Course Schedule


Lehrveranstaltungen

Conservation ecology (Vorlesung/Seminar)

Dozent/in: Jörn Fischer

Termin:
wöchentlich | Dienstag | 08:15 - 11:45 | 03.04.2023 - 07.07.2023 | 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, focusing on conservation case studies around human-wildlife conflicts in Romania, oil palm development and biodiversity conservation in Malaysia, and global amphibian declines driven by a fungal disease affecting many species worldwide.