Graduate Focus Areas
Within the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University you will find faculty with a diversity of interests, linked to the management of fisheries and wildlife. These interests have been grouped into focus areas which are listed below. These focus areas serve as a guide to help you determine where your particular area of interest lies in relation to the Department. However, they are not intended to be a complete list of the diverse interests and expertise in the Department.
Wildlife Ecology and Management
General Description: emphasis on biological considerations in the management of upland and wetland ecosystems or wildlife species to meet a variety of human demands from biodiversity and endangered species management to management of game species
Sample Coursework:
wildlife biology and management
wildlife nutrition
population and community ecology
population analysis and quantitative methods
Examples of Research Areas:
wildlife - habitat interactions
population dynamics and modeling
environmental or biological issues that affect wildlife in upland or wetland ecosystems
wildlife biometry and population estimation and sampling
Limnology - includes Stream Ecology and Wetland Ecology and Management
General Description: biological, chemical and ecological features of freshwater ecosystems, including lakes, reservoirs, streams, rivers, and wetlands; basic and applied freshwater ecology, emphasizing the intimate connection between limnology and resource management
Sample Coursework:
limnology and stream ecology
aquatic entomology
plankton biology
wetland plants and algae
fisheries ecology and food-web management
geographic information systems and remote sensing
Examples of Research Areas:
food-web interactions
landscape ecology of aquatic ecosystems
exotic species ecology and management
water quality, biomonitoring
non-point source land-use modeling
Fisheries Science and Management
General Description: emphasis on factors influencing the productivity and dynamics of fish populations, fish communities, and fisheries to enhance management of these resources; quantitative fisheries science, particularly stock assessment; habitat, population and community modeling; and risk assessment and adaptive management
Sample Coursework:
fish population dynamics
fish habitat management
aquatic food web management
simulation modeling
risk assessment and adaptive management
Examples of Research Areas:
evaluations of the effectiveness of various management techniques (e.g., habitat manipulation, stocking) for protecting, rehabilitating, and enhancing fish populations and fisheries
investigations of the relationship between the habitat needs of fish populations and their productivity
environmental determinants of fish recruitment
links among food web interactions, fish recruitment and fish production
development and utilization of dynamic fish population and community models
Conservation Biology
General Description: emphasizes application of ecological and evolutionary theory and principles of fisheries and wildlife management related to the conservation of species, habitat, and genetic diversity
Sample Coursework:
conservation biology and genetics
fisheries/wildlife management
population analysis and management
geographic information systems
population and community ecology
Examples of Research Areas:
evaluation of human impacts on the diversity and viability of wild populations
landscape-level analysis and modeling of habitat quality and quantity on fisheries and wildlife populations
identification of management units and evolutionarily significant units of conservation concern
evaluation of the effects of non-native species on populations and ecosystems
Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Wildlife Management
General Description: The traditional focus on biology in fisheries and wildlife management has shifted in the past two decades to include the human dimensions (social aspects) of management. Along with managing resource issues, managers must often be experts in human attitudes and behavior, facilitate conflict resolution among user groups, develop communication or education tools, determine economic impacts, and interact with policy makers in legislative or administrative bodies as well as become involved with litigation.
The Human Dimensions program is designed to integrate training in social, ecological, and biological aspects of management. The program can serve to broaden the expertise of wildlife biologists or to train human dimensions specialists to apply appropriate social sciences to management problems.
Students without backgrounds in fisheries and wildlife management will be expected to gain adequate knowledge of that discipline through course work and other experiences. The human dimensions program’s intent is to prepare professionals who can bridge the gaps between the social and biological sciences.
Sample Coursework:
social science survey research techniques
qualitative research methods
environmental law and policy
outreach/extension education program design and evaluation
environmental sociology
environmental attitudes and movements
Examples of Research Areas:
outcomes of fisheries co-management policy in developing countries
angling/hunting recruitment/retention
effectiveness of environmental education and outreach
analysis of public perceptions associated with emerging fisheries or wildlife issues
investigations of the dynamics of wildlife recreational choice behaviors
Aquaculture
General Description: fish culture research and training programs including domestic and international projects emphasizing cold, cool, and warm water fishes; academic programs are tied closely to state, regional, federal, and international partners including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, North Central Regional Aquaculture Center, and state and federal hatchery systems
Sample Course Work:
aquaculture and limnology
animal science and food science and nutrition
physiology
economics
toxicology
sociology
Examples of Research Areas:
nutritional requirements and culture techniques for cool water fishes
diet development using locally available feedstuffs
larval rearing
polyploidy induction techniques
aquaculture water quality and waste control
Ecological Genetics and Physiology
General Description: emphasis on theory and application of modern molecular, biochemical, and electrophysiological technologies and statistical methods of analysis to examine basic and applied issues in organismal ecology, behavior, environmental adaptability, toxicology, and evolutionary history
Sample Coursework:
conservation genetics and population genetics
population and community ecology
molecular biology
biochemistry
environmental physiology
Examples of Research Areas:
chemoreception of fishes
physiological and genetic factors in fish migratory and sexual behavior
field and experimental approaches in behavioral ecology including defining genealogical relationships, mate selection, reproductive success, maternity and paternity
studies of spatial population genetic structure and systematics
molecular markers in conservation and management of vertebrate populations
Biometry and Ecological Modeling
General Description: Emphasis on development and application of quantitative tools for estimation, hypothesis testing, and simulation, as applied to fisheries and wildlife problems. This departmental program is complimented by a strong inter-disciplinary university-wide quantitative analysis group.
Sample Coursework:
systems modeling
population analysis
statistical theory and methods
risk assessment and decision analysis
GIS and remote sensing
Examples of Research Areas:
simulation modeling of wildlife-habitat relationships
fish stock assessment methods and application
adaptive management and decision analysis theory and applications
metapopulation analysis and simulation
