ENY 5226C Principles of Urban Pest Management

Description

This 3-credit-hour course and will cover the methods of managing urban pests, such as cockroaches, fleas, termites, flies, stored food pests and ants. Chemical and nonchemical methods of control will be emphasized and will emphasize that you:

1. Learn to manage urban pest populations
2. Understand methods of managing major pest species
3. Learn methods of managing cockroaches.
4. Learn methods of managing blood-sucking insects.
5. Understand the management techniques for the major pest ant species.
6. Develop strategies for managing important stored food pests.

Prerequisites

• ENY 3005-Principles of Entomology

Course Format

Location: Online

Special Research Project

Special research project must be approved by instructor and should be an in-depth review of the scientific literature. The research project report must be written as a scientific paper in Entomological Society of America format. PowerPoint presentation and written script will be a 10-minute scientific paper suitable for presentation at a scientific meeting. Student has the option of presenting the research.

Description

Urban pests are found in many situations and are difficult to recognize. Students will be expected to identify the insect pest and recognize the damage they cause. Emphasis will be on determining ways to prevent infestations based on the pest’s biology.

1. Learn to recognize wood destroying insects and their damage and understand their biology and life cycles.
2. Learn to recognize cockroaches, their biology, and life cycles. Learn methods of managing cockroaches.
3. Identify blood-sucking insects and understand their biology.
4. Recognize pest ant species and their colony structure.
5. Recognize important stored food pests.

Prerequisites

• ENY 3005-Principles of Entomology

Course Format

Location: Online

Special Research Project

Each student will be responsible for a written research report and presentation. The topic must be approved by instructor, and should be an in-depth review of the scientific literature. The research project report must be written as a scientific paper in Entomological Society of America format. Powerpoint presentation and written script will be a 10 minute scientific paper suitable for presentation at a scientific meeting. Student has the option of presenting the research project orally, on site in Gainesville, or by submission of the presentation and script for a grade. More information is at the end of the syllabus.

Description

Insects and other arthropods and their relationships with wild vertebrate animals.

Prerequisites

This is an introduction to entomology that focuses on the interrelationships of insects and vertebrate animals. Some background in biology is useful, but there are no prerequisites. If you have not taken an entomology course, you should enroll in ENY 3002L or ENY5006L, the introductory entomology laboratory, while enrolled in ‘Insects & Wildlife’. This will give you hands-on experience with insects, and will enhance your diagnostic abilities.

Course Format

Location: Online

Course Goals

By the end of this course, students will develop an understanding of the ecological relationships of arthropods and pesticides with natural resources, particularly the roles of arthropods as food, nuisance pests, vectors of animal disease, and in natural resource and wildlife conservation. Students will be able to identify the groups of insects (and other arthropods) that are most important as food, nuisance pests, and vectors of animal disease. They will learn methods of arthropod diet assessment and know how different methodologies affect the outcomes of research. They will learn how arthropod populations can be manipulated to favor wildlife, and will create a wildlife management plan that applies the principles and practices provided in the course.

Description

This class provides the laboratory activities for the ENY 3005/5006 web course. In this lab, you will learn the anatomy of an insect, how to identify an insect to order, how to collect and curate insects, and you will learn a bit about how insects fit into our lives. There are a series of lab activities for you to complete during the semester. Some of the assignments are interactive virtual labs, some are hands-on labs that you must report on, and some are just for you to read through for the information. The first few labs will give you a foundation that will help you learn to identify insects so you can begin working on your collection. You will notice that there are two lab reports. These two experiments will take time to set up and will take a while to collect the data, so be sure to read them ahead of time. (You will hear this from me again.) Besides the insect collection and lab reports, there will be a lab exam at the end of the semester and several worksheets along the way.

Prerequisites

• Co-requirement: ENY 5006 Graduate Survey of Entomology

Course Format

Location: Online

Topics

Description

This course focuses on non-native species invasions and environmental effects of these invaders. Students will develop analytical capabilities to assess the consequences of biological invasions. This course is oriented toward students in the biosecurity track major in the entomology department.

