THE STATUS OF EDUCATION IN FOREST ENTOMOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES

 

Steven J. Seybold, (Departments of Entomology and Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, 219 Hodson Hall, St. Paul, MN  55108-6125, e-mail:  sseybold@tc.umn.edu)

 

Educational opportunities in forest entomology in the United States were reviewed and contrasted with comparable opportunities in Canada and Mexico.  Through its accreditation process, the Society of American Foresters (SAF) suggests that the fundamentals of a U.S. forestry education include written and oral communication, mathematics, biological, social and physical sciences, and the humanities.  Four general areas of study are requested by SAF and one of those areas (Forest Ecology and Biology) includes forest entomology and forest pathology, which are to be equally weighted with seven other topics such as silviculture (and fire ecology), dendrology, soil science, and forest ecology.  An education in forest entomology should include the "study of representative forest organisms and the application of integrated pest management."  Canada has similar educational guidelines, Mexico does not.

 

Using the Internet, a state-by-state analysis shows that at least 40 institutions in 32 states offer education related to forest entomology (Table 1).  "Land Grant" universities dominate, but there are also several smaller state institutions that offer some form of forest entomology as a part of their forestry training programs.  As a consequence, several U.S. states (e.g. California, Michigan, Washington, and Wisconsin) have multiple institutions that reach forestry audiences with entomological education.  At some institutions forest entomology and shade tree (horticultural) entomology are taught as separate courses (F/S), whereas at other institutions only forest entomology is taught or the two are taught as one course (F).  Of the 42 courses taught with at least some forest entomology in them, 22 of the courses are solo courses while 20 of the courses are integrated with forest pathology or fire ecology.  Of the 20 integrated courses, 11 are taught by one instructor and 9 are taught by 2 or more instructors.  An e-mail survey of 16 active instructors in forest entomology in the U.S. confirmed that about half of their courses are integrated (Table 2) and that Internet usage varies from extremely heavy (i.e. complete course is on the world wide web) to non-existent.  Specific comments from these instructors suggest that participation in integrated courses drastically curtails the amount of entomological subject matter covered.  However, integrated courses are more representative of the actual forest ecosystem and provide an excellent opportunity to simultaneously contrast insect and disease symptoms and to present realistic management recommendations for both groups of organisms and for prescribed burning.  The comments also highlighted the benefits of the Internet in providing a visual archive of teaching materials, ready access to expert systems and models, and a remote repository of information for students and practicing forestry professionals (regionally and internationally).

 

As an example of a newly developed course in forest entomology, Entomology 4251 (Forest and Shade Tree Entomology, Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, /classes/ent4251/index.html) is offered for three credits during fall semesters with two lectures and one two-hour lab per week for a total of ~30 lectures and ~15 labs/semester.  The course attracts undergraduate students from the Forest Resources (FR) major (urban forestry and forest resources management submajors) and the Horticulture major.  For FR students, the course represents 3 of the 128 credits needed for graduation, and these students are required to take either Ent 4251 or Diseases of Forest and Shade Trees.  Many FR students take Ent 4251 because it is listed as a recommended elective for both of the submajors.  The course has also attracted graduate students in horticulture and other disciplines.  After three course offerings, the enrollment has averaged 24 students per semester.  Highlights of the course include group exercises during lecture, a written literature review, an oral presentation on an extension topic, and novel laboratory exercises including career opportunities in forest and shade tree entomology, the impact of forest insect management on endangered species, and positive impacts of insects on human values.  During the latter exercise, students are given the opportunity to dine on a variety of insect-laden foods (= culinary control).

