Evolving
Schedule
Fall 2009
Conservation Biology (
Please complete assigned readings before class
LAST UPDATED 16 December
2009
Remember that you will be turning in
3/9 writing assignments, one each for September-November.
Questions will be posted below, throughout the lecture schedule.
Week 1
Tues Aug 25, Introductions
(pdfx2 or pdfx6) and photos; Syllabus, philosophy,
and context
(Ecological footprint for Thursday,
[take quiz - choose metric, US, +
another country; check out FAQs] http://www.myfootprint.org/)
[optional in-depth
footprint calculator:
http://eebweb.arizona.edu/Courses/Ecol406R_506R/ef_household_0203.xls]
[Optional: Bill
Calder Memoriam from The Auk, 2003]
Thurs Aug 27, Discuss
Ecological Footprint; What is conservation biology? (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH1; Meine
et al. 2006), [optional: Meffe and Carroll 1997, Chap 1 (part
1 & part
2)]
Week 2
Tues Sep 1, Conservation
Ethics and Rationale (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH1 and pp. 64-68 of CH3; Callicott, Chap 2 of
Meffe and Carroll 1997 [part
1 & part
2])
Thurs Sep 4, Leopold
(pdfx2 or pdfx6)
Leopold readings:
Required:
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 For the Health of the Land: Previously Unpublished Essays and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.
Q1
- (Recall that you are expected to answer 3/9 during the semester. See syllabus
for details.)
Due by
1a. Should conservationists focus on
instrumental or intrinsic values to promote their agenda of biodiversity
protection? Why?
OR
1b. What is the most pressing challenge facing
conservation of biodiversity? How do we address this challenge from here on
out?
Week 3
Tues Sep 8, Biodiversity
(pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH2; Myers et al. 2000)
Thurs Sep 10, Value
of Biodiversity (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
Week 4
Tues Sep 15, Biodiversity
Value and Threats (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH4; David Suzuki
Website)
Optional:
Fixation Indices (Groom excerpt; VanDyke excerpt); Measuring
Diversity; Hardy Weinberg
Q2 - Due by 6am Monday 29 September to MJ as .DOC
attachment.
How should biodiversity be measured? Who would agree with
your response and who would disagree? By “who” we mean which groups, organizations, or famous
persons relevant to Conservation Biology. You will obviously have to choose
just a few to include in your essay. The best essays will be organized, well
written, define terms, explain and justify points of view, and include
citations of literature.
Thurs Sep 17, Biodiversity
Valuation, Economics of Conservation (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
-AND-
1430h: Diversity and Conservation in our National Parks (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
Don Swann (NPS weblink;
optional paper about saguaro regeneration)
Week 5
Tues Sep 22, Biodiversity
Threats (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH4)
Thurs Sep 24, EXAM ONE (CH1-4, and associated lectures and
readings)
2009
Ex1 KEY, 2009 Review; 2008 review guide; 2008 Ex1 KEY
and Examples of Excellent Answers; 2007 midterm example (not all same topics)
Week 6
Tues Sep 29,
River Turtle Conservation
Ed Moll (Ch
7 of his 2004 book, The Ecology,
Exploitation, and Conservation of River Turtles)
Q3 - Due by 6am Friday 09 October to MJ as .DOC
attachment.
Craft two letters, each a page in length, to one or more of
your political representatives.
The first letter should focus on the theme of externalities. Convince your representative(s)
that more explicit consideration of externalities is good for people, the
economy, and the environment. The second letter should be about invasive
species. What do you want your representative(s) to know about invasive species
and what do you want them to do with respect to invasive species? Although these are letters, we still
want you to include one or more citations in each. The best letters will be
organized, clear, and persuasive.
Thurs Oct 1,
Biodiversity Threats, Invasive Species (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH4; TREE article on Biocontrol 2007)
Week 7
Tues Oct 6, Preparing
for Loihi
Rob Robichaux (Silversword
Article on Jane Goodall site)
(Optional: Silversword Alliance; Molecular Ecology 2007; U. Hawaii Site)
Thurs Oct 8, Global
Climate Change (pdfx2
or pdfx6)
(Primack CH4; Walther et al. 2002, Nature)
(Optional:
National Geographic Global Warming Issue: Part
1 Part
2 Part
3)
Extinctions,
Populations (
(Primack CH5; Harper
et al. 2008; Quammen Song of the Dodo excerpt)
Week 8
Q4 - Due by noon Friday 23 October to MJ as .DOC
attachment.
What are the relative impacts of invasive species and
climate change on the present and future diversity of island ecosystems? How
should conservation biologists help mitigate these impacts? The best essays will be organized,
well written, define terms, explain and justify points of view, and include
citations of literature.
Tues Oct 13, Conservation
Genetics (pdf slides)
Adrian Quijada Mascarenas (Hedrick
2002 – Conservation Genetics; Murphy et al. 2007
– Tortoise conservation genetics example)
(Optional:
DeSalle
& Amato, 2004)
Thurs Oct 15, Conservation
Genetics (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
Adrian Quijada Mascarenas (see readings for 13 Oct)
Week 9
Tues Oct 20, Populations & Paradigms (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH5&6)
Q5 - Genetic tools have made it much easier to ask questions
about gene flow among and between populations and even among and between
species. Please find a case study from the literature
that illustrates a different understanding of movement of individuals among and
between populations as a result of application of genetic tools as compared to
biologists’ understanding before the use of modern molecular techniques.