Prerequisites

1. Integrated Principles of Biology 1 and Laboratory (BSC 2010 and 2010L) or equivalent.
2. Integrated Principles of Biology 2 and Laboratory (BSC 2011 and 201lL) or equivalent.

Course Format

Location: Online

Course Goals

From the lecture and course assignments, students will gain an understanding of the following concepts:

1. A global awareness of the economic costs and environmental impacts of biological invasions.
2. An understanding of the principles and basic practices of pest exclusion, eradication, and management tactics for biological invaders from six continents.
3. An ability to assimilate information on biological invaders, and develop inferences from case study examples.
4. A perspective on the research, extension, and regulatory components of biological invaders.
5. An awareness of biological invader sin current events reported in the popular and scientific media.

Topics

Description

By the end of this course, you should be able to pick up a common insect (a feat in itself for some people) and tell your friends what kind it is, how it moves, how it eats and digests its food, why it looks the way it does, where it usually lives, whether it is harmful to people or animals, how it’s controlled if it is a pest, and how it and other insects impact our lives. Pretty cool for an insect class. General Class Objectives:

1. Know characteristics of the major insect orders.
2. Understand the general external and internal anatomy and physiology of insects.
3. Realize the impacts of insects on man and the environment.

Prerequisites

LAB INFORMATION – The lab is a required as a co-requisite. The 1-credit-hour lab part of the course is offered for all ENY 3005 and 5006 students, and you must register for the lab separately. For those of you off campus, you will either attend a lab scheduled by your local UF/IFAS Research and Education Center or you will register for an online lab through the Entomology Department, available at (352) 273-3912. Both on-campus and distance students will have an E-Learning link for the lab. This is listed as ENY3005L/5006L in Sakai. The “L” indicates the lab section. The lab has a separate syllabus, so be sure to communicate with your lab TA and copy me if you have any questions. Students taking classes in Gainesville must take the on-campus lab. You must return any UF lab equipment to your lab TA when you turn in your collections.

Course Format

Location: Online

Topics

Description

Study of U.S. policies and programs affecting agricultural biosecurity. Attention is devoted to current agricultural and extension and regulatory programs. Emphasis is on the policies and procedures involved in detecting and reporting non-indigenous species. Students will develop the analytical capabilities to assess the consequences of agricultural biosecurity threats.

Prerequisites

• Integrated Principles of Biology 1 and Laboratory (BSC 2010 and 2010L) and Integrated Principles of Biology 2 and Laboratory (BSC 2011 and 2011L) or equivalent.

Course Format

Location: Online

Course Goals

From the lecture and course assignments, students will gain an understanding of the following agricultural biosecurity concepts:

1. An awareness of the importance of invasive species to U.S. agricultural and natural areas.
2. An awareness of trade issues and their relevance to agricultural biosecurity.
3. An understanding of the foundation principles and basic practices of pest exclusion, eradication, and management tactics for invasive species issues.
4. An ability to assimilate information on invasive species, and develop inferences from case study examples.
5. A perspective on the research, extension, and regulatory components of invasive species issues.
6. An appreciation of early detection and correct identification of new and emerging pest problems.
7. An awareness of news and developments reported in the popular and scientific media on issues affecting the subject matter of this course.
8. An awareness of the importance of insect vectors to animal and human health.
9. An awareness of the importance of exotic animal disease threats to agriculture.

Description

Effective grant writing skills are essential to acquiring competitive funding from government agencies and private foundations. Writing a successful grant proposal is a blend of art and science. It requires basic know how, content knowledge, writing proficiency, strong research skills, creativity, organizational ability, patience and a great deal of luck. This course will provide students with the background necessary to develop a competitive funding proposal. Students will be expected to prepare a complete grant proposal (minimum 40-70 pages with forms) to an agency of their choice and have that proposal reviewed by professionals in their field. Lectures will focus on:

• Components of an application
• Helpful tools and resources
• Strategies for developing a proposal
• How to identify potential funding sources
• How to read and understand grant guidelines, requests for proposals/applications(RFP/RFA)
• Writing objectives
• Preparation and justification of budgets
• Protocols for use of animal and human subjects in research
• Cost-sharing and sub-contracts
• Procedures for grants submission and grants start-up
• The grant review process
• Writing cover letters
• Preparing a curriculum vitae
• The job interview process

Prerequisites

This class is designed for doctoral students who have started their research. Master’s students who are completing their research and have approval from their committee chair are welcome to register.

