Course syllabus and reading list
Rationale: This course is intended primarily for graduate students in biology M.S. or Ph.D. programs with interest in conservation biology.
Course Description: This course is designed to apply basic biological principles and theories to the special problems facing the conservation of genetic, species, and community diversity in tropical and temperate ecosystems. Specific topics will include biodiversity patterns, extinctions, small populations, metapopulation processes, consequences of habitat alteration, and landscape approaches to conservation. Specific case studies will be used to provide examples of how basic theories can be applied directly to solve conservation problems.
Text: There is no required text. Collection of readings from professional journals (primarily Conservation Biology, Biological Conservation, Ecology, Ecological Applications, and Biodiversity and Conservation) and recent books (e.g., Biodiversity II, Conservation Genetics, Metapopulation Biology, Conservation Biology: science of scarcity and diversity, Conservation Biology: the theory and practice of nature conservation, preservation and management, Balance of Nature, The Biology of Rarity, Viable Populations for Conservation) will be placed on reserve. Arrangement to make copies of these reading materials will be discussed in class.
Evaluation: Grades will be based on 4 written assignments and student participation during lecture/discussion and conservation panels. Two of the four written assignments (#1, #4) will consist of from 3-4 short essay questions, of which you will select 1-2 to answer. You will be expected to use the primary literature and other reading material to support your answer; the key will be to synthesize and integrate materials in your response. One written assignment (#2) will involve conducting a population viability analysis for a plant or animal species of your choice. For this assignment you will need to review the literature to obtain appropriate population parameters for your species (data for selected species will also be available), evaluate assumptions of these parameters and the models, and use one of two available computer programs to generate simulation models under various conditions. One written assignment (#3) will involve writing a research proposal applicable to conservation biology following the guidelines provided by a well-known conservation organization. Evaluation of research proposals will be done by a panel of your peers (i.e., classmates in Biology 446) during the last two class sessions, as well as by the Program Officer (me). More detailed information about these written assignments (i.e., length restrictions, etc.) and conservation panels will be handed out shortly. Student participation during lecture/discussions and panels is strongly encouraged and constitutes about 20% of your grade in the course.
28 August: Introduction
Soule, M.E. 1985. What is conservation biology? BioScience 35:727-734.
2 September: BioDiversity Patterns
Wilson, E. O. 1988. The current state of biological diversity. Pp. 3-18 in E. O. Wilson (ed.), BioDiversity. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
Gentry, A.H. 1992. Tropical forest biodiversity: distributional patterns and their conservational significance. Oikos 63:19-28.
Erwin, T.L. 1997. Biodiversity at its utmost: tropical forest beetles. Pp. 27-40 in M.L. Reaka-Kudla, D.E. Wilson, and E.O. Wilson, (eds.), Biodiversity II: understanding and protecting our biological resources. Joseph Henry Press, Washington, D.C.
Robbins, R.K., and P.A. Opler. 1997. Butterfly diversity and a preliminary comparison with bird and mammal diversity. Pp. 69-82 in M.L. Reaka-Kudla, D.E. Wilson, and E.O. Wilson, (eds.), Biodiversity II: understanding and protecting our biological resources. Joseph Henry Press, Washington, D.C.
4 September: Extinctions
Myers,N. 1988. Tropical forests and their species: going, going, ....? Pp. 28-35 in E. O. Wilson (ed.), BioDiversity. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
Ehrlich, P.R. 1986. Extinction: what is happening now and what needs to be done. Pp. 157-164 in D.K. Elliott, (ed.), Dynamics of extinction. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Ehrlich, P.R., and G.C. Daily. 1993. Population extinction and saving biodiversity. Ambio 22:64-68.
9 September: Systematics and conservation
Greene, H.W., and J.B. Losos. 1988. Systematics, natural history, and conservation. BioScience 38:458-461.
Vane-Wright, R.I., C.J. Humphries, and P.H. Williams. 1991. What to protect? - Systematics and the agony of choice. Biological Conservation 55:235-254.
Faith, D.P. 1996. Conservation priorities and phylogenetic pattern. Conservation Biology 10:1286-1289.
11 September: Prioritizing conservation
Abate, T. 1992. Environmental rapid-assessment programs have appeal and critics: are they the domain of the conservation elite? BioScience 42:486-489.
Bojorquez-Tapia, L.A., I. Azuara, and E. Ezcurra. 1995. Identifying conservation priorities in Mexico through geographic information systems and modeling. Ecological Applications 5:215-231.
Renner, S.S., and R.E. Ricklefs. 1994. Systematics and biodiversity. TREE 9:78.
16 September: First Conservation Panel
Proposals are numbered and in folders in the Biology Conference Room (R223e). You are responsible for reading two proposals (see handout from class, e-mail, or hand-out in proposal folders) and be ready to participate in discussion of this proposal during class (discussion will be held to 10 minutes per proposal; please be prepared to stay about 15-30 minutes past class time to finish discussions). DO NOT REMOVE PROPOSALS FROM BIOLOGY CONFERENCE ROOM EXCEPT TO MAKE A COPY.
