CONSERVATION BIOLOGY -- WIS4554/WIS5555
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Lyn Branch
Email: branchl@ufl.edu
Office: 312 Newins-Ziegler Hall
Phone: 846-0564
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:45-11:45 AM and at other times
by appointment. My lab is on
TEACHING ASSISTANT: Santiago Espinosa, Email: santiea@ufl.edu, Office: Building 150 - Rm. 5, Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 10:45-11:45 AM and at other times by appointment.
CLASS LOCATION and TIME: Newins-Ziegler Hall, Room 112; Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00-10:25 except the first day of class we will meet at 8:30 and exams will be from 8:30-10:25.
COURSE TEXT: Groom, M. J., G. K. Meffee, and C. R. Carroll. 2006. Principles of Conservation Biology. Third Edition. Sinauer Press.
(click on the text for a companion web site that includes web links to conservation organizations and other related sites, a glossary of terms used in the text, etc.)
CLASS WEBSITE: http://www.wec.ufl.edu/academics/courses/wis4554
Also, here are some easy steps to the class web site:
1. Connect to the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department’s homepage at http://www.wec.ufl.edu
2. Click on People, choose WEC Faculty.
3. Find Lyn Branch’s name and click on her Personal Homepage.
4. Click on Courses.
5. Click to enter the class web page.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Conservation biology is an
interdisciplinary science that focuses on conservation of biological diversity
at gene, population, species, ecosystem, landscape, and global levels. This discipline develops scientific and
technical means for protection, maintenance, and restoration of ecological and
evolutionary processes as part of biodiversity conservation. This course provides an overview of the
discipline including the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss, established
and emerging conservation approaches and strategies, and the ecological and
evolutionary theory that underlies these approaches. The focus of this course is on ecological and
evolutionary dimensions of conservation, rather than human dimensions which are
covered in other courses, though the human component is a central part of class
discussions on biodiversity threats and complexities of implementing
science-based conservation policy and management . The
course combines lectures, readings, in-class discussion, and a variety of writing exercises, with a special emphasis on
critical thinking, problem solving, and global understanding.
By the
end of this course, students will be able to:
·
Understand
ecological and evolutionary principles that underlie biological diversity.
·
Explain proximate and ultimate threats to biodiversity and
consequences of biodiversity loss.
·
Articulate the enormous responsibility humans have as global
land stewards.
·
Identify linkages among conservation
problems across biological scales (genes to landscapes) and geographical scales
(local to global).
·
Demonstrate how ecological and evolutionary
principles are applied to solving conservation problems.
·
Apply
critical reasoning skills to assessment, analysis, and synthesis of conservation
problems and solutions.
·
Demonstrate a greater understanding of conservation
problems in countries outside the US, as well as in the US, and cultural
differences in perceptions of problems and appropriate solutions.
Finally, the course should be FUN!
Course requirements for WIS5555 that differ from WIS4554: Requirements are similar for WIS4554 and WIS5555 except for the following: 1) Students in WIS5555 are required to write a term paper. The paper is optional for students enrolled in WIS4554. 2) WIS5555 exams will have more readings from the primary literature (in addition to the reading required for WIS4554/WIS5555). See below.
GRADING: A (94% or greater), A- (90%-93%), B+ (87%-89%), B (84%-86%), B- (80%-83%), C+ (77%-79%), C (74%-76%), C- (70%-73%), D+ (67%-69%), D (64%-66%), D- (60%-63%), E (<60%)
Sept. 8--Journal articles due -- 50 pts.
Sept. 22--First exam -- 200 pts.
Nov. 3 --Second exam -- 200 pts.
Nov. 17--Summary of current affairs due -- 50 pts.
Dec. 1 --Term paper due (optional for WIS4554, required for WIS5555) -- 200 pts.
Dec. 7--Third exam -- 200 pts., Extra credit seminar summaries due --5-15 pts.
SCHEDULE OF TOPICS FOR THE COURSE:
See the webpage Course Schedule.
REQUIRED
CLASS HANDOUTS
Handouts are available for lectures from the class web site under Study Aids-Lecture Outlines and Other Handouts. Please print them and bring them to class with you each time. These handouts will help organize your notes!
EXAMS: total 600
Each of the 3 exams counts 200 points and will be designed to be completed in approximately one hour. However, exams will start at 8:30 so that you have two periods (almost 2 hours) for each exam. There will be no final exam.
REDUCE/RECYCLE!! Please save paper on ALL written assignments. Use recycled paper if possible (e.g., use paper that has something else printed on the other side), use the entire page (e.g., don't make a title page or leave large amounts of blank space between paragraphs or sections), print on the back if you have a printer that will do this and if you can't use recycled paper. Please do not put your papers in folders, but please staple all pages of your assignments together so that they don't get lost!