Course Format

Lectures and Discussion: 100% online https://lss.at.ufl.edu/
Location: The course will meet on Canvas

Course Goals

This course will provide an introduction to the basic skills, principles and techniques of successful grant writing. Students completing the course will:

• Understand the fundamental components of a grant proposal such as the abstract or summary, background and significance, specific aims/goals and objectives, project design and methods, sustainability, assessment, broader impacts, dissemination, budget, budget justification, and cover letter as well as the overall grant submission process.
• Learn how to locate available funding opportunities.
• Develop the skills needed to develop competitive grant proposals.
• Prepare a complete grant proposal to an agency of their choice. This includes a minimum 10-18 page narrative and a minimum 2-year $80,000 budget with multiple budget categories. Most full proposals will be 40-70 pages long with all of the required forms.

Topics

Description

Explore the processes controlling soil-water-plant-atmosphere interactions for agricultural systems.

Course Goals

Description

The goal of this course is to provide you with a sound theoretical and practical understanding of
insect diversity and the practice of classifying organisms. Lectures discuss the general principles
of systematics, history of insect classification, construction and use of identification tools,
nomenclature, and biology and evolutionary history of the hexapod orders. We also explore why
competing classifications exist in taxonomy, and what existing classifications imply about broad
patterns of evolutionary change and diversification within insects.

A collection is required that will refine your ability to identify insects to the level of order, family
and species. Accumulating the required numbers of taxa will be possible only by employing a
variety of collecting techniques and working with dichotomous keys. Building an insect
collection, with correctly identified and curated specimens is an excellent way to learn,
understand and employ the methods used by professionals to identify and classify not only
insects, but living organisms in general.

Prerequisites

ENY 5006 Graduate Survey of Entomology, or a similar course dealing with the classification of insects. Students are expected to be familiar with the insect orders before taking this class.

Course Format

Collect, collect, collect! Success in this course is largely linked to the effort you make to
collect insects in diverse environments early in the semester. Beyond the collection itself, keep
in mind that the more orders and families you have, the more specimens you have for studying
key morphological characters of these groups. Even if the weather is not perfect, you can find a
lot of diversity once you start looking. Don’t overlook urban environments and indoor habitats
such as homes and greenhouses, especially if it is cold outside! You will need to collect many
more insects than just the required number of Orders, Families and Species. This is because
many of your insects will belong to the same families, but you won’t know this until you have
already curated and identified them.

Plan ahead. Plan to collect intensively for the first third of the course, curating
specimens as you go and identifying insects in the groups that you are learning about in lecture.
After about 5 weeks, switch your primary focus to identification, and work on the specimens
that you have already collected and curated. This will allow you to become familiar with the
identification keys in the textbook using your specimens. As you become proficient at
recognizing common insect families, your collecting can become more targeted as you search
for groups not yet included in your collection.

Access a scope. The diagnostic features of many insects are very small and can be best
seen under magnification. It is assumed that you will have access to a dissecting microscope for
this course. If you are in Gainesville you can contact me to arrange access to a scope in
Entomology. Alternatively, contact a scientific laboratory or a high school science classroom to
request use of their equipment. A high‐quality hand lens (20X) can also be a great help in the
field.

Course Goals

After completing this course you should be able to:
1. Identify hexapods to order and the majority of common insects to family by sight
2. Identify adult insects to order and family using dichotomous keys
3. Collect insects and field data in different habitats using a variety of techniques.
4. Curate insect specimens properly, including labeling, pinning, point mounting, and
preserving in ethanol.
5. Describe the taxonomic process: how species are described, named and classified.
6. Explain how key innovations in the life history of insects led to their incredible diversity.
7. Interpret phylogenetic trees depicting the evolutionary relationships among insects

Topics