Table 1:  United States Institutions Offering Courses in Forest (F) or Shade Tree (S) Entomology 

Alabama   Auburn University (F/S)	Minnesota   --University of Minnesota (F/S)
Arizona   --Northern Arizona University (F) Integrated (>2)	Mississippi   --Mississippi State University (F) Integrated (1?)
Arkansas   --University of Arkansas, Monticello (F) Integrated (1)	Missouri    --University of Missouri (F) Integrated (1?)
California    --University of California, Berkeley (F) Integrated (3)    --California Polytechnic State University,   -- San Luis Obispo, (F) Integrated (1)    --Humboldt State University, Arcata (F)	Montana    --University of Montana (F) Both a stand alone    and Integrated (1) courses are offered by same    instructor
Colorado    --Colorado State University (F) Integrated (1)	New York    --SUNY Syracuse (F)
Florida    --University of Florida (F)	North Carolina    --North Carolina State University (F/S)
Georgia    --University of Georgia (F)	Ohio    --Ohio State University, Columbus (F)
Idaho    --University of Idaho (F) Integrated (2)	Oregon    --Oregon State University (F) Both an    undergraduate Integrated (2) and a graduate    Integrated (1) course are offered.
Illinois    ---University of Illinois (F)	Pennsylvania    --Penn State University (F/S)
Indiana    ---Purdue University (F/S)	South Carolina    --Clemson University (F)
Iowa   --Iowa State University (F) Integrated (2)	Texas    --Steph. F. Aust. State U., Nacogdoches (F) Integrated (1)    --Texas A&M (F/S)
Kentucky    --University of Kentucky (F/S)	Utah    --Utah State University (F)
Louisiana    --Louisiana State University (F/S) Integrated (1?)	Virginia    --Virginia Tech (F/S) Integrated (3)
Maine    --University of Maine (F) Integrated (1)	Washington    --Washington State University, Pullman (F)    --University of Washington, Seattle (F) Both       stand alone and Integrated (3) courses are      offered by same instructor
Maryland    --University of Maryland (S)	Wisconsin    --University of Wisconsin, Madison (F) Integrated (2)    --University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point (F)    Both stand alone and Integrated (1) courses are    offered by same instructor
Massachusetts   --University of Massachusetts (F/S)
Michigan    --University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (F)    --Michigan State Univ., East Lansing (F)       Integrated (2)    --Michigan Technological University, Houghton          (F)	Courses involving forest entomology instruction integrated with forest pathology or fire ecology are listed as "Integrated" with the number of instructors in ( ).

   

Table 2:  Responses of United States Forest Entomology Instructors to an E-mail Survey Regarding Integration of their Courses with other Forest Science Disciplines and Internet Usage

  

Institution	Solo	Integrated	Internet Use
Arizona/NAU		X	"Don't use a web-based format"  [0]
Arkansas/UA Monticello		X	Source for student written reports  [1]
California/UCB		X	"Use the web from time-to-time" [1]
Georgia/UGA	X		Links provided to students for more detail on certain insect groups  [1]
Iowa/ISU		X	Links provided and students required to use the internet as source for writing assignments and term projects  [1]
Kentucky/UK	X		Supplemental teaching tool, but not required for assignments  [1]
Michigan/MSU		X	Source for research assignments  [1]
Minnesota/UMN	X		Source for writing and oral presentation assignments, posting of course announcements and assignments, syllabus, lecture slides, chat room, assignment examples [2]
Montana/UM	X	X	Courses are not web-based  [0]
New York/SUNY Syracuse	X		"I do not use the web"  [0]
North Carolina NC State	X		Has a web site and plans to put most of the course on the site  [0/1]
Oregon/OSU		X	Syllabus, outline, and lab manual are on the web and available to students  [1/2]
Virginia/VPI		X	Has a course web site with everything except the lectures.  Links are used as the course textbook  [2]
Washington/ WSU	X		Has a web site and uses it to teach entire course  [2]
Washington/UW	X	X	No response regarding Internet use  [0]
Wisconsin UW-Madison		X	Extensive use of the Internet [2]

Question 1: Do you teach a "stand alone" (solo) forest entomology course or participate in a team-taught course with a pathologist or fire ecologist?  
Result 1: 10 of 18 courses are integrated courses

Question 2:  Do you use the world wide web to assist or supplement your course in some way?
Result 2: 6 to 7/17 have no internet use  [0]
               6 to 8/18 supplement the course with internet use  [1]
               4 to 5/17 have heavy internet use with the course  [2]

REFERENCES 

Society of American Foresters.  2000.  Accreditation Handbook - Standards, Procedures, and Guidelines for Accrediting Educational Programs in Professional Forestry, Updated October 2000, 29 pp.
 
