Ecology & Management of Biological Diversity in Texas and the World
Vision
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences aspires to preeminence among academic programs dealing with ecology, management, and conservation biology. Our faculty is dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge in conservation of biodiversity, natural resource management, and the sustainable use of natural resources. An overarching goal of the department is to facilitate the sustainability of the earth’s biota and the ecosystems on which they depend while accommodating for human health and welfare.
Mission
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences discovers and communicates knowledge relevant to the conservation and management of wildlife and fishery resources and the ecosystems that sustain them through integrated academic instruction, research, and extension programs. We subscribe to a multidisciplinary approach that fosters interdepartmental collaboration and outreach to agencies, nonprofit organizations, and public and private interests over a wide range of natural resource topics, including environmental quality, sustainable management of natural resources, bioinformatics, biocomplexity and environmental quality. We intertwine innovative research and extension endeavors with high-level teaching of undergraduate and graduate students, who represent the next generation land stewards and conservation professionals. We also extend the university to the general public to relate research results in a meaningful way that can be understood and implemented to make positive impacts on natural systems.
Values
The faculty, staff, and students of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences value scholarship in all its forms – discovery, integration, application, and teaching. We value understanding for its own sake, for the betterment of people, and for the conservation of the natural world. The department encourages, appreciates and rewards various forms of scholarly activity in teaching, research, extension, and public service, including integration of these activities. Diverse viewpoints, ethical consideration, and approaches to pursuing and manifesting scholarship, including constructive criticism, are accepted and nurtured.
WFSC faculty, staff, and students all support and adhere to the Aggie Code of Conduct.
Recent Publications
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Huntley, Jerry W., Katrina D. Keith, Adrian A. Castellanos, Lukas J. Musher and Gary Voelker. (2019) Underestimated and cryptic diversification patterns across Afro-tropical lowland forests, Journal of Biogeography, https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13505.
Martinez, Marisa T., Ashley M. Long, Heather A. Mathewson and Michael L. Morrison. (2019) Broad-scale habitat use by fledgling Black-capped Vireo, Avian Conservation and Ecology 14(1):5, https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01300-140105.
Gao, Xin, Masami Fujiwara, Kirk O. Winemiller, Pengcheng Lin, Mingzheng Li and Huanzhang Liu. (2019) Regime shift in fish assemblage structure in the Yangtze River following contruction of the Three Gorges Dam, Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38993-x.
Arantes, Caroline C., Kirk O. Winemiller, Miguel Petrere and Carlos E. C. Freitas. (2019) Spatial variation in aquatic food webs in the Amazon River floodplain, Freshwater Science, https://doi.org/10.1086/701841.
Wang, Hsia-Hsuan, William E. Grant, Norman C. Elliott, Michael J. Brewer, Tomasz E. Koralewski, John K. Westbrook, Tavvs M. Alves and Gregory A. Sword. (2019) Integrated modelling of the life cycle and aeroecology of wind-borne pests in temporally-variable spatially-heterogeneous environment, Ecological Modelling, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2019.02.014.
Koralewski, Tomasz E., John K. Westbrook, William E. Grant and Hsiao-Hsuan Wang. (2019) Coupling general physical environmental process models with specific question-driven ecological simulation models, Ecological Modelling, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2019.02.004.
Dupont, Sophie M., Jacquelyn K. Grace, Francois Brischoux and Frederic Angelier. (2019) Post-natal corticosterone exposure affects ornaments in adult male house sparrows (Passer domesticus), General and Comparative Endocrinology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2019.02.021.
Frank, Maureen. (2019) Identifying Venomous and Nonvenomous Snakes in Texas, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service No. WFSC-023.
Modarelli, Joseph J., John M. Tomecek, Julie Piccione, Pamela J. Ferro and Maria D. Esteve-Gasent. (2019) Molecular prevalence and ecoregion distribution of select tick-borne pathogens in Texas dogs, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.13145.