Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management

Head: Roel Lopez
Associate Head: Gerard Kyle
Graduate Advisors: LeAnn Hague and Taylor Atkinson

The Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management (RWFM) offers an interdisciplinary, applied graduate program, in both masters (thesis and non-thesis) and doctoral degrees, preparing students for advanced careers in natural resources research and management that can be applied in industry, agency and academia career fields. Ranked among the best in the country, students can expect to work in problem-focused field and lab research, with the goal of learning to confidently conduct, analyze and interpret scientific studies coupled with the applied application to address real-world problems. Graduate programs are tailored to the background and educational goals of each degree candidate in consultation with his or her Graduate Advisory Committee and can focus on studies that set a student up for success in career fields oriented around research, education and outreach, or management.

Current research activities in the department involve work in a broad array of contexts that addresses issues confronting the management of rangelands, wildlife and fisheries, aquaculture, and the human dimensions of natural resources. Research in these fields are supported by our disciplinary expertise in natural resource management, wildlife nutrition, wildlife and fisheries diseases, systems analyses and modeling, human dimensions and behavior, community development, rangeland management, fisheries and aquaculture, and natural resource economics and policy. The department also executes collaborative research efforts that span other Texas A&M departments and entities. Many RWFM faculty have joint appointments with research centers and institutes affiliated with the department, and graduate students are encouraged to take advantage of faculty specialized expertise.

Department and University-run properties and facilities, both on and off campus, are available for graduate research coursework. Local sites include the Aquacultural Research and Teaching Facility, the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections, and the Ecological and Natural Resources Teaching Area. Off-site locations include the La Copita Demonstration Ranch and Research Area (Jim Wells County) and the Chocolate Bayou Research and Demonstration Farm (Brazoria County).

Ecosystem Science and Management (ESSM)
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management (RWFM)
Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (WFSC)

Ecosystem Science and Management (ESSM)

ESSM 604 Changing Natural Resource Policy

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Process through which environmental policies are changed; theories of social and political change; using these theories along with original research on environmental policy problems to create and implement plans for changing environmental policies in communities. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.

ESSM 610 Rangeland Resource Management

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Basic concepts and theories of rangeland resource management; trends in range classification, grazing management and improvement practices. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in agriculture or related subject matter areas.

ESSM 611 Grazing Management and Range Nutrition

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Nutritional ecology of domestic and wild herbivores on rangelands; vegetation and animal response to various grazing management practices; diet selection, quality, intake and supplementation of herbivores.

ESSM 612 Rangeland Vegetation Management

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Principles of rangeland brush and weed control with mechanical, chemical, burning and biological methods; interrelationships of brush management with grazing, wildlife and watershed management; planning and economic analysis of range improvement practices.

ESSM 628 Wetland Delineation

Credits 3. 2 Lecture Hours. 2 Lab Hours. Application of the 1987 Wetland Delineation Manual in use by the Army Corps of Engineers; field indicators of hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soils, wetland hydrology, methods for making jurisdictional determination in non-disturbed and disturbed areas, recognition of problem wetlands and technical guidelines for wetlands. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.

ESSM 636 Wildland Watershed Management

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Elements of watershed management and principles and practices of wildland management for protection, maintenance and improvement of water resources values; current literature and research advances.

ESSM 672/RENR 660 Environmental Impact Analysis for Renewable Natural Resources

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Analysis and critique of contemporary environmental analysis methods in current use; environmental impact statements; national policies; political, social and legal ramifications as related to development and use of renewable natural resources. Prerequisite: Graduate Classification. Cross Listing: RENR 660/ESSM 672.

Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management

RWFM 605/RPTS 605 Community Organization and Natural Resources Management

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Understand ways communities manage natural resources; understand the roles of collaboration, participation, agency, power, and resilience in solving local resource management problems. Prerequisites: Graduate classification. Cross Listing: RPTS 605/RWFM 605.

RWFM 649 Nutrition of Range and Wild Animals

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Connects the life history of wild and domestic animals with the quality of their habitat by examining the transfer of energy and nutrients from foods to body tissues and activities for survival, growth and reproduction; exploration of the use of nutrition for management and conservation of animal populations and their habitats. Prerequisite: Graduate classification; ECCB 205 or BIOL 357; ANSC 107 or BIOL 107; or approval of instructor.

RWFM 651 Geographic Information System for Resource Management

Credits 3. 2 Lecture Hours. 2 Lab Hours. Geographic Information System (GIS) approach to the integration of spatial and attribute data to study the capture, analysis, manipulation and portrayal of natural resource data; examination of data types/formats, as well as the integration of GIS with remote sensing and Global Positioning System; laboratory includes extensive use of GIS applications to conduct analyses of topics in natural resources. Prerequisites: Graduate classification. Cross Listing: BAEN 651 and ECCB 651.

RWFM 658 Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Ecological, cultural, and historical dimensions of human-wildlife interactions; root causes of conflict; multidisciplinary frameworks of analysis; lessons learned from practitioners; examples of coexistence; case studies across taxa and continents. Prerequisites: Graduate classification. Cross Listing: ECCB 658 and RPTS 658.

RWFM 659 Human Dimensions of Parks and Protected Areas

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Theoretical and applied literature on the interaction between individuals, communities and parks and protected areas; study of socio-ecological systems, individual and societal values of parks and protected areas, visitor experiences, human impacts, environmental policy and sustainability. Prerequisites: Graduate Classification or permission from the instructor.

RWFM 678 Latent Variable Model Applications

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Introduction to structural equation modeling (SEM); background on conceptual issues, application of the method, and insight on SEM software; measurement theory, missing data analysis, non-normal data, confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis, multi-group models. Prerequisites: STAT 636, STAT 652, or approval of instructor. Cross Listing: RENR 678 and RPTS 678.

Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (WFSC)

WFSC 618 Wildlife Study Design and Analysis

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Fundamental and advanced aspects of study design applicable to terrestrial animals; analysis and review of the scientific literature related to study design; and the development of study design for written and oral presentations. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.

WFSC 619 Wildlife Restoration

Credits 3. 2 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Study of the fundamentals of the restoration of animal populations and the resources they require; factors that control the distribution and abundances of animals in relation to restoration; and how restoration plans for wildlife are developed. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.

WFSC 623 Aquaculture

Credits 4. 3 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Principle of fish production for stock enhancement and human food. Species of fish used for production, cross-breeding and selection; feeds and feeding of fish and nutritional and environmental requirements for optimum productivity; effects of fish production on land and water uses as related to conservation. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.

WFSC 627 Ecological Risk Assessment

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Approaches used to identify, evaluate and manage ecological risks of chemicals on aquatic and terrestrial environments; emphasis on methods useful to assess effects of contaminants on ecosystems; testing techniques, site assessment and monitoring procedures, regulatory requirements and field and laboratory techniques. Only one of the following will satisfy the requirements for a degree: WFSC 627 or WFSC 639.

WFSC 628 Wetland Ecology and Pollution

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Wetlands as ecological systems that are prime habitats for wildlife and fish; geomorphology, hydrology, limnology, plant and animal communities, and humans use and management; wetlands as ultimate reservoirs of environmental pollutants; distribution, fate and effects of environmental pollutants on aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.

WFSC 630 Ecology and Society

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Study and compare human and natural ecosystems using diversity, interrelations, cycles, and energy as the conceptional organization; central themes of the course are sustainability, stewardship and science. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.

WFSC 636 Wildlife Habitat Management

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Designed to acquaint with major land use practices on lands that produce wildlife, how these influences wildlife production and alterations or manipulations of habitat used to achieve specific wildlife management goals. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.

WFSC 637/VTMI 631 Wildlife Diseases

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Overview of diseases that affect populations of wild mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles; emphasis on diseases that are transmissible to humans or domestic animals and those found in Texas. Cross Listing: VTMI 631/WFSC 637.

WFSC 638 Techniques of Wildlife Management

Credits 3. 2 Lecture Hours. 3 Lab Hours. Techniques available to directly and indirectly manipulate wild animal populations to achieve balance between socioeconomic and aesthetic values. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.

WFSC 639 Wildlife Ecotoxicology

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Distribution, fate, and effects of environmental pollutants on wildlife behavior and reproduction. Global distribution of pollutants and effects on near and remote ecosystems. Field studies, biomarkers, stable isotope and various techniques for evaluating pollutant hazards on wildlife. Only one of the following will satisfy the requirements for a degree: WFSC 627 or WFSC 639. Prerequisites: Courses in CHEM and BICH and graduate classification or approval of instructor.

WFSC 641 Sustainable Military Land Management

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Overview of the Department of Defense (DOD) lands within a temporal, geographic, and environmental context and perspective; major policies/laws impacting military land use and areas critical to mission sustainment; management strategies important to sustaining installations and ranges. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.

WFSC 642 Field Military Land Management

Credit 1. 0 Lecture Hours. 2 Lab Hours. Review of land management practices and challenges on military and adjacent private lands through field visits of select military installations. Field trips required. Previous or concurrent registration in WFSC 636 is strongly encouraged. Prerequisite: Graduate classification or approval of instructor.

WFSC 644 Wildlife and Natural Resource Policy

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. Review formation and implementation of major natural resource laws and policies that impact land uses; overview of natural resource laws/policies followed by presentations of a selected case study; current natural resource management (including forestry, air, water, wildlife, climate change and energy) programs and institutions analyzed and related to current natural resource policy challenges.

WFSC 681 Seminar

Credit 1. 1 Lecture Hour. Important current developments in wildlife or fisheries fields with special reference to literature. Students may register up to but no more than two sections of this course in the same semester.

WFSC 684 Professional Internship

Credits 1 to 16. 1 to 16 Other Hours. On-the-job training in fields of wildlife and fisheries sciences. Prerequisite: Graduate classification in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences.

WFSC 685 Directed Studies

Credits 1 to 6. 1 to 6 Other Hours. Individual study and research on selected problem approved by instructor and graduate advisor. Credit adjusted in accordance with requirements of each individual case. Prerequisite: Approved proposal.

WFSC 689 Special Topics in...

Credits 1 to 4. 1 to 4 Lecture Hours. 0 to 4 Lab Hours. Special topics in wildlife ecology, fisheries ecology, vertebrate systematics, evolutionary biology of vertebrates and conservation education. May be repeated for credit.

WFSC 691 Research

Credits 1 to 23. 1 to 23 Other Hours. Original research on selected wildlife and/or fisheries problem to be used in thesis or dissertation.

Barboza, Peregrine, Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, University of New England, 1991

Hansley, Elizabeth, Instructional Assistant Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, Texas A&M University, 2019

Hegde, Shraddha, Assistant Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, Mississippi State University, 2022

Kyle, Gerard, Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, Pennsylvania State University, 2001

Lopez, Roel, Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, Texas A&M University, 2001

Lucero, Jacob, Assistant Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, University of Montana, 2017

Matarrita Cascante, David, Associate Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, Pennsylvania State University, 2008

Mohammed, Haitham, Assistant Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
DVM, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt, 2003
PHD, Auburn University, 2015

Muhl, Rika, Lecturer
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, Texas A&M University, 2018

Schuett, Michael, Instructional Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1991

Shehane, Melissa, Instructional Assistant Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, Texas A&M University, 2014

Stronza, Amanda, Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, University of Florida, 2000

Werdel, Ty, Assistant Professor
Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management
PHD, Kansas State University, 2022