18 September: Conservation Forum (no class)
23 September: Rarity concepts
Goerck, J.M. 1997. Patterns of rarity in the birds of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Conservation Biology 11:112-118.
Rabinowitz, D., S. Cairns, and T. Dillon. 1986. Seven forms of rarity and their frequency in the flora of the British Isles. Pp. 182-204 in M.E. Soulé (ed.), Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity. Sinauer Assoc., Sunderland, MA.
Gaston, K.J. 1997. What is rarity? Pp. 30-47 in W.E. Kunin and K.J. Gaston (eds.), The biology of rarity. Chapman and Hall, London.
25 September: Predicting and understanding concepts of rarity
Lawton, J.H., S. Nee, A.J. Letcher, and P.H. Harvey. 1994. Animal distributions: patterns and processes. Pp. 41-58 in P.J. Edwards, R. May, and N.R. Webb (eds.), Large-scale ecology and conservation biology. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
Kunin, W.E., and A. Shmida. 1997. Plant reproductive traits as a function of local, regional, and global abundance. Conservation Biology 11:183-192.
Orians, G.H. 1997. Evolved consequences of rarity. Pp. 190-209 in W.E. Kunin and K.J. Gaston (eds.), The biology of rarity. Chapman and Hall, London.
30 September: Demographic consequences of small populations
Goodman, D.E. 1987. The demography of chance extinction. Pp. 35-58 in M.E. Soulé (ed.) Viable populations for conservation. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
Shaffer, M. 1987. Minimum viable populations: coping with uncertainty. Pp. 69-86 in M.E. Soulé (ed.) Viable populations for conservation. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
Lande, R. 1993. Risks of population extinction from demographic and environmental stochasticity and random catastrophes. Amer. Nat. 142:911-927.
2 October: Conservation genetics (Guest lecture: Alan Templeton)
Ellstrand, N.C., and D.R. Elam. 1993. Population genetic consequences of small population size: implications for plant conservation. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 24:217-242.
7 October: Problems of small populations: case studies (captive populations)
Ballou, J.D., and R.C. Lacy. 1995. Identifying genetically important individuals for management of genetic variation in pedigreed populations. Pp. 76-111 in J.D. Ballou, M. Gilpin, and T.J. Foose, (eds.), Population management for survival and recovery. Columbia University Press, New York.
9 October: Problems of small populations: case studies (natural populations)
Komdeur, J. 1994. Conserving the Seychelles warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis by translocation from Cousin Island to islands of Aride and Cousine. Biological Conservation 67:143-152.
Marmontel, M., S.R. Humphrey, and T.J. O=Shea. 1997. Population viability of the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latiriostris), 1976-1991. Conservation Biology 11:467-481.
14 October: Conserving small populations - single population models of persistence
Special handouts on computer modelling programs: NEMESIS, POPPROJ, and VORTEX
Menges, E. S. 1992. Stochastic modeling of extinction in plant populations. Pp. 253-275 in P. L. Fiedler and S. K. Jain, (Eds.), Conservation biology: the theory and practice of nature preservation and management, Chapman and Hall, New York.
McCarthy, M.A., M.A. Burgman, and S. Ferson. 1995. Sensitivity analysis for models of population viability. Biol. Conserv. 73:93-100.
(see special section in Conservation Biology [Volume 4, 1990] on Population Viability Analysis, pp. 39-70)
16 October: Conserving small populations - models and case studies (cont=d)
Alvarez-Buylla, E.R., R. García-Barrios, C. Lara-Moreno, and M. Martínez-Ramos. Demographic and genetic models in conservation biology: applications and perspectives for tropical rain forest tree species. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 27:387-421.
Haig, S.M., J.R. Belthoff, and D.H. Allen. 1993. Population viability analysis for a small population of red-cockaded woodpeckers and an evaluation of enhancement strategies. Conservation Biology 7:289-301.
28 October: Metapopulations: concepts and empirical evidence
Harrison, S., and A.D. Taylor. 1997. Empirical evidence for metapopulation dynamics. Pp. 27-42 in I. A. Hanski and M. E. Gilpin (eds.), Metapopulation biology: ecology, genetics, and evolution. Academic Press, San Diego.
Hanski, I. 1997. Metapopulation dynamics: from concepts and observations to predictive models. Pp. 69-92 in I. A. Hanski and M. E. Gilpin (eds.), Metapopulation biology: ecology, genetics, and evolution. Academic Press, San Diego.
30 October: Metapopulation dynamics I
Gotelli, N.J. and W.G. Kelley. 1993. A general model of metapopulation dynamics. Oikos 68:36-44.
Sjorgen Gulve, P. 1994. Distribution and extinction patterns within a northern metapopulation of the pool frog, Rana lessonae. Ecology 75:1357-1367.
