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.
Latest Publications
Kevin W. Conway, Daemin Kim, Lukas Rüber, Héctor S. Espinosa Pérez, Philip A. Hastings, Molecular systematics of the New World clingfish genus Gobiesox (Teleostei: Gobiesocidae) and the origin of a freshwater clade, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Available online 28 April 2017, ISSN 1055-7903, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2017.04.024.
Margot A. Wood, Ryan Sheridan, Rusty A. Feagin, Jose Pablo Castro, Thomas E. Lacher Jr., Comparison of land use change in payments for environmental services and National Biological Corridor Programs, Land Use Policy, Volume 63, April 2017, Pages 440-449, ISSN 0264-8377, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.02.005.
Jeff M. Martin*, Rachel A. Martin, and Jim I. Mead. Late Pleistocene and Holocene Bison of the Colorado Plateau. The Southwestern Naturalist 2017 62 (1), 14-28 http://dx.doi.org/10.1894/0038-4909-62.1.14 *Graduate Student
Jacquelyn K. Grace, Laure Martin-Gousset, Frédéric Angelier, Delayed effect of early-life corticosterone treatment on adult anti-predator behavior in a common passerine, Physiology & Behavior, Available online 19 April 2017, ISSN 0031-9384, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.04.018. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938416311301)
Jessica L Yorzinski, The cognitive basis of individual recognition, Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, Volume 16, August 2017, Pages 53-57, ISSN 2352-1546, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.03.009. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352154616302170)