The goals of this course are: (i) To understand what biodiversity is, and how it changes through speciation and extinction. (ii) To understand how biodiversity is measured and valued, and the principal current threats to biodiversity. (iii) To understand the practice and complexity of preserving biodiversity through applied case studies.
Week 1: introduction; origins of conservation biology; conservation ethics Week 2: Defining biodiversity; conservation genetics Week 3: Speciation; measuring biodiversity Week 4: Extinction and extinction risk Week 5: Special topic (TBA); conservation economics Week 6: Problems affecting small populations; methods in applied population biology Week 7: Habitat loss and fragmentation; global climate change Week 8: Overexploitation; mid-term exam Week 9: Invasive species; disease threats to wildlife Week 10: Special topic (TBA); threats to freshwater biodiversity Week 11: Aquatic invasions; managing parks and other public lands from an ecosystem perspective Week 12: Challenges of integrating conservation science and policy Week 13: Persistent organic pollutants; conservation law and water management in Georgia Week 14: Presentation of group projects Week 15: Thanksgiving Week 16: Special topic (TBA); course synthesis and the future of conservation Week 18: Final exam