| CODE | IES5031 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Biodiversity Conservation 1: Key Concepts | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Institute of Earth Systems | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit forms part of a set of two study-units that will be offered sequentially. The study-units will together provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the science of biodiversity and its conservation. In this first study-unit, students will consider different concepts of the term biodiversity and different methods for measuring biodiversity. Global spatial and temporal patterns of biodiversity will be explored, including an overview of the world鈥檚 major biomes. The relevance of scale to an understanding of biodiversity patterns will be discussed. The study-unit will further discuss the importance of consumptive and non-consumptive values of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services, as well as introducing major contemporary direct and indirect threats to biodiversity, including climate change. Different methods employed for conserving biodiversity will then be introduced, with emphasis on the conservation of forest, grassland, and stream environments, to be explored through case studies and related field trips. The role of protected areas for in situ conservation will also be introduced, including US federal protected areas (wilderness areas, national monuments, national parks), agricultural land easements, and restoration projects in built environments. Study-Unit Aims: - To develop students鈥� ability to make scientifically-sound arguments to support biodiversity conservation; - To develop students鈥� understanding of the complexities involved in defining and measuring biodiversity; - To introduce students to the relevance of scale when making biodiversity conservation decisions; - To familiarise students with conservation challenges related to scientific and ethical needs - To familiarise students with conservation challenges related to selected freshwater, forest, and grassland environments. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain how biodiversity is distributed across the planet and the key factors that may explain this distribution in space and time; - List and describe different consumptive use and non-consumptive use values of biodiversity; - Identify and evaluate contemporary threats to biodiversity; - Explain the rationale for different conservation strategies; - Distinguish between and evaluate the relative effectiveness of a variety of in-situ and ex-situ conservation techniques. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Relate biodiversity conservation to contemporary discourses on anthropogenic effects, including climate change; - Employ basic skills to measure the biodiversity of selected ecosystems, including forest and freshwater environments; - Describe and evaluate biodiversity conservation strategies for selected forest, freshwater, and agricultural environments. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: The Handbook of Natural Resources (second edition) Volume 1: Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biodiversity. 2020. Yeqiao Wang (ed). CRC Press. Boca Raton. Biogeography: Biological Diversity across Space and Time, Fifth Edition. Authors: Mark V. Lomolino, Brett R. Riddle, and Robert J. Whittaker. 2017 Sinauer Associates Inc. ISBN-13: 978-1605354729; ISBN-10: 1605354724 The Ecological and Societal Consequences of Biodiversity Loss. Michael Loreau, Andy Hector, Forest Isbell. 2022. Wiley, iSTE ISBN: 978-1-119-90290-4 Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Alleviation: Exploring the Evidence for a Link. Dilys Roe, Joanna Elliott, Chris Sandbrook, Matt Walpole (eds.). 2013. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd Corridor Ecology: linking landscapes for biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation. Annika T.H. Keeley, Jodi A. Hilty, William Zander Lidicker, Adina Merenlender. 2019. Island Press. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Co-requisite Study-units: IES5032 ** Resits will be held during the period indicated by the partner institution responsible for the study-unit in accordance with the regulations applicable at the respective institution. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Fieldwork, Lab Sessions, Lectures & Seminar | ||||||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Ehren Moler |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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