Environmental Resources (ERS)

ERS 130 Introduction to Environmental Science. (4) F
Introduction to soil resources, their physical and chemical properties, classification, energy dynamics, and the role they play in environmental quality. Lecture, lab. General Studies: SQ.

ERS 207 Plant Taxonomy. (4) S
Introduction to identification of vascular plants. Survey of plant families. 2 hours lecture, 2 hours lab. Prerequisite: BIO 182.

ERS 225 Soils. (3) F
Fundamental properties of soils and their relation to plant growth and the nutrition of man and animals. Relation of soils to environmental quality. Prerequisite: CHM 101 or 113 or equivalent.

ERS 226 Soils Laboratory. (1) F
Selected exercises to broaden the background and understanding of basic soil principles. Lab. Corequisite: ERS 225.

ERS 246 Environmental Conservation and Ecology. (3) S
Principles of environmental conservation from global, historical, and ecological perspectives. Consideration of development/sustainability issues. General Studies: G.

ERS 301 Ecology. (3) F
Introduction to basic principles of ecology including ecosystem structure and function, population dynamics, and community ecology. Prerequisite: BIO 182.

ERS 307 Plant Identification. (4) F
Identification of key plants of western rangelands and forests. Laboratory emphasis on grass identification. Lecture, lab. Prerequisite: ERS 207 or PLB 310 or equivalent.

ERS 311 Forest and Rangeland Ecosystems. (4) N
Ecology of forest and rangeland ecosystems; emphasis on vegetation community structure and dynamics and impacts of management practices. 3 hours lecture, 1 hour lab. Prerequisites: ERS 225, 301, 350.

ERS 333 Water Resources Management. (3) N
Sources, their development, and conservation in arid regions for agricultural, natural resources, and urban uses. Prerequisite: CHM 101 or 113.

ERS 350 Environmental Statistics. (3) F
Statistical methods with applications in natural resource management and the environmental sciences. Use of computers and the Internet. Prerequisites: CSE 180; MAT 117. General Studies: CS.

ERS 353 Wildlife Nutrition. (3) N
Principles of nutrient metabolism in wildlife species, with emphasis on understanding the interaction of wildlife with their environment. Prerequisites: BIO 181 and 182 and CHM 101 or instructor approval.

ERS 360 Range Ecosystem Management. (3) F
Ecosystem management principles applied to rangelands. Herbivory as an ecological process, evaluation of rangeland health, multiple use of rangelands. Lecture, recitation. Prerequisites: BIO 320 (or equivalent); ERS 246.

ERS 364 Surface Water Hydrology. (3) F 2000
Hydrologic principles in an ecological context. Discharge measurements, open channel hydraulics, bed forms, sediment transport as applied to ecological problems. Lecture, lab, field trip. Prerequisite: ERS 350.

ERS 365 Watershed Management. (3) N
Hydrologic, physical, biological, and ecological principles applied to watershed management. Impact of ecosystem manipulations on water yield and quality. 1 weekend field trip. Prerequisites: ERS 225, 246.

ERS 402 Vegetation Measurement. (4) S
Vegetation sampling and inventory as related to animal-habitat relations. Lecture, lab, 1 weekend field trip. Prerequisites: ERS 301 and 307 and 350 and program major or instructor approval.

ERS 415 Wildlife Life Histories. (4) S
Life histories of the major mammal, reptile/amphibian, and avian species found in the Southwest, with emphasis on management. Lecture, lab. Prerequisites: BIO 370 or 385 and ERS 360.

ERS 420 Ecological Restoration. (3) S
Techniques of ecological restoration applied for the improvement of arid and semiarid land and sensitive habitats. Weekend field trips. Prerequisite: ERS 360.

ERS 425 Soil Classification and Management. (3) N
Principles of soil genesis, morphology, and classification. Management and conservation practices will be presented. Prerequisite: ERS 225.

ERS 433 Riparian Ecosystem Management. (3) N
Examination of the functions and components that make up riparian ecosystems and the management of these ecosystems. Lecture, field trip. Prerequisite: ERS 225 or instructor approval.

ERS 434 Wetland Ecosystems and Soils. (3) N
Wetland ecosystems structure and function including hydrology and biogeochemistry with special emphasis on soils. Lecture, weekend field trip. Prerequisite: ERS 225 or instructor approval.