4 November: Metapopulation dynamics II
Stacey, P.B., V.A. Johnson, and M.L. Taper. 1997. Migration within metapopulations: the impact upon local population dynamics. Pp. 267-292 in I. A. Hanski and M. E. Gilpin (eds.), Metapopulation biology: ecology, genetics, and evolution. Academic Press, San Diego.
Lindenmayer, D.B., and R.C. Lacy. 1995. Metapopulation viability of Leadbeater=s possum, Gymnobelideus leadbeateri, in fragmented old-growth forests. Ecological Applications 5:164-182.
6 November: Metapopulation dynamics and landscape ecology
Wiens, J.A. 1997. Metapopulation dynamics and landscape ecology. Pp. 43-62 in I. A. Hanski and M. E. Gilpin (eds.), Metapopulation biology: ecology, genetics, and evolution. Academic Press, San Diego.
Fahrig, L., and G. Merriam. 1994. Conservation of fragmented populations. Conservation Biology 8:50-59.
11 November: Biological consequences of habitat alteration I
Saunders, D. A., R. J. Hobbs, and C. R. Margules. 1991. Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation: a review. Conservation Biology 5:18-32.
Murcia, C. 1995. Edge effects in fragmented forests: implications for conservation. TREE 10:58-62.
13 November: Biological consequences of habitat alteration II
Nason, J.D., P.R. Aldrich, and J.L. Hamrick. 1997. Dispersal and the dynamics of genetic structure in fragmented tropical tree populations. Pp. 304-320 in W.F. Laurance and R.O. Bierregaard, Jr. (Eds.), Tropical forest remnants: ecology, management, and conservation of fragmented communities. Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago.
Lodge, D.M. 1993. Species invasions and deletions: community effects and responses to climate and habitat change. Pp. 367-387 in P. M. Kareiva, J. G. Kingsolver, and R.B. Huey, (Eds.), Biotic interactions and global change. Sinauer Assoc., Sunderland, MA.
18 November: Habitat and landscape-level approaches
Noon, B.R., and K.S. McKelvey. 1996. Management of the spotted owl: a case history in conservation biology. Annual Review Ecology and Systematics 27:135-162.
Akçakaya, H.R., and J.L. Atwood. 1997. A habitat-based metapopulation model of the California gnatcatcher. Conservation Biology 11:422-434.
20 November: Habitat conservation plans
Bean, M.J., and D.S. Wilcove. 1997. The private-land problem. Conservation Biology 11:1-2.
Honnold, D., and J.A. Jackson. 1997. Habitat conservation plans and the protection of habitat: reply to Bean and Wilcove. Conservation Biology 11:297-299.
Salwasser, H., D.W. MacCleery, and T.A. Snellgrove. 1997. The Pollyannas vs. The Chicken Littles - enough already! Conservation Biology 11:283-286.
25 November: Application of landscape ecology to conservation
Mladenoff, D.J., T.A. Sickley, R.G. Haight, and A.P. Wydeven. 1995. A regional landscape analysis and prediction of favorable gray wolf habitat in the northern Great Lakes region. Conservation Biology 9:279-294.
Dunning, J.B., Jr., R. Borgella, K. Clements, and G.K. Meffe. 1995. Patch isolation, corridor effects, and colonization by a resident sparrow in a managed pine woodland. Conservation Biology 9:542-550.
2 December: Landscape level conservation
Schumaker, N.H. 1996. Using landscape indices to predict habitat connectivity. Ecology 77:1210-1225.
Smith, A.P., N. Horning, and D. Moore. 1997. Regional biodiversity planning and lemur conservation with GIS in western Madagascar. Conservation Biology 11:498-512.
4 December & 9 December: Second Conservation Panel
Proposal review.
Avise, J.C., and J.L. Hamrick. (Eds.). 1996. Conservation genetics: case histories from nature. Chapman and Hall, New York.
Ehrenfeld, D.W. 1970. Biological conservation. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, New York.
Fiedler, P.L., and S.K. Jain. (Eds.). Conservation biology: the theory and practice of nature conservation, preservation and management. Chapman and Hall, New York.
Hudson, W.E. (Ed.) 1991. Landscape linkages and biodiversity. Island Press, Washington D.C.
Meffe, G.K., and C.R. Carroll. (Eds.). 1994. Principles of conservation biology. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.
Samways, M.J. 1994. Insect conservation biology. Chapman and Hall, London.
Schonewald-Cox, C.M., S.M. Chambers, and B. MacBryde. (Eds.). 1983. Genetics and conservation. Benjamin Cummings Publ. Co., Menlo Park, CA.
Solbrig, O.T., H.M. van Emden, and P.G.W.J. van Oordt. (Eds.). 1994. Biodiversity and global change. CAB International with International Union for Biological Sciences (IUBS), Oxford.
Soule, M.E. (Ed.). 1986. Conservation biology: the science and scarcity of diversity. Sinauer Assoc., Sunderland, MA.
Soule, M.E., and B.A. Wilcox. (Eds.). 1980. Conservation biology: an evolutionary-ecological perspective. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.
Wilson, E.O. (Ed.). 1988. BioDiversity. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.