| CODE | IES5032 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Biodiversity Conservation 2: Applied Science for Management | ||||||||||||
| 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 studyy-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. This second study-unit will build on the foundational knowledge acquired throughout the first semester. It will first introduce biological classification, systematics and taxonomy and its critical role in furthering our understanding of biodiversity and evolutionary dynamics. The study-unit will also explore core theory and principles of biogeography (with emphasis on island biogeography) and population ecology, community ecology and landscape ecology. The study-unit will then focus on understanding how conservation is translated into practical ecosystem management and conservation planning and management decisions, including critical discussion of the cultural and ethical dimensions of such decisions and of contentious issues in conservation, including processes of conservation triage, rewilding, and de-extinction. Methods for conserving biodiversity will also be discussed, with a specific focus on the conservation of marine and coastal environments, to be explored through case studies and related field trips. The study-unit will also continue to explore the role of protected areas as a conservation tool, focusing in particular on the European Natura 2000 network and on Marine Protected Areas. Study-Unit Aims: - To make students aware of the link between systematics and conservation; - To introduce students to foundational scientific principles that underpin conservation practice; - To familiarise students with practical challenges encountered in conservation practice; - To familiarise students with conservation challenges related to selected coastal, marine and island environments. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain the relevance of systematics to biodiversity conservation; - Recognise factors that make a species or individual populations of a species vulnerable to extinction; - Define key tenets of ecosystem management; - Identify differences between European and American approaches to protected area designation and implementation. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Relate principles of population, community and landscape ecology to conservation practice; - Demonstrate awareness of the relevance of cultural context to conservation decisions; - Critically reflect on various contemporary dilemmas faced by conservation managers; - Make reasoned, practical suggestions for the conservation of biodiversity at a range of levels (e.g. population, species, habitat); - Employ basic skills to sample the biodiversity of selected coastal and marine environments; - Critically evaluate the appropriateness of different conservation strategies for selected coastal and marine environments; - Critically appraise the appropriateness of different protected area typologies for different conservation contexts. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Carver et al. (2021). Guiding principles for rewilding. Conservation Biology, 35 (6), https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13730 Francis et al. (2021), eds. The Routledge Handbook of Landscape Ecology. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429399480 Wiedenfeld et al. (2021). Conservation resource allocation, small population resiliency, and the fallacy of conservation triage. Conservation Biology, 35 (5), https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13696 (+ additional readings to be provided by faculty) |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Co-requisite Study-units: IES5031 ** 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 | Lecture, Fieldwork and Lab Sessions | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | John Borg Joseph A. Borg Louis Francis Cassar (Co-ord.) Patrick J. Schembri |
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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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