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ENSP 125  – Conservation Biology

4 credit hours

Instructor:  Dr. Keith S. Summerville

Contact Information: (w) 271-2265; (h) 224-0851, keith.summerville@drake.edu

Office Hours:  Harvey-Ingham, 30-A – M-F: 10-11am

Course Description:

This course explores the applications of ecological theory to managing the earth’s biodiversity.  Includes lecture and discussion of topics such as definitions of species, ecological genetics, population and community ecology, nature reserve design, landscape ecology, and ecosystem management.  Current problems within the field of conservation biology will be discussed in terms of ethical and political frameworks, and the class will critically examine several case studiess in conservation biology near the end of the term.  This course has a required lab component that will emphasize field research, computer modeling, and discussion of primary literature.

Course Organization:

Lecture:  M W F 8-9am, Laboratory: to be announced (M 2-5??)

The lecture/discussion portion of the class (MWF 8-9am) will largely focus on interpreting the Meffe text, and confronting the limitations of ecological theory as a guiding mechanism for the formulation of conservation biology.  Because conservation biology is a synthetic discipline, merging science and policy, several of the case studies we discuss may focus on sustainable development, nature capitalism, or legislative challenges to conservation (rather than hard science per se).  Such is the challenge facing conservationists- you must be trained in the liberal arts tradition rather than too specialized in any one particular field!  Thus, my primary objectives for the lecture are to: (i) help you understand current ecological theory, and (ii) apply theory to novel problems in conservation biology.  The lab schedule makes every attempt to follow the topic of discussion in lecture, and it is my hope that lab will fulfill three learning objectives for this course: (i) discussion and critique of primary literature in conservation biology, (ii) completion of field research projects designed to connect ecological theory with conservation application, and (iii) creation of ecological models that can be used to predict important conservation parameters such as population viability and most effective bioreserve design.  On days when lab is scheduled for field activities, make sure you dress weather appropriate- I venture into the wild under almost all meteorological conditions! 

Required Textbooks:

Meffe, G. K. & C. R. Carroll.  2000.  Principles of Conservation Biology, 2^nd Edition.  Sinauer Inc., New York.

Terborgh, J. 1999.  Requiem for Nature.  Island Press, New York.

Daily, G. & K. Ellison.  2002.  New Economy of Nature.  Island Press, New York.

Supplemental Reading (primarily for lab activities):

1)      O’Brien, S. J. and E. Mayr.  1991.  Bureaucratic mischief: recognizing endangered species and subspecies.  Science 251: 1187-1188.

2)      Daugherty, C. H., A. Cree, J. M. Hay, and M. B. Thompson.  1990.  Neglected taxonomy and the continuing extinctions of tuatara (Sphenodon).  Nature 347: 177-179.

3)      Levin, D. A.  1979.  The nature of plant species.  Science 204: 381-384.

4)      Richter, B. D., D. P. Braun, M. A. Mendelson, and L. L. Master.  1997.  Threats to imperiled freshwater fauna.  Conservation Biology 11: 1081-1093.

5)      Lande, R.  1988.  Genetics and demography in biological conservation.  Science 241: 1455-1459.

6)      Saccheri, I. et al.  1998.  Inbreeding and extinction in a butterfly meta-population.  Nature 392: 491-494.

7)      Lomolino, M. V.  2000.  Ecology’s most general, yet protean pattern: the species area relationship.  Journal of Biogeography 27: 17-26

8)      Summerville, K. S. and T. O. Crist.  2003.  Lepidopteran communities in fragmented landscapes: contrasting effects of patch area, isolation, and tree species diversity.  Landscape Ecology 16: 345-359.

9)      Debinski, D. M. and R. D. Holt.  2000.  A survey and overview of habitat fragmentation experiments.  Conservation Biology 14: 342-355.

10)  Noss, R. F., J. R. Strittholt, K. Vance-Borland, C. Caroll, and P. Frost.  1999.  A conservation plan for the Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion.  Natural Areas Journal 19: 392-411.

Assignments:

1)      Exams (450 pts total).  There will be periodic exams (≈ every 4 weeks) that emphasize an understanding for the information presented during the lecture portion of the class.  Therefore, material for the exams will be primarily derived from instructor lectures, class discussions, and the Meffe and Carroll text.  Exams will be a combination of short answer questions and essay responses.  Each test will be worth 100 points, with the exception of the Final, which will be worth 150 points.  The final is not cumulative in the traditional sense, but I will expect you to synthesize material from earlier in the semester into critical evaluations of case studies or essays dealing with ecosystem management and modern policy design.

2)      “Future of conservation” thesis papers (100 pts total).  One major objective of this course is to teach students how to integrate ecological theory into conservation policy.  Recently, two books from prominent biologists discussed modern problems in conservation biology and suggest alternatives that, if implemented, would make conservation more successful.  The first text, written by John Terborgh (Requiem for Nature), represents a sobering examination of the conservation failures in tropical ecosystems and suggests some radical notions for how conservation policy must be approached in developing countries.  The second text, New Economy of Nature, consists of a series of case studies of conservation successes.  You are to each write a thesis paper that synthesizes the material from these two books.  Specifically, I want you to address the following questions:

a.      Contrast the scientific and political contexts from which each text is derived.  What perspectives are Terborgh and Daily writing from?  How do they differ?

b.      What problems does Terborgh see in modern conservation in the tropics?  Are these problems absent from Daily’s case studies, or are there political mechanisms available to work through them?

c.      Do some of your own research.  What broad scientific questions remain unanswered in conservation biology?  Based on Terborgh’s and Daily treatment of conservation biology, what research questions deserve the highest priority?

d.      Where does the future of conservation biology lie?  Will successes be more the exception than the rule as Terborgh suggests, or will the new economy of nature be enough to create a modern conservation inertia that sweeps across many nations? 

Please note that these is no “one” way to write this paper, and I cannot possible tell you exactly how to approach it.  Background research will be helpful (follow Literature Cited style from the journal Conservation Biology), but it will also be critical for you to begin reading these two texts early in the semester!  I expect this paper to be 10-12 pages in length, and the assignment is due April 25^th, no exceptions.

3)      Two lab reports (150 pts total). Each student is to write two lab reports based on our field research.  The first lab report MUST be on the “Sampling and Estimating Tree Species Diversity” exercise, the topic for the second lab report will be entirely up to you- but you must select a research activity we have done in class (modeling exercises can also be used).  Each lab report should include the following sections: introduction (final paragraph presents your hypotheses), methods, results, discussion, and literature cited (follow format for Conservation Biology).  A discussion on how to write scientific papers will occur in lab the week of February 3^rd, and I encourage you to consult the supplemental reading for examples of style and format.  Lab reports are due on the 21^st of February and NO LATER than the 30^th of April (i.e. the 2^nd report will be accepted earlier).  I suggest an upper page limit for each report of 8 pages.

4)      Short lab exercises (50 pts total).  Periodically, I will distribute thought questions for you to answer based on our field activities or modeling exercises.  These assignments will be short (no more than 1 ½ pages to answer questions, depending on how wordy you are as a writer).  Total points for these assignments will be set at 50, and they will generally be due back to me one week after distribution.

Evaluation:

There are 800 possible points for this course.  Points are outlined above, with the addition of 50 total points for classroom participation (particularly discussion of primary literature during the lab section).  Students will be evaluated based on the number of points they receive out of the total possible.  Grading follows University standards, final grades will be A, B, C, D, or F.  I reserve the right to dock points from your participation grade for excess absences, and turning in assignments late is unlikely to please me either.

Lecture Laboratory Schedule