ERS 448 Soil Ecology. (3) N
Soils viewed in an ecosystem context, soil-plant relationships, nutrient budgets, and abiotic factors that influence soil processes. Prerequisites: BIO 320 and ERS 225 and 226 or instructor approval.

ERS 449 Landscape Ecology. (3) N
Causes and ecological consequences of spatial and temporal patterns in the environment. Prerequisite: ERS 301.

ERS 460 Applied Systems Ecology. (3) N
The systems approach applied to analysis and management of natural resource ecosystems. Use of simulation models. 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab. Prerequisites: ERS 350 or equivalent; 1 course in ecology.

ERS 465 Surface Water Quality. (3) S 2001
Effective spring 2001.
Examination of factors that impact water quality. Surface water sampling and analysis with interpretation for wildlife, humans, and other users. Prerequisites: ERS 364, 365.

ERS 474 Wildlife Ecology. (3) N
Integration of ecological concepts as applied to wildlife populations and their interaction with the habitat and other species. Lecture, lab, 1 weekend field trip. Prerequisite: ERS 360.

ERS 475 Wildlife Management. (4) S
Principles and techniques of applied ecology for the management and wildlife populations. Lecture, lab. Prerequisites: ERS 311 and 474 or equivalent.

ERS 477 Environmental Risk Assessment and Management. (3) N
Survey of methods related to identification, evaluation, comparison, and management of environmental risks. Prerequisite: senior standing.

ERS 480 Ecosystem Management and Planning. (3) S
Planning for management and conservation of wildland ecosystems. Ecological, economic, and social constraints on long-term sustainable resource development. Computer tools for resource planning. Lecture, 1 weekend field trip. Prerequisites: ERS 402 or equivalent; senior standing. General Studies: L.

ERS 485 GIS in Natural Resources. (3) F
Principles of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) utilized in natural resource management. Use of computers for spatial analysis of natural resources. Lecture, lab. Prerequisite: CSE 180 or equivalent.

ERS 486 Remote Sensing in Environmental Resources. (4) S
Principles and application of remote sensing technologies in natural resource management. Integration of computerized data from aerial photography and LanSat imagery in resource management. Lecture, lab. Prerequisite: ERS 485 or equivalent.

ERS 489 Undergraduate Research. (1–3) F, S
Undergraduate research under the supervision of an environmental resources faculty member. Prerequisite: junior or senior status.

ERS 490 Recent Advances in Environmental Resources. (1) F, S
Current literature and significant developments involving environmental resources. May be repeated for credit.

ERS 533 Riparian Ecology. (3) N
Review of recent literature, developments, and methods related to riparian ecology. Applications of soil and landscape ecology to riparian systems. Lecture, discussion, field trips.

ERS 540 Plant Responses to Environmental Stresses. (3) N
Reaction of plants to environmental stresses; aerial pollutants, fire, herbivores, mechanical treatments, pesticides, and soil amendments. 1 weekend field trip. Prerequisite: ERS 360 or instructor approval.

ERS 550 Vegetation Dynamics. (4) F
Dynamics of vegetation emphasizing ecological succession, applications of landscape ecology and GIS, and analysis of vegetation data. Field trips, studio. Prerequisite: introductory statistics course.

ERS 551 Advanced Environmental Statistics. (4) S
Advanced statistical procedures for environmental resources. Techniques for analyzing research data that do not meet assumptions. Studio. Prerequisite: ERS 350 or equivalent.

ERS 553 Advanced Animal Nutrition. (4) N
Metabolic and physiological interactions of nutrients in wild and domesticated animals consuming natural feeds. Lecture, lab.

ERS 560 Systems Ecology. (3) N
Quantitative description and mathematical modeling of ecosystem structure and function. Techniques for model construction and simulation. Lecture, lab. Prerequisites: ERS 350 or equivalent; computer programming; 6 hours in ecological studies.

ERS 561 Spatial Statistics and GIS. (3) F
Dependent spatial data, analysis and description, semivariograms, variograms, kriging, and GIS analysis. Lecture, lab. Prerequisites: ERS 350 and 485 or equivalents.

ERS 585 Spatial Modeling with GIS. (3) F
GIS technology for spatial modeling of natural resources. Practical application of GIS technology for problem solving. Lecture, lab. Prerequisite: ERS 485 or equivalent or instructor approval.

ERS 591 Environmental Resources Seminar. (1–12) N

ERS 691 Seminar. (1–12) N

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