Wildlife & Fisheries Biology: Conservation Biology

Conservation of biological diversity at genetic, species, ecosystem, and landscape levels. Emphasis on genetic diversity, population viability, endangered species, critical habitats, international implications. Discussion section covers basic genetic principles, population genetics, and population modeling. Prerequisites: NR 2030 or BCOR 2100; BIOL 1000 or BIOL 1400, and BIOL 1450; or PBIO 1040; or BCOR 1400 and BCOR 1450.

Asynchronous Online Pre-reqs: 2 semesters of BIOL or BCOR and NR 2030

Humans have caused a global biodiversity crisis due to land appropriation, consumption, industrial development, pollution, waste production, land fragmentation, species introductions, and climate change. So how do we evaluate the conservation status of our vulnerable wildlife populations and communities? Conservation biology is an interdisciplinary study of the management and conservation of biodiversity in the face of these global threats. In this class, you’ll learn the basics of how to approach conservation biologists’ primary objective: to quantitatively determine the health of species at either the genetic, population, community, and/or landscape level. You will also deepen your understanding of the implications of land use, policies, and management actions on wildlife, and begin to think about addressing conservation objectives in the context of decision-making. Throughout this course you will revisit the fundamental concepts and principles of conservation biology, then learn how to build models that describe and predict important patterns and processes, and how to use those models to inform conservation decision-making.

This is an online, asynchronous course that completes 4 credits in 4 weeks. Students should expect to work on this course full-time, and are discouraged from taking another class or working a full-time job concurrently. Lab preparation takes about 2-4 hours, lab activities take 2-3 hours, readings take 2-4 hours, and discussion posts take 30 minutes to an hour. Watching lectures will take 1-2 hours per day. Preparing for and taking quizzes will take about 1 hour. Students will complete 2 labs, 2 quizzes, and 2-4 readings plus 2 discussion posts per week.

Lab assignments, quizzes, discussion posts