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The biodiversity of our planet is increasingly at risk due to the activities of man. This unit aims to provide the conceptual background to enable students to understand the main concerns in the loss of biodiversity and how appropriate conservation strategies could help to ameliorate man’s impact. The theoretical basis of conservation biology is multidisciplinary involving population genetics, ecology, evolution, population biology, social science, etc. Lectures will be interspersed with data interpretation/case study sessions and debates that exemplify and apply the lecture material.

Fundamentals of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology & Conservation: both compulsory, but students can take this unit provided they are willing to catch up on essential background material from these second year units e.g. population genetics, covered in Fundamentals of Evolutionary Biology; and Dr Walton’s conservation material from Ecology and Conservation). The relevant lectures will be made available to students.
Students will be expected to have some basic knowledge in these areas (see prerequisite recommendations), which will be extended and applied to conservation using a wide range of examples of conservation research and management. (Students without the prerequisite units can take this unit providing they catch up on background material in their own time. Information on this will be provided prior to the start of the course.)
 

 

This unit aims to ensure students develop a deep understanding of how conservation science relates to conservation practice and to allow students to explore the complexities of topical issues. The blended learning approach taken is designed to develop critical thinking skills to help students solve real-world problems.

Students will be able to:

· explain objectively the importance of conserving biodiversity

· explain the broad base of theory and scientific methodology underlying conservation biology

· interpret information and evidence on biodiversity and apply this to inform conservation management strategies

1. Introduction to Conservation Biology: What is the current state of biodiversity and what national and international strategies are there to protect it? (CW)
2. The global protected area network: anthropogenic land use and transformation, protected areas history and bias. (SS)
3. Understanding species extinction risk: Intrinsic risk, gap and refugee species, defining risk and vulnerability, adequacy of protection. (SS)
4. Modelling current and future viability: Species distribution models and population viability analysis. (SS)
5. Problems of small populations 1: loss of genetic diversity and adaptive potential, inbreeding depression, neutral versus functional genetic variation, minimal viable populations.
6. Problems of small populations 2: Outbreeding depression and issues for captive breeding and reintroduction. Gray wolves as an example. (CW)
7. Case Ë®¶à¶àµ¼º½/Data Interpretation session: The Scimitar-horned Oryx. How can genetic data from captive populations be used to select individuals for reintroduction. (CW)
8. Problems of fragmented populations 1: population structure and gene flow, managing protected and unprotected areas. (CW)
9. Problems of fragmented populations 2: habitat corridors, translocations. Black rhino as an example. (CW)
10. Case Ë®¶à¶àµ¼º½/Data Interpretation session on Tropical Forest Biodiversity: How can we use spatial genetic information on forest species to inform conservation management? (CW)
11. Rewilding: What is rewilding and should humans be a component of rewilded landscapes? (CW)
12. Debate 1: Conservation and Agriculture: Can we combine food production with biodiversity conservation? (CW)
13. Conservation for the long term: species and ecosystem responses to climate change and adaptation to anthropogenic environments (CW)
14. Conservation physiology: stress and reproduction in captive and wild populations and discussion of research design (SS)
15. Debate 2: Trophy hunting, fishing and paying for conservation (SS)
16. Invasive species: what threats do they pose to ecosystems and how can they be mitigated? (JL)
17. Ethics of conservation: What has ethical standing in conservation? What are the various ethical perspectives and arguments for conservation? (JL)
18. Debate 3: Ethics of conservation (JL)

Poster Session. A separate 2 hour poster session will be scheduled towards the end of the unit where students will present their posters. Compulsory attendance as the posters are assessed.

Final examination: 10 MCQs (20% of marks), 1 essay style question that requires students to apply knowledge from across the course to address a conservation issue using a problem-solving approach (e.g. developing a research or management strategy) (60% of marks).

Coursework: Group creation and presentation of a poster within a poster session on a conservation topic chosen by the students (20% of marks).

Data interpretation/case study sessions and debates provide feedback on the lecture material to facilitate students being able to understand and apply the lecture material

Online MCQs (similar to those in the exam) provide formative feedback

Feedback is provided on the poster.

A feedback session will be offered to students prior to the exams. This will discuss the exam format and go through an example question and answer as well as allowing students to ask questions that have emerged during revision.
 

Introduction to Conservation Genetics. Frankham R, Ballou JD & Briscoe A (2010) Cambridge University Press

Conservation Biology (2019) Cardinale B, Primack R & Murdoch J, Oxford University Press USA, New York.

Key Topics in Conservation Biology (2013) MacDonald DW, Willis KJ (Eds) (2013)

The year studying abroad is an integral part of the course and must be completed. Some costs, such as tuition fees, are substantially lower. Other costs can vary and are not included in the tuition fee. For example, living costs may be higher or lower than the UK, and there are travel-related costs to consider, such as paying for a passport, visa fees, health insurance, and (if needed) vaccinations.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's (PDF document, 91KB).

Students participating in placements outside the UK may be able to apply for funding from the depending on eligibility. Priority will be given to students from low income households.