Module BIOL3551: Conservation Biology

Department: Biological and Biomedical Sciences

BIOL3551: Conservation Biology

Prerequisites

• Ecology AND Evolutionary Biology.

Corequisites

• At least one other Level 3 Biology module.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• Introduce the scope and aims of conservation biology in the modern world.
• Introduce the concept of biodiversity at a range of resolutions, from genes to biomes.
• To promote an appreciation of some of the major issues affecting biodiversity.
• To provide an understanding of how theory can be applied to practical problems.
• To develop the knowledge and skills to solve real-world conservation problems.

Content

• An introduction to conservation & biodiversity.
• The individual species in conservation.
• Multi-species considerations.
• Landscape-scale considerations.
• Integrating conservation into the global landscape.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand how to define and measure biodiversity.
• Understand current extinction rates in the context of earlier extinction events.
• Be able, in principle, to apply ecological concepts (metapopulation and PVA models, species-area relationships etc) to conservation problems.
• Understand the role of conservation biology in a human-modified landscape.
• Have an insight into the practicalities of in-situ and ex-situ conservation.

• Acquire knowledge on the major threats to biodiversity.
• Develop skills to produce species action plans.
• Critically assess the potential application of different approaches to conservation problems.
• Gain knowledge of a variety of techniques that can be applied to threatened populations/communities.

• Scientific writing.
• Report writing.
• Group work.
• Acquire, interpret and critically analyse theoretical, experimental and applied data and literature.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures, Workshops, Unseen exam and Data handling.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University