301 Range and Forest Watershed Management Teaching Assistant (Berg); Fall 2010 and 2011 Teaching Assistant (RENR 215) (Wonkka); 2010-2011 Establishment of experiment, pre-treatment, and first year post-treatment data collected, and analyzed for doctoral project (1st annual report submitted) (Wonkka); 2011 Proposal Submission to U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Joint Fire Science Program (Wonkka); 2011 Proposal Submission to U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Joint Fire Science Program ($25,000): Topographic source and sinks as a predictor of fire susceptibility in extreme drought (March); 2011 Texas Science Olympiad ecology event organization (Wonkka); 2011 Applied Biodiversity Science NSF-IGERT Student Associate (March). Honors: Spring 2012 International Education Scholarship (Berg); Fall 2011 Graduate Student Council Travel Award (Berg); Fall 2011 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program Travel Fellowship (Berg); 2011 Texas AgriLife Extension Superior Service Award (Berg); Fall 2011 Graduate Student Council Travel Award (Wonkka); Fall 2011 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program Travel Fellowship (Wonkka).
Publications
- Berg, M., B. Wilcox, J. McAlister, and W. Fox. 2011. Taking the plunge: looking to constructed ponds for a better big-picture understanding of upland ecohydrological processes. Abstracted presented to American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, December 2011.
- March, R. G., and E. H. Smith 2011. Combining Available Spatial Data to Define Restoration Goals. Ecological Restoration 29: 252-260.
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Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10
Outputs
The first year of the project was used entirely for recruiting PhD students for the project. The web site http://essm.tamu.edu/national-needs.aspx advertising the project was created and flyers describing the program were sent to the relevant conferences, meetings, university programs and departments. The program was also widely announced via appropriate mailing lists (such as, EvolDir http://life.mcmaster.ca/evoldir.html, ECOLOG-L https://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/waA2=ind1001C&L=ECOLOG-L&P=R10877&I =-3, and others) and distributed via personal contacts of the faculty and CoPIs participating in the program (see, for instance, http://treenome.tamu.edu/download/essm_nnf_flyer.pdf). The total of 19 applications from the prospective candidates were evaluated, several applicants were invited to visit TAMU and interviewed, and the following three best applicants with M.Sc. Degree were identified and enrolled into the program (Ph.D. in Forestry): 1) Matthew Donald Berg (M.Sc. with double major in Rangeland Ecology and Management and in Landscape Ecology) - Advisers: Dr. Brad Wilcox and Dr. Soren Popescu; start date: September 1, 2010; 2) Carissa Wonkka (M.Sc. in Rangeland Ecology and Management) - Advisers: Dr. William Rogers and Dr. Urs Kreuter; start date: September 1, 2010; 3) Joshua Baggett (M.Sc. with double major in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management and in Water Resources) - Advisers: Dr. Georgianne Moore and Dr. Robert Washington-Allen; start date: January 1, 2011. PRODUCTS: The first year of the project was used entirely for recruiting PhD students for the project. Three PhD students were identified and enrolled into the program (Ph.D. in Forestry). OUTCOMES: The first year of the project was used entirely for recruiting PhD students for the project. Three PhD students were identified and enrolled into the program (Ph.D. in Forestry). DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The first year of the project was used entirely for recruiting PhD students for the project. The web site http://essm.tamu.edu/national-needs.aspx advertising the project was created and flyers describing the program were sent to the relevant conferences, meetings, university programs and departments. The program was also widely announced via appropriate mailing lists (such as, EvolDir http://life.mcmaster.ca/evoldir.html, ECOLOG-L https://listserv.umd.edu/cgi-bin/waA2=ind1001C&L=ECOLOG-L&P=R10877&I =-3, and others) and distributed via personal contacts of the faculty and CoPIs participating in the program (see, for instance, http://treenome.tamu.edu/download/essm_nnf_flyer.pdf). FUTURE INITIATIVES: An additional PhD student supported by matching funds will be identified in spring 2011.
Impacts
Three PhD students that were enrolled into the program greatly enhance the Ph.D. program in Forestry at the Department.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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