Conservation Biology 2006
Lectures and Readings
Last updated 09 December 2006
Check back often for minor
changes to readings or schedule.
Readings should only be accessed by students enrolled in the course.
All chapter readings are from your VanDyke text unless otherwise noted.
Other readings are in pdf format. (Download adobe acrobat reader if needed)
Date
Topic (Reading; please complete before
class)
Aug 22
Lecture
1 (or as 6
slides/page)
Introductions and photos, sign up for
paired presentations
Syllabus, philosophy, and context
(Ecological footprint for Thursday,
http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp,
http://www.rprogress.org/newprojects/ecolFoot/faq/
)
(Optional, more
in-depth excel-based
footprint calculator)
(Optional:
Bill
Calder Memorium from The Auk, 2003)
1) Explain why you think your ecological footprint differs depending on
the country you claim to live in, even if all the data you input are the same?
(due 24 Aug)
Aug 24
Lecture 2 (or as 6 slides/page)
Discuss Ecological
Footprint
What is conservation biology?
(Van Dyke CH1)
Aug 29
Lecture 3 (or as 6 slides/page)
What is conservation biology?
(Van Dyke CH1; Noss
1999)
(optional: Meffe and Carroll 1997, Chap 1 [Part
1, Part
2])
Aug 31
Lecture 4 (or as 6 slides/page)
Conservation Ethics and Rationale
(Van Dyke CH3; Callicott, Chap 2 of Meffe and Carroll
1997
[Part
1, Part
2])
Sep 05
Lecture 5
(or as 6 slides/page)
Conservation Ethics and Rationale
(Van Dyke CH3; Leopold readings)
Leopold writing about
Arizona
Leopold writing about his Land
Ethic
Leopold writing about Health
of the Land and Wildlife
Recommended
(better yet buy these books for yourself and read them cover to
cover!):
Leopold writing about Wisconsin
Leopold writing about Chihuahua
and Sonora
Leopold writing about being your own
Emperor
References:
Leopold, A. 1966 (1949). A
Sand County Almanac with Essays on Conservation from Round River. Oxford Univ.
Press.
Leopold, A. 1999. For the Health of the Land: Previously Unpublished
Essays and Other Writings. Island Press.
2) Should ‘intrinsic’ or ‘instrumental’ values be the basis for planning
conservation efforts? Why? (due 07 Sep)
Sep 07
Lecture 6: part 1, part 2
(or as 6 slides/page)
Biodiversity
(VanDyke CH4)
(Costanza
et al. 1997, Nature)
(Driessen
2004
, DDT, Malaria, EcoImperialism)
Sep 12
Lecture 7 (see lecture from 07 Sept for bulk of slides)
Biodiversity
(VanDyke
CH4)
History of conservation
biology/Legislation
(Van Dyke
CH2)
Sep 14
Lecture 8
(or as 6 slides/page)
History of conservation
biology/Legislation
(Van Dyke CH2
Endangered Species Act
National Environmental Policy Act: NEPA document, NEPA information, NEPA and
EIS)
3) Is the endangered species act (ESA) the correct approach for US
conservation efforts? Why or why not?
-
Why is biodiversity important? How would you defend any one species to a
non-conservationist? (due 19 Sept)
Sep 19
Lecture 9 (as 6 slides/page)
(SDCP
writeup by Chuck Huckelberry in the Endangered Species Bulletin)
(Pima County SDCP
website)
ESA Overview
Sep 21
Lecture 10
David
Hall (guest speaker; desert aquatic
populations [turtles, frogs, fish] and their
conservation)
Sep 26
Lecture 11 (or as 6
slides/page)
Laws and Regulations; Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan Sep28 (Lecture 12)
Exam 1
(through ~26
Sept. over CH1-4 and associated readings)
Oct 03
(Lecture 13; or as 6 slides/page) Paradigms and Theories,
Oct 05
(Lecture 14; or as 6 slides/page) (Van Dyke
CH6) Hans-Werner Herrman (guest speaker;
Oct 10
Lecture 15 (or as 6
slides/page)
Paradigms and Genetics (Van Dyke
CH5&6) 4) New and Improved!!: If islands are such 'endemic hotspots,'
should they be considered a conservation priority even though they comprise a small percentage of the world's land mass? Why?
