This course will introduce students to the field of conservation biology from the perspective of terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats. Conservation biology is broadly concerned with maintaining and restoring biodiversity at all levels from genes to ecosystems. We will focus on the patterns and processes creating biological diversity, causes and consequences of biodiversity loss, applied population ecology, conservation strategies, spatial management, conservation planning, sustainable development, and the interface between science and policy.
Goals for this class:
Goals for this class:
- Understand ecological and evolutionary principles that underlie biological diversity, and how they are applied to solving conservation problems.
- Explain proximate and ultimate threats to biodiversity and consequences of biodiversity loss.
- Articulate the human dimension in relation to conservation impacts, consequences, and solutions, and how humans act as global nature stewards.
- Identify linkages among conservation problems across biological scales (genes to landscapes) and geographical scales (local to global).
- Apply critical reasoning skills to assessment, analysis, and synthesis of conservation problems and solutions.
- Be able to effectively read, critique, discuss and communicate scientific information synthesized from scientific literature
- Demonstrate fluency in distinguishing among the best approaches for conserving biological diversity and some of the contemporary tools.
- Effectively demonstrate leadership capabilities in critiquing scientific literature, discussing and communicating scientific information with peers, and applying critical reasoning skills to assessment, analysis, and synthesis of conservation problems and solutions.