THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2016/2017
- ARCHIVE as at 1 September 2016
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Geosciences : Ecological Science

Undergraduate Course: Conservation Science (ECSC10036)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Geosciences CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will introduce the field of conservation science focussing on changes in biodiversity, threats to biodiversity, protected area management, and people-focused conservation. The course will involve introductions to concepts, critical assessment of the literature, and discussion of current issues in conservation and hands-on activities to teach concepts and applied skills.
Course description Week 1: 20 Sept. 2016 Introduction to conservation science (Myers-Smith and Keane)
Week 2: 27 Sept. 2016 Patterns of biodiversity (Myers-Smith)
Week 3: 4 Oct. 2016 Why do we conserve biodiversity? (Keane)
Week 4: 11 Oct. 2016 Background population ecology for conservation (Myers-Smith)
Week 5: 18 Oct. 2016 Protected areas (Keane)
Fieldtrip: 22-23 Oct. 2016 Weekend fieldtrip to the Cairngorms: Conservation management in practice
Week 6: 25 Oct. 2016 Conservation Science Mid-term Conference
*** Opinion Piece Due *** Presentations ***
Week 7: 1 Nov. 2016 Threats to biodiversity (Myers-Smith)
Week 8: 8 Nov. 2016 People-focused conservation (Keane)
*** Blog Post Due ***
Week 9: 15 Nov. 2016 Applied techniques in conservation (Mitchard)
Week 10: 22 Nov. 2016 Conservation in practice, course wrap up (Myers-Smith and Keane)
Week 11: 29 Nov. 2016 *** Post Note Due ***
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs £40 for field trip to Cairngorms
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesSuccessful completion of introductory ecology or biology courses.
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2016/17, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 30, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 166 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Presentation 10% - Given in Week 6
Opinion piece 60% - Due Week 6
Blog post 5% - Due Week 8
POST Note 25% - Due Week 10
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand the concept of biodiversity change and identify threats to global biodiversity.
  2. Understand how and why we conserve ecosystems and populations.
  3. Understand people-focused conservation.
  4. Use ecological and social science methods to communicate science to academic, public and policy audiences.
  5. Give an oral presentation, write an opinion piece and construct a blog and write a PostNOTE on selected topics in the field of conservation science.
Reading List
Week 1:
Soulé, Michael E. "What is conservation biology? A new synthetic discipline addresses the dynamics and problems of perturbed species, communities, and ecosystems." BioScience 35.11 (1985): 727-734.
http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/11/727.extract
Kareiva, Peter, and Michelle Marvier. "What is conservation science?." BioScience 62.11 (2012): 962-969.
http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/62/11/962.short
Soule, M. The ¿new conservation.¿ Conservation Biology (2013) 27:895-897.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12147/abstract

Week 2:
Pereira, Henrique M., and H. David Cooper. "Towards the global monitoring of biodiversity change." Trends in Ecology & Evolution 21.3 (2006): 123-129.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016953470500337X
Myers, Norman, et al. "Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities." Nature 403.6772 (2000): 853-858.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v403/n6772/abs/403853a0.html
Kareiva, Peter, and Michelle Marvier. "Conserving Biodiversity Coldspots Recent calls to direct conservation funding to the world's biodiversity hotspots may be bad investment advice." American Scientist 91.4 (2003): 344-351.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/27858246

Living Planet Index
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/living_planet_index2/

Week 3:
Van Houtan, Kyle S. ¿Conservation as Virtue: a Scientific and Social Process for Conservation Ethics¿. Conservation Biology 20.5 (2006): 1367¿1372
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00447.x/abstract
Justus, James et al. ¿Buying into conservation: intrinsic versus instrumental value¿. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 24.4 (2008): 187-191
http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(09)00049-4

Week 4:
Helmus, Matthew R., D. Luke Mahler, and Jonathan B. Losos. "Island biogeography of the Anthropocene." Nature 513.7519 (2014): 543-546.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v513/n7519/abs/nature13739.html

Week 5:
Brosius, J. Peter. ¿Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas at the World Parks Congress¿. Conservation Biology 18.3 (2004): 609-612
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2004.01834.x/abstract
Terborough, John. ¿Reflections of a Scientist on the World Parks Congress¿. Conservation Biology 18.3 (2004): 619-620
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2004.01837.x/abstract
Brooks et al. ¿Protected Areas and Species¿. Conservation Biology 18.3 (2004): 616-618
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2004.01836.x/abstract
Juffe-Bignoli, D. et al. ¿Protected Planet Report 2014¿. UNEP-WCMC: Cambridge, UK.
http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/gpap_home/?18786/Protected-Planet-Report-2014

Week 7:
Hooper, David U., et al. "A global synthesis reveals biodiversity loss as a major driver of ecosystem change." Nature 486.7401 (2012): 105-108.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v486/n7401/abs/nature11118.html
McGill, Brian J., et al. "Fifteen forms of biodiversity trend in the Anthropocene." Trends in ecology & evolution 30.2 (2015): 104-113.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534714002456
Newbold, Tim, et al. "Global effects of land use on local terrestrial biodiversity." Nature 520.7545 (2015): 45-50.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v520/n7545/abs/nature14324.html

IPBES
http://www.ipbes.net/index.php/about-ipbes

Week 8:
Adams, William M. et al. ¿Biodiversity Conservation and the Eradication of Poverty¿. Science 306 (2004): 1146-1149
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/306/5699/1146.short
Milner-Gulland, E.J. et al. ¿Accounting for the Impact of Conservation on Human Well-Being¿. Conservation Biology 28.5 (2014): 1160¿1166
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12277/pdf

Week 9:
Hansen, Matthew C., et al. "High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change." Science 342.6160 (2013): 850-853.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6160/850.short
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsConservation,Biodiversity,Land-use change,Protected areas,Ecosystem services
Contacts
Course organiserDr Isla Myers-Smith
Tel: (0131 6)50 7251
Email: Isla.Myers-Smith@ed.ac.uk		 Course secretaryMiss Christine Lee
Tel: (0131 6)50 5430
Email: Christine.Lee@ed.ac.uk
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