Describe the differences in understanding pre and post molecular techniques and
comment on the pros and cons of our increased understanding of population
ecology (in the context of conservation biology) from using these techniques.
(Due by 6am Monday 02 November as .DOC attachment to MJ
(mycota@gmail.com) via email.)
Thurs Oct 22, Populations, MVP, PVA, Protection (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH6; Marmontel et al. 1997 (PVA
Manatee); Gilpin 1996 (PVA
commentary); Panther PVA (skim) part 1, part 2, part
3)
Week 10
Tues Oct 27, Fire & Conservation (aka Burning
Conservation Issues) (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
Mary Jane Epps (Donovan
& Brown 2007)
Thurs Oct 29,
Exam 2 (material not yet covered by Exam 1 through 27 Oct and related readings
and lectures)
2009
Exam 2 Key, 2009 Review Sheet, 2008
Exam2 Key, 2008
Exam2 Review (note that material covered in 2008 not same as 2009)
Q6 - Please find a PVA case study in the literature (other than
one you have been told about in class or asked to read about above). Summarize
the case study, discuss the results in the context of biological conservation,
and comment on the utility of PVA both in your specific case study and more
broadly. Please include a copy of the abstract as the last page of your
assignment. (Due by 6am Saturday 14 November as .DOC attachment
to MJ (mycota@gmail.com) via email.)
Q7 - What should fire policy in western US forests comprise? For
example, 1) when should ‘Smokey the Bear’ be invoked vs. letting wildfires
burn? 2) what are the social and political factors that come into play in
different settings? 3) how do different habitats require different approaches
to fire management? 4) when is mechanical thinning preferred over prescribed
burns? 5) etc. (Due by 6am Monday 16 November as .DOC attachment
to MJ (mycota@gmail.com) via email.)
Q8 - What are the most compelling arguments in favor of the
Endangered Species Act? What are the most compelling arguments against the
Endangered Species Act? Are those arguments, both for and against, the same
ones that a dedicated conservation biologist (Bill the Biologist sensu Joe the Plumber) would use? If so,
why? If not, what arguments would Bill use for and/or against the ESA as a
conservation tool? (Due by 6am Saturday 21 November as .DOC
attachment to MJ (mycota@gmail.com) via email.)
Tues 03 Nov, Conservation Legislation, Reserve
Design (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack
CH6&7; ESA
as amended; ESA Overview; SDCP Habitat Conservation Plan; Pima County SDCP website)
Thurs 05 Nov,
Landscape Conservation,
Matt Skroch (Noss
1999, Armsworth
et al. 2007, Optional: Warshall Link: Sky Island
Overview)
Week 12
Tues 10 Nov, Conservation Practices, Ecosystem
Management (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH7-8,
SDCP links above)
Thurs 12 Nov,
Conservation Practices, Ecosystem Management (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH7-8)
Week 13
Tues 17 Nov,
Professional Panel
Marit Alanen (USFWS),
Please read the Pister article and browse
the websites before class:
(Pister 1993; USFWS in Arizona, National Natural Landmarks Program,
Arizona Conservation Science Website)
Thurs 19 Nov,
Conservation Philosophies and Approaches. Note: Class extended to 1530h, or later, if you can
stay.
Posted readings suggested
by the three guests. Please read them before class.
Scott Bonar (working with people), Guy McPherson (blog
entry), Michael Rosenzweig (Rosenzweig 2003, Rosenzweig 2005, Rosenzweig 2006)
Week 14
Artist’s Statement and grading criteria due
Tues 24 Nov, Biological Conservation:
Philosophy & Practice (pdfx2)
(Primack CH8, Kellerman et al.
2008)
Thurs 26 Nov, Thanksgiving (no class)
Q9 - (Due by 6am Mon 07 December as .DOC
attachment to MJ (mycota@gmail.com) via email.)
If you were to work for the
Nature Conservancy, US Fish and Wildlife Service, or the National Parks system,
which would you choose and why? What would be your job and what would you hope
to accomplish in the context of conservation biology?
OR
In the context of
conservation biology, what questions arose during the discussion period with
Mike Rosenzweig, Scott Bonar, and Guy McPherson that you would like answered?
Choose one or two of them to answer in this essay. More sophisticated,
integrative, and interesting questions will garner more points than simple
questions such as ‘where does Guy live in
Week 15
Tues 01 Dec,
Creativity EXHIBIT
(Public; Lobby of
(print and post your artist’s statement and grading criteria
next to your artistic submission)
Thank you for signing up to help between 1000 and 1630h. MJ
will send the schedule via email.
Noon – 4pm. “Judging” from 2-3pm. 2008
Photos
Thurs 03 Dec, Ecological Restoration (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH8, Donlan et al. 2005)
(Optional: Palmer,
Falk, & Zedler)
(Optional: Rubenstein et al. 2006,
Stolzenburg 2006, Donlan et al. 2006, AmNat)
Week 16+
Tues 08 Dec, Sustainability
(Sustainable Development), Wrap-Up (pdfx2 or pdfx6)
(Primack CH9; Chan 2008; Lackey 2007; Noss 2007)
End of Classes on Wed 09 Dec.
Optional Q&A-style
Review Session, Wed 16 Dec at noon in BSE
311
Thurs 17 Dec, Cumulative
Final Exam:
1400-1600h (aka 2-4pm) in same room as lecture has been all semester.
