Course Schedule

Veranstaltungen von Joern Fischer


Lehrveranstaltungen

Kolloquium Sozial-ökologische Forschung (Kolloquium)

Dozent/in: Joern Fischer, Jan Hanspach, Berta Martín-López

Termin:
 wöchentlich | Donnerstag | 13:00 - 14:00 | 07.04.2025 - 11.07.2025 | C 12.010 Seminarraum

Inhalt: Das Kolloquium wird inhaltlich verschiedene Methoden, Ansätze und Ergebnisse sozial-ökologischer Forschung behandeln und unterschiedliche Formate anbieten: Studierende präsentieren ihre Forschungsvorhaben und/ oder Ergebnisse, die dann mit den Betreuuenden und anderen Forschern diskutiert werden können

Conservation ecology (Vorlesung/Seminar)

Dozent/in: Dula Wakassa Duguma, Joern Fischer

Termin:
 wöchentlich | Dienstag | 08:15 - 11:45 | 07.04.2025 - 11.07.2025 | C 11.307 Seminarraum

Inhalt: The conservation of species and ecosystems to support both the proper functioning of ecosystems and the provisioning of natural resources to humans is a major sustainability challenge. This course provides an introduction to conservation science and its importance to sustainability. Topics covered will include background on the science of conservation biology; key drivers of biodiversity decline; and challenges of biodiversity conservation in the real world. Specific topics, among others, include habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, the effects of climate change, and invasive species. Underpinning ecological concepts such as metapopulations and connectivity will also be discussed. The course will make links to core concepts/frameworks of sustainability science such as ecosystem services, social-ecological systems, and governance throughout. The course will be taught through a combination of lectures and student-led discussion. For the discussions, students will organise in groups, select a current 'hot' topic, provide relevant literature for the other students to read before the class, and facilitate a structured discussion including a short presentation. Students will also write individual research papers on the significance of conservation biology for a specific sustainability topic. A particular highlight will be three guest lectures and discussions that will be presented via zoom and in-person, focusing on: (1) conservation case studies around global amphibian declines driven by a fungal disease affecting many species worldwide; (2) land use change and biodiversity conservation in the Chaco ecoregion; and (3) the contribution of forestry to biodiversity conservation in Sweden.

Social-ecological systems approach to ecosystem restoration (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Dula Wakassa Duguma, Joern Fischer

Termin:
 wöchentlich | Donnerstag | 09:15 - 12:00 | 07.04.2025 - 11.07.2025 | C 12.002 Seminarraum

Inhalt: Ecological restoration is set to be one of the cornerstones to counteract the current climate and biodiversity crisis. With countries pledging to restore millions of hectares worldwide, the United Nations declared 2021-2030 the “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration”. However, on a planet where human influence reaches almost every location, “ecosystem restoration” actions actually take place in complex social-ecological settings. To address this complexity, we can no longer plan or report on restoration actions using only biophysical approaches. Global change challenges push us to make ecosystem restoration a social-ecological endeavour, where restoration goals also consider the effects on human benefits, landscape multifunctionality and resilience, and are underpinned by diverse knowledge systems, worldviews and values. In this seminar, students will (1) be introduced to ecosystem restoration, (2) get to know basics of social-ecological systems thinking, and (3) apply a social-ecological systems perspective to restoration case studies. This seminar will follow a project-based learning approach. The learning process will revolve around the assessment of a real-world ecosystem restoration project, through different case studies that are selected by the students (in groups). The instructor’s role will focus on providing a series of knowledge inputs (conceptual and methodological) at the beginning of each class that allow the students to move forward in the development of their group and individual assignments. At the same time, the partial outcomes of the students' work will enable the instructor to provide new inputs and to guide the students towards the next steps until the completion of their assignments. Invited speakers will bring dynamism to the course and enrich its content by providing key expert knowledge on key topics for ecosystem restoratio for the development of the students’ work.