Conservation Biology
Conservation biology at third-year depth: values and knowledge systems including Two-Eyed Seeing, measuring biodiversity with Hill numbers, rarefaction, richness estimators and species–area curves, the Living Planet Index and IUCN Red List criteria, habitat loss, fragmentation, invasive species, overexploitation and harvest models, pollution, wildlife disease and climate change, small populations and population viability analysis, metapopulation extinction thresholds and connectivity modeling, protected areas, systematic conservation planning and 30 by 30, ex situ conservation, reintroduction and restoration, Indigenous-led conservation, working landscapes and environmental justice, and monitoring, evidence and recovery planning, with conservation law under the Endangered Species Act, including section 7 consultation and the 2026 rescission of the regulatory definition of harm.
BIOL-367 Year 3 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h 32 min
Offered by HSM University · Biology
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Explain why conservation biology is a value-laden crisis discipline, distinguish intrinsic, instrumental and relational values, and describe how Indigenous and Western knowledge systems contribute through approaches such as Two-Eyed Seeing.
- Measure biodiversity using Hill numbers, rarefaction, species richness estimators and the species–area relationship, and classify forms of rarity and priority-setting schemes such as hotspots.
- Interpret the Living Planet Index, the IUCN Red List categories and criteria and estimates of extinction rates, and apply criterion A to time series of population counts.
- Analyze habitat loss, fragmentation, edge effects, roads and invasive species as threats, and estimate eventual species loss from habitat loss with the species–area relationship.
- Explain overexploitation using surplus production models and maximum sustainable yield, and evaluate the effects of pollution, wildlife disease and climate change, including their synergies.
- Describe demographic and environmental stochasticity, Allee effects and the extinction vortex, and build and interpret a simple stochastic population viability analysis.
- Apply metapopulation models with habitat destruction to identify extinction thresholds, and model landscape connectivity with resistance surfaces, least-cost paths and circuit theory.
- Evaluate protected areas and reserve design, apply complementarity and irreplaceability in systematic conservation planning, and assess progress toward the 30 by 30 target.
- Explain the structure of the Endangered Species Act, including listing, critical habitat, section 7 consultation, the section 9 take prohibition and its 2026 changes, and section 10 permits, together with other federal laws and international agreements.
- Compare ex situ conservation, reintroduction, reinforcement, assisted colonization and restoration, and evaluate the genetic, behavioral and ecological factors that determine their success.
- Analyze the human dimensions of conservation, including Indigenous-led conservation, land sparing and sharing, economic tools, human–wildlife coexistence and environmental justice.
- Design monitoring that accounts for imperfect detection, use evidence, adaptive management and cost-effectiveness to guide decisions, and construct a recovery plan for a species at risk.
Course content
12 lessons · 5 h 32 min total · final exam
- 1 What conservation biology is and why it matters 30 min · quiz
- 2 Measuring biodiversity 27 min · quiz
- 3 The global state of biodiversity and extinction 28 min · quiz
- 4 Threats I: habitat loss, fragmentation and invasive species 27 min · quiz
- 5 Threats II: overexploitation, pollution, disease and climate change 27 min · quiz
- 6 Small populations and population viability 26 min · quiz
- 7 Metapopulations, landscapes and connectivity 25 min · quiz
- 8 Protected areas and conservation planning 27 min · quiz
- 9 Conservation law and policy in the United States 29 min · quiz
- 10 Recovering species: ex situ conservation, reintroduction and restoration 29 min · quiz
- 11 People and conservation: Indigenous-led conservation, working landscapes and justice 27 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: monitoring, evidence and a recovery plan for an invented species at risk 30 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Conservation biology at third-year depth: values and knowledge systems including Two-Eyed Seeing, measuring biodiversity with Hill numbers, rarefaction, richness estimators and species–area curves, the Living Planet Index and IUCN Red List criteria, habitat loss, fragmentation, invasive species, overexploitation and harvest models, pollution, wildlife disease and climate change, small populations and population viability analysis, metapopulation extinction thresholds and connectivity modeling, protected areas, systematic conservation planning and 30 by 30, ex situ conservation, reintroduction and restoration, Indigenous-led conservation, working landscapes and environmental justice, and monitoring, evidence and recovery planning, with conservation law under the Endangered Species Act, including section 7 consultation and the 2026 rescission of the regulatory definition of harm.
Part of the Science stream, typically taken in year 3.