JOURNAL ARTICLES: 50 points total (10 points per article)
Conservation biology is one of the most rapidly growing fields of science. One of the best ways to keep informed of new ideas, development of new tools, etc., is to read scientific journals. Two of the most important journals in the field of conservation biology are Conservation Biology (the journal of the Society of Conservation Biology) and Biological Conservation. In addition to learning about conservation biology from reading these journals, you can get ideas about jobs (e.g., organizations where people do work that interests you) and graduate programs (e.g., universities where researchers are conducting research on topics you would like to study).
For this exercise, examine any 5 issues of these journals. Include some issues of each journal
for a total of 5 articles -- or more if you are motivated! Read the most
interesting article that you find in the issue. Report the following
information for each of the 5 articles: 1) title of the article, 2) authors of
this article, 3) institution with which the authors are associated (e.g.,
University of Montana, Environmental Protection Agency, etc.), 4) journal
title, volume, and page numbers, and 5) a few sentences about why you found
this article particularly interesting (total about 1/2 page for each article).
See Important
Dates and Deadlines for due date. (Grading for each
article - parts 1-4 -- 1 pt. each, part 5 -- 6 pts.)
CURRENT AFFAIRS: 50 points total (10 points per article)
Each student will review 5 newspaper articles during the course of the
semester that illustrate "real-life" examples of topics covered in
class or in your book. For each article, you will provide (typed): 1)
name of the newspaper and date (1 pt.), 2) a one-paragraph description
explaining relevance of the article to principles of conservation biology (4
pts.), and 3) a short evaluation (one paragraph) of whether the public was informed
appropriately by this article (e.g., Was accurate information provided? Were
key points of view or key information omitted? Did the article present a fair
assessment of the issues, or was it strongly biased? (5
pts.). See Important Dates and Deadlines for
due date. Note: We prefer that you use paper copies of newspapers, but articles
from online newspapers will be accepted. A goal of this exercise is
for you to evaluate what the general public is learning about conservation
issues. Therefore, sources for your articles must be newspapers that are
widely available to the general public (e.g.,
EXTRA CREDIT SEMINARS: 5-15 points
The
TERM PAPER (optional for WIS4554, required for WIS5555): 200 points
If you do the term paper, your grade will be averaged over 900 points. If you omit the term paper (WIS4554 students only), your grade (including extra credit for seminars) will be averaged over 700 points. See description of paper under Study Aids on the web. See Important Dates and Deadlines for due date. I encourage WIS5555 students to work in groups (2-4 people per team) on the term paper. Ecosystem management plans, research papers, and other conservation documents usually are prepared by teams. This is a chance to share your expertise. NOTE: All term paper topics must be approved by the instructor.
UF requires the following on all syllabi:
Academic Honesty, Software Use, UF Counseling Services, Services for Students with Disabilities
In 1995 the UF student body enacted a new honor code and voluntarily committed itself to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. When students enroll at the university, they commit themselves to the standard drafted and enacted by students.
In adopting this honor code, the students of the
The Honor Code: We,
the members of the
On all work submitted for credit by students at the university, the following pledge is either required or implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.”
The university requires all members of its community to be honest in all endeavors. A fundamental principle is that the whole process of learning and pursuit of knowledge is diminished by cheating, plagiarism and other acts of academic dishonesty. In addition, every dishonest act in the academic environment affects other students adversely, from the skewing of the grading curve to giving unfair advantage for honors or for professional or graduate school admission. Therefore, the university will take severe action against dishonest students. Similarly, measures will be taken against faculty, staff and administrators who practice dishonest or demeaning behavior.
Students should report any condition that facilitates
dishonesty to the instructor, department chair, college dean or
(Source: 2007-2008
Undergraduate Catalog)
It is assumed all work will be completed independently unless the assignment is defined as a group project, in writing by the instructor.
This policy will be vigorously upheld at all times in this course.
Software Use:
All faculty, staff and students of the university are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against university policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.
Campus Helping Resources
Students experiencing crises or personal problems that
interfere with their general well-being are encouraged to utilize the
university’s counseling resources. Both the
·
University
Counseling Center, 301
·
·
Student Mental Health Services, Rm. 245
Student Health Care Center, 392-1171, www.shcc.ufl.edu/smhs/
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program (ASAP)
Center for Sexual Assault / Abuse Recovery & Education (CARE)
Eating Disorders Program
Employee Assistance Program
Suicide Prevention Program
Students with Disabilities
The
0001 Reid Hall, 392-8565, www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/