Dr. Elmore teaches courses primarily at the graduate level through the online Master of Wildlife and Fisheries Resources program at Clemson University.
Broadly defined, grassland ecosystems cover approximately 40% of earth’s land area. These systems evolved and are maintained by frequent disturbance such as drought, fire, and herbivory. Grasslands have been long used by humans for food production (both plants and animals), but more recently have been used for energy. This course is intended to provide you with an understanding of physiological, population, community, and ecosystem processes that characterize and maintain grassland systems. You will also learn about the challenges faced by grasslands regarding land use/cover change, invasive species, climate change, etc. Finally, you will learn about the plant-animal interactions and other taxa that utilize grasslands, many of which are also in decline.
This course examines principles, practices, and techniques that wildlife professionals use for managing habitat for wildlife. This course is a prerequisite for FOR/WFB 8580 Applied Wildlife Habitat Management Lab. Students learn and critique the history of wildlife conservation in the U.S. and compare to other countries, explain the necessary components for quality wildlife habitat, and demonstrate proper practices and techniques for managing habitat for wildlife. Additionally, students learn comparisons of how to manage for wildlife habitat across a variety of systems, including forests, rangelands, wetlands, farmlands, urban and disturbed areas, and state and federal properties.
This in-person lab provides an overview of principles and hands-on techniques that wildlife professionals use for managing habitat for wildlife. Topics will include practical assessments of what constitutes on-the-ground wildlife habitat and techniques for managing and restoring wildlife habitat across a variety of wildlife species and systems.
Emerging technologies are increasingly being used for wildlife monitoring. Many of these technologies have seen exponential growth since emergence and are likely to continue increasing into the near future. This course explores particular emerging technologies of interest.
This course covers a variety of field methods for monitoring bird populations and communities on the Clemson University Experimental Forest. Students use traditional methods (e.g., point counts, fall covey counts (for Northern Bobwhite), etc.), citizen science methods (e.g., ebird, Breeding Bird Surveys, Christmas Bird Count, etc.), and new technologically advanced methods (e.g., acoustic recording units, drones, radar, etc.) to record the density, occupancy, and other metrics of bird populations and communities. Students work with peers, graduate students, and faculty to develop project goals and objectives, collect and analyze data, interpret results, and present findings to inform bird management.