(or address similar scenario for coral reefs in marine systems)
(due 17
Oct)
Oct 12
Lecture 16 (or as 6
slides/page)
Paradigms and Genetics (Van Dyke
CH5 & 6;
Optional reading on puma genetics: Culver et al. 2000
) 506R topic and annotated references
due today or as late as 17 October
Oct 17
Lecture 17 (or as 6
slides/page)
Invasive
Species (Van Dyke
CH7) Kathy Gerst (guest speaker; invasive riparian plants and biocontrol)
Lecture 18 (or as 6
slides/page)
Conservation Genetics
(Van Dyke
CH7&8;
Paper on PVA in Florida Panther: Part 1,
Part 2,
Part 3
)
Oct 24
Lecture 19 (or as 6
slides/page)
Genetics, PVA, MVP (skip Global Climate Change, Peak
Oil; see McPherson lecture) Question 5 pushed back, due 07 Nov
Oct 26 5) What role does global climate change play in the arena of conservation
biology? How can we combat it? (due 07 Nov)
Oct 31
Lecture 21:
Conservation Practices
(Moll [2004] Ch 7 [this is a long reading and a large file] and Van Dyke CH10)
Nov 07
Lecture 23 announcements (Van Dyke
CH11 and
Nov 09
Nov 14 (Van Dyke
CH12) Reconciliation Ecology
Nov 21 Professional
Panel (Van Dyke
CH13) 506R Written Research Project
due
Lecture 28 (or as 6 slides/page):
Economics and Sustainable Development
(Van Dyke
CH12) Exhibit criteria due. 7) What are the pros and cons of economic systems that follow either a
‘steady-state’ model or a ‘growth is always better’ model? Which do you think we
should follow? Why? (due 05 Dec) Nov 30 EXHIBIT
(Public) - art/literature project
due today, peer grading
Dec 05
Lecture 30 (or as 6 slides/page):
Last
Lecture Wrap-Up, Sustainability, Course
evaluations
Dec 14 (Thursday)
Review Sheet for last third of course, fall 2006
Exam 1 Key 2006
2006 Sample Topics and Review Questions for Exam
1
Exam
1, 2005 KEY
2005
Sample Topics and Questions
Exam 1
from 2004
Exam 1
from 2003
(Van Dyke
CH5)
(David Quammen, 1996, Island Biogeography Excerpt from
Song of the Dodo)
Conservation
Genetics
Oct 19
(see relevant readings from previous lectures)
Nov 02
Exam 2
(through ~31 October; covers CH5-8 and associated lectures and
readings)
Key from 2nd Exam 2006
2006 Review Sheet for Exam Two
Key from 2nd Exam 2005
Key from 3rd Exam 2005
Lecture 23 (or as 6 slides/page):
Restoration Ecology/Practicing Conservation
Biology
Chapter 1 in Falk et al. 2005, Introduction
Table 1 from Chapter 1
Figures 1&2 from Chapter 1
Chapter 16, Synthesis)
Please also look over the website of the Society for Ecological Restoration
Dr. Falk asked that you each spend 15 minutes looking through this website and bring one question and one interesting observation with you to class.
Lecture 24 (or as 6 slides/page):
Conservation Practices
(Van Dyke CH8 and 10)
Pleistocene Rewilding (Donlan et al. 2005, Nature)
Popular Article about Pleistocene Rewilding in Conservation in Practice
Rebuttal by Rubenstein et al. 2006 in Biological Conservation
Optional: longer meaty article in Am Nat (2006) by Donlan et al.
Lecture 25 (or as 6 slides/page):
Economics and Sustainable Development
Michael Rosenzweig (guest speaker)
Rosenzweig interview in AZAlumnus
Rosenzweig PNAS 2001
Optional: Rosenzweig Draft Chapter
Nov 23
Thanksgiving
(no class)
Nov 28
Optional: Science a la Joe Camel,
Washington Post OpEd Piece; NYTimes OpEd Piece
Cumulative Final Exam:
1100-1300h
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about bad links.