Loss Lab
Global Change Ecology & Management
Scott R. Loss
Associate Professor
Dept. of Natural Resource Ecology & Management
Oklahoma State University
Teaching
Scott (as a PhD student) leading a field trip at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge while teaching "Introduction to Birding" through the University of Minnesota Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (left) and teaching students about bird mist-netting in his NREM 3012 Applied Ecology and Conservation lab (right)
Classes at Oklahoma State University
Applied Ecology and Conservation (NREM 3012) - Lab course that provides hands-on experiences that relate “textbook” ecological principles to on-the-ground resource management and conservation. The class stresses the importance of taking a scientific inquiry-based approach to applied ecology and conservation. Students are exposed to all components of the scientific method and will understand the basics of experimental design and methods for ecological studies. Students also gain experience with numerous data collection techniques that are useful for understanding ecological interactions and for the management of natural resources.
Issues in Global Change (NREM 4001)- Seminar course introducing students to causes and consequences of climate change and practical implications for natural resource ecology, conservation, and management. The course focuses on climate change, but examples of other global change issues discussed include invasive species, infectious diseases, land cover and land use change, and management approaches to address these issues and to consider and incorporate uncertainty about future scenarios.
Special Topics in Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM 5030) - I occasionally offer special topics courses for graduate students. These usually consist of a guided independent study, including a reading list and one or more course assignments, that are complementary to the students' graduate research projects. Special topics courses I have taught include: "Data management and analysis for natural resource ecology research," "Habitat selection at range limits," "Methods to model avian nest survival," and "Designing a citizen science monitoring program for amphibians."
Undergraduate Research (NREM 4980) - My graduate students and I regularly mentor undergraduate students on independent research that contributes to broader objectives of our ongoing research. Since Fall 2013, I have advised 6 students on projects for course credit. These projects have covered a variety of research topics, including estimating the abundance of free-ranging cat populations in urban areas using trail cameras, developing a protocol for using drones to measure light emission from buildings in the context of bird-building collisions, and experimental research into the role of olfactory vs. visual detection mechanisms for forest mesopredators.
Photos: Students in OSU's NREM 3012 Applied Ecology & Conservation Lab (upper left) sampling for earthworms as part of the first scientific survey for invasive earthworms in the Great Plains; (upper right and lower row) banding birds as part of our research on the role of birds in carrying ticks and tick-borne diseases in urban areas, and (middle right) backpack electrofishing as part of a lab on ecological gradients in reservoirs.
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Guest Lectures
Courses for which I've guest lectured include:
Earth Observation Science for Society and Sustainability - University of Oklahoma. Lecture topic: "Research at the interface between conservation and society." November 2016.
Ecology of Invasive Species - Oklahoma State University. Lecture topic: "Free-ranging domestic cats as invasive species." Spring 2016-2019.
Ecology of Invasive Species - Oklahoma State University. Lecture topic: "Impacts and management of invasive earthworms." Spring 2016-2020.
Ornithology - Oklahoma State University. Lecture topic: "Human-caused threats to birds" Spring 2015.
Environmental Writing - Oklahoma State University. 4 weeks of contribution to graduate student-led interaction with the Highland Park Elementary School Science Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Previously taught courses
An Introduction to Birding (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Minnesota) - An introductory birding course with the goal of introducing participants to the wonder of birds and their ecology and the excitement of birding and developing natural history skills. This course was a mix mix of lectures on basic bird biology and bird identification trips into the field to apply these skills.