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| Course ID: | ECOL 3530. 3 hours. | | Course Title: | Conservation Biology | Course
Description: | An introduction to the foundational principles of modern
conservation biology. Investigation of how biological
diversity changes across time and space, threats to
biodiversity, and how biodiversity can be managed using cross-
disciplinary approaches and illustrated with applied case
studies. | | Oasis Title: | Conservation Biology | | Duplicate Credit: | Not open to students with credit in ECOL 3530E | | Prerequisite: | BIOL 1104 or (BIOL 1108 and BIOL 1108L) | Semester Course
Offered: | Offered fall semester every year. | | Grading System: | A-F (Traditional) |
| | Course Objectives: | 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. | | Topical Outline: | 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 | |
Syllabus:
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