Urban Wildlife Management
(Fisheries and Wildlife Science FW 336)

Charlie Nilon
University of Missouri-Columbia
School of Natural Resources
Columbia, Missouri, USA

Fall 1994

S Y L L A B U S


COURSE DESCRIPTION

Ecologists view urban and urbanizing areas as human-dominated ecosystems. Because urban ecosystems are manipulated by people, the study of these ecosystems incorporates concepts from the social sciences as well as those traditionally used by ecologists.

Managing wildlife in urban and urbanizing areas requires an understanding of the impacts of urbanization on ecosystems. This course reviews the theory and practice of applying ecological concepts to the conservation of wildlife species and communities in urban areas.

TEXTS

  • Douglas, Ian. 1984. The urban environment. Edward Arnold, Baltimore, Md.
  • Johnston, Jaclyn. 1990. Nature areas for city people. Ecology Handbook 14. London Ecology Unit, London.

GRADING

100 points
Midterm Examination
150 points
Management Plan
50 points
Participation
100 points
Annotated Bibliography
100 points
 Final Examination

Please notify me if you have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate your special needs.



COURSE OUTLINE

Class 1. Course Introduction

  • Douglas pp. 1-6, Introduction and pp. 7-17, The city as an economic system and as an ecosystem
  • Johnston pp. 2-6, Benefits and future needs
  • Nilon, C.H. 1993. "Urban wildlife management in 2020." Pages 55-66 in T.J. Peterle, ed. 2020 vision: meeting the fish and wildlife conservation challenges of the 21st century. North Central Section The Wildlife Society, West Lafayette, Ind.

Class 2. Why are cities where they are and why do they look the way they do?

  • De Laubenfels, D.J., J.H. Thompson, and J.E. Brush. 1977. The urban landscape. Pages 333-357 in J.H. Thompson, ed. The Geography of New York State. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse.
  • De Laubenfels, D.J. 1977. Syracuse. Pages 469-479 in J.H. Thompson, ed. The Geography of New York State. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse.
  • Whitehand, J.W.R. 1991. Introduction. Pages 1-13 in The Making of the Urban Landscape. Blackwell, Cambridge, Ma.
  • Field trip in Columbia

Class 3. What factors determine the physical environment of urban ecosystems?

  • Douglas pp. 51-67, The water balance of the city and pp. 93-126, The geomorphology of the city.
  • Gilbert, O.L. 1989. Soils in urban areas. Pages 41-54 in The ecology of urban habitats. Chapman and Hall, New York.

Class 4. Biotopes and habitats

  • Kowarik, I. 1990. Some responses of flora and vegetation to urbanization in central Europe. Pages 45-74 in H.Sukopp, S. Hejny, and I. Kowarik, eds. Urban ecology: plants and plant communities in urban environments. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague. Matthews, M.J., S. O the New York State urban wildlife habitat inventory. Landscape and Urban Planning 15:23-37.
  • Columbia Field Trip

Class 5. Management Plan - St. Louis

Class 6. Wildlife response to urbanization

  • Douglas pp. 127-145, The biogeography of the city.
  • Adamczyk, K., H. Chelkowska, and W. Walkowa. 1988. "The community of rodents in environments of the suburban zone." Polish Ecological Studies 14:171-195.
  • Geis, A.D. 1974. Effects of urbanization and type of urban development on bird populations. Pages 97-105 in J.H.Noyes and D.R. Progulske, eds. Wildlife in an urbanizing environment