BSC 3052 - Conservation Biology

College of Natural Sciences

Credit(s): 3
Contact Hours: 47
Effective Term Spring 2015 (495)

Requisites

Prerequisite PCB 3043 with a minimum grade of C and
Prerequisite PCB 3043L with a minimum grade of C

Course Description

This course is designed to teach the conceptual foundations of conservation biology, including the value of biodiversity and trends in global biodiversity. We will also explore the threats and challenges to conserving earth’s biodiversity. One of the aims is to correlate concepts from ecology and evolutionary biology to the field of conservation biology. This course will explore the wide variety of approaches used in solving problems in conservation biology and the interrelationships between conservation, human societies and public policy. (Note: STA 2023 is strongly recommended.)

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

  1. The student will explain the conceptual foundations of conservation biology by:
    1. outlining the history and guiding principles of conservation biology.
    2. enumerating the components of biodiversity, including: genetic diversity, population-level diversity, species diversity and diversity of communities/ecosystems.
    3. evaluating estimates of species diversity.
    4. describing global and local patterns of biodiversity, including latitudinal gradients, patterns of endemism, metapopulation effects, area effects and distance effects
    5. analyzing the mechanisms that generate species diversity patterns, including immigration, extinction, speciation and disturbance rates.
    6. describing the impact of genetic variation on wild populations and the importance of maintaining genetic diversity as a component of biodiversity.
  2. The student will assess the value of biological diversity by:
    1. estimating the value of natural resources through direct-use, including consumptive and productive uses.
    2. describing the value of natural resources through indirect, non-consumptive uses.
    3. debating the intrinsic and ethical value of biodiversity.
  3. The student will evaluate threats to biodiversity by:
    1. comparing past, background and current extinction rates.
    2. characterizing species that are most vulnerable to extinction.
    3. outlining and assessing the primary causes of extinction, including: habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, habitat degradation, global climate change, overexploitation, invasive species and disease.
  4. The student will examine various approaches to biological conservation by:
    1. assessing conservation at the population and species level, including consideration of conservation genetics, metapopulation dynamics, population viability analysis, spatial models, landscape models, and re-establishing wild populations.
    2. evaluating conservation at the ecosystem level, including the planning, establishment and maintenance of protected areas with incorporation of ecosystem dynamics, stochastic effects, resilience and the use of corridors.
    3. identifying the role of ecosystem restoration in conservation and the success and challenges of restoration and reintroduction projects.
    4. describing case studies in practical application of conservation biology.
  5. The student will investigate the relationships between conservation biology, human societies and public policy by:
    1. summarizing biological, ethical, economic, and societal issues related to conservation.
    2. forecasting the effect of biological conservation on sustainable development at local, national and global levels.
    3. showing the inter-dependent role between public policy and biological conservation efforts.

Criteria Performance Standard

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will, with a minimum of 70 % accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives through classroom measures developed by individual course instructors.

History of Changes

C&I Approval: 05/16/2014, BOT Approval: 10/21/2014, Effective Term: Spring 2015 (495)

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