Instructor: Michael J. Hansen

Office: 174 CNR

Office Hours: posted on my office door

Office Phone: 715/346-3420

Classroom: 361 CNR

Lectures: Monday and Wednesday 9:00-9:50

Lab: Wednesday 14:00-15:50

Objectives: The course will introduce students to the scientific research process, including: formulating a hypothesis, designing and conducting a study, writing a scientific paper, giving an oral presentation, and providing an oral defense of the project. The student will become familiar with principles of what makes an hypothesis testable, how to design a study to address the hypothesis, the strengths and weaknesses of most common fish sampling gears, how to organize and write a scientific paper, and how to plan, deliver, and defend a scientific presentation.

Textbook: Murphy, Brian, and David Willis, editors. 1996. Fisheries Techniques, Second Edition. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. [All students are urged to purchase, rather than rent, the textbook to ensure they begin the acquisition of a library of crucial reference books.]

Format: The two weekly lectures will cover a variety of topics on fisheries research methods. The weekly lab periods will provide practical exercises on the lecture subjects and will also be used for working on the class project. The class project will include laboratory and statistical analysis of a real fishery research problem, a written report, an oral presentation, and an oral defense.

Grading: Assignments will not be accepted if they are turned in after the due date, other than for extenuating circumstances such as a family or health emergency. The final class grade will be weighted according to the schedule below:

Field Trips: There will be two field trips during the semester. One field trip will teach students basic methods of measuring fish habitat and another that will provide students with a basic understanding of passive and active sampling methods. Dr. Michael Bozek, of the Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, will design and lead this field trip. A second field trip will involve travel to Lake Superior, setting and lifting a gill net, and basic operation of a trawl. During the first laboratory period, the field trip will be scheduled for dates and times that are convenient to the majority of the students. Students will be expected to provide their own clothing, appropriate for existing weather conditions, and their own lunch.

Schedule: The schedule below identifies subjects to be covered in the two weekly lectures (each lecture topic is shown in italics), followed by the topic of the exercise to be covered during the lab period. The weekly lab periods will also be devoted to working on projects. Readings from the textbook provide background for the lectures and should be read before the lecture on that subject. Sections of the written project report will be turned in, beginning in the eighth week, so you need to invest time during the first seven weeks working on your project. Sections of the written report will be edited and returned within one week, for use in preparing the final report. Oral presentations that summarize the class project and that include visual aids will be given during the final two weeks of class. Oral defenses of the project research will be conducted during the week of final exams.