Wetland Environments

J.S. Aber

Emporia State University


Catalog description: An interdisciplinary overview of physical, biological and cultural aspects of wetlands. Definitions, classifications, origins, and natural processes of wetland environments. Wetlands in boreal, temperate, and tropical climatic settings. Human impact and management of wetland resources. Three credit hours: lectures, exercises and field trips.

http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/wetland/

This course is intended for students majoring in biological, physical or social sciences with an interest in wetland environments and resources. Topics include the water, soils, plants and animals of wetland ecosystems. Human use, modification, exploitation, and management are examined along with legal and political aspects of wetlands. Field trips are conducted to Cheyenne Bottoms and other Kansas wetlands. Selected wetlands around the world are described from different climatic settings. The course is delivered for both on-campus and distance-learning students.

Course Procedures
Course requirements Wetland blog
Course schedule Title image
More online resources Group projects


Instructor: J.S. Aber, Science Hall 119A (jaber@emporia.edu).

Guest lectures by T.A. Eddy (biology), D. Edds (biology) and E. Hansen (geography). Previous instructors, F. Pavri, R. Sleezer, and G. Smith have contributed materials to the current course.

Prerequisite: A general education course in biological, physical or social sciences.

Recommended textbook: Guide to Wetlands by Patrick Dugan (ed.), Firefly Books Lts. (2005). A full-color guidebook to wetlands of the world. List price ~$20; used for less.

Library reserve: selected books may be placed on library reserve. Additional wetland books are cataloged under 333.91 in library stacks for general circulation.

Course availability

This course will be taught next in spring semester, 2009. Multiple course sections are available in biology (EB 341), earth science (ES 341/767) and geography (GE 341/500). Regular (on-campus) students should enroll through normal procedures. The course is also available for distance learning from Emporia State University. Off-campus students should enroll through Lifelong Learning. Distance-learning students should enroll for ES/GE 341 ZA for undergraduates; graduate students may choose from GE 500 XA or ES 767 XB. In order to receive university credit, students must be officially enrolled and must be in contact with the primary instructor for course materials and directions. BIS students must have the prerequisite noted above.

Wetland Environments
Spring 2009 Schedule

The on-campus wetlands class meets on Tuesday afternoons, 1:00 to 2:20 pm, in Science Hall (room 128). These sessions may be utilized for lecture, review, exercises, or special guest speakers. However, online lectures and exercises may be done at any other time or location--lecture notes and lab materials are available via Internet. On-campus students are expected to attend weekly; all students are expected to send weekly e-mail messages concerning course topics and to contribute material for the course blog. PDF files are provided via FTP.

First Block, Spring 2009
Week* Subject Reading Exercise Instructor
Jan. 13 Course orientation FW introduction (only)
FW wetland trends 		No on-campus
class session 		J.S. Aber
Jan. 20 Wetland definitions
and classifications 		Wetland and peatland Hydro data
resources 		J.S. Aber
Jan. 27 Wetland water supply FW hydrology
Canals and flooding 		Neosho River
flooding 		J.S. Aber
Feb. 3 Wetland soils History and wetland soils
FW soils, mineral soils and
organic soils 		Hydric soils J.S. Aber
Feb. 10 Wetland plants Wetland vegetation
FW vegetation
water_plants.pdf 		Wetland plants
wet_veg.pdf 		T. Eddy
Feb. 17 Wetland invertebrates Wetland wildlife I
Wetland animals I
wildlife.pdf 		T. Eddy
Feb. 24 Wetland vertebrates Wetland wildlife II
FW wildlife, mink.pdf, crocs.pdf 		Wetland animals II D. Edds
Mar. 3 Mid-term exam (no class) Due on March 3rd

Second Block, Spring 2009
Week* Subject Reading Exercise Instructor
Mar. 10 Wetland management Management and policy
FW best management &
streamside management 		EPA showcase
watersheds 		J.S. Aber
Spring Break
Mar. 24 Wetlands of northern Europe Baltic region All labs due J.S. Aber
Mar. 31 Wetland preservation conservation.pdf, dams.pdf
s_court.pdf, ca_delta.pdf
road_salt.pdf, mercury.pdf 		E. Hansen
Apr. 7 Great Plains wetlands Northern Plains
Central Plains 		Group projects J.S. Aber
Apr. 14 Southeastern U.S. Florida Everglades, South
Texas, Mississippi Delta
miss_delta.pdf, texas.pdf 		Group projects J.S. Aber
Apr. 21 Kansas wetlands Cheyenne Bottoms Field trip
Apr. 24-25 		J.S. Aber
Apr. 28 Low-latitude wetlands
High-altitute wetlands 		Tropical wetlands
amazon.pdf
Subalpine bogs 		Group projects J.S. Aber
May 5 Group projects Presentations
May 12 Final exam (no class) Due on May 12th

* Dates refer to Tuesday class meetings (except first week).
FW refers to Forested wetlands.

ESU syllabus attachment.

Last update: Nov. 2009.

© Notice: Wetland Environments is presented for the use and benefit of students enrolled at Emporia State University. Any other use of text, imagery or curriculum materials is prohibited without permission of the instructor, J.S. Aber (2009).