BIOL 469 - Conservation Biology

Units: 4
Biological, economic, political and ethical issues inherent to current conservation problems. Concepts covered include the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss, conservation approaches and strategies, and the ecological, evolutionary, and anthropogenic influences underlying these issues. Lecture Units: 3; Lab Units: 1.

Prerequisites: BIOL 350.
Credit Restrictions: Not open for students with credit for BIOL 6350 or BIOL 6351.

Possible Instructional Methods: Entirely On-ground.
Grading: A-F grading only.
Course Typically Offered: Spring ONLY

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

describe the historical basis for the development of the conservation biology subdiscipline, how it differs from typical biology subdisciplines and how this relates to its “crisis”-based origins;
discuss the current issues of major environmental concern, the role of humans in their causes and consequences, and potential short and long term consequences of these phenomena;
compare and contrast the various viewpoints held by different stakeholders - i.e., biological, sociological, political - as they relate to major categories of conservation biology problems/issues; 3. describe biodiversity on Earth and discuss common practices used to inventory and monitor specific biological resources;
list and provide the function for current and historical (federal and state) programs/institutions and legislation created in support of various conservation concerns.