University of Minnesota Entomology 4251:  /classes/ent4251/index.html

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW:  TEACHING FOREST ENTOMOLOGY

Moderators and Presenters:  John McLean, (Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada  V6T 1Z4, e-mail:  mclean@interchange.ubc.ca), and  Steven J. Seybold, (Departments of Entomology and Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, 219 Hodson Hall, 1980 Folwell Ave., St. Paul, Minnesota 55108-6125, e-mail:  sseybold@tc.umn.edu)

Presenters:  Jorge E. Mac’as-Samano, (El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, ECOSUR, Carretera Antiguo Aeropuerto Km 2.5, 30700 Tapachula, Chiapas, MEXICO, e-mail:  jmacias@tap-ecosur.edu.mx), Donald L. Dahlsten, (201 Wellman Hall, ESPM, Center for Biological Control, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3112, e-mail:  donaldd@nature.berkeley.edu), and Tim Ebata, (Forest Practices Branch, B.C. Ministry of Forests, Victoria, British Columbia, e-mail:)

This workshop raised a variety of educational issues related to forest entomology and forest health.  The audience/clientele and the institutions offering forest entomology courses in Canada, the United States, and Mexico were presented by McLean, Seybold, and Macias-Samano, respectively.  McLean and Seybold also discussed the effect of accreditation guidelines on course content for professional forestry education in Canada and the United States.  Comparable guidelines for forest entomology education in Mexico have not been developed.  The Internet appears to have impacted forest entomology courses most prominently by preserving images of valuable teaching materials and making lecture and laboratory materials available for review on a 24 hour per day basis.  Course web sites are being developed at numerous institutions (e.g. UBC, WSU, OSU, UMN, UWM, VPI, and NCState) to serve on-campus as course supplements and off-campus as remote sources of remedial information for practicing foresters.  Course web sites from North American institutions have the potential to reach international audiences, and can be particularly valuable in parts of the world where forest entomology instruction is not available.  There is also great potential for the Internet to enhance forest entomology education in Mexico where most of the instruction is delivered in person in one state and the one major forest insect compendium available in Spanish language could be put onto the web to reach a wide audience that has access to internet cafes but not necessarily to books.

In the U.S., nearly 50% of courses (20 of 42) that include material on forest entomology are "integrated" courses---often involving forest pathology and/or fire ecology.  About half of these courses are taught by individual instructors.  Through a case study at the University of California at Berkeley, Dahlsten traced the development of forest entomology education from a solo course for forestry undergraduates (1950's-1970's) to its present form as an integrated section of a course called "Forest Perturbation," which is team taught to natural resource undergraduates by Dahlsten, a forest pathologist, and a fire ecologist.  The advantages of the forest ecosystem approach to teaching forest protection may be offset by the limited time available for covering the technical issues associated with each sub-discipline.  Forestry and resource professionals receiving forest insect biology training in integrated courses will likely have to rely on remedial education provided through web sites and workshops.  Despite the minimal technical content available in some modern forest entomology courses, from the perspective of a B.C. forest manager, Ebata noted that forestry professionals in his jurisdiction were receiving adequate university preparation and remedial training through insect and disease workshops to allow them to carry out their professional activities.  One group that appears to be jeopardized by the current state of forest entomology education is the next generation of forest entomologists, who may not have access to courses with enough technical content needed for scientific proficiency.  These students will have to receive their training as teaching assistants or through internships with governmental professional forest entomologists, or, as Dahlsten reported has happened at UCB, organize their own courses or seminars in study groups or with the direction of current forest entomology faculty.