Understanding the Biodiversity Crisis: Introduction to Ecology and Conservation

We will look at a range of different habitats and organisms to gain an understanding of how species and communities, as well as their interactions, are shaped by the environment they inhabit. Our focus ranges from the individual species and populations all the way up to interactions among all the species within a habitat. We will also gain an understanding of the threats facing species and ecosystems, and discuss how conservation biology offers at least partial mitigations for some of these threats including looking at the role of rewilding, breeding in zoos, and species reintroductions.

We will finish the course with two case studies that integrate all of the different practices and theories covered in the course. The first will look at the challenging environmental conditions facing the animals and plants inhabiting extreme environments such as the polar regions, the deserts, and the deepest parts of our oceans, before discussing some of the wonderful ecological adaptations that these organisms have evolved to survive and thrive in these inhospitable places. In the second case study, we will look at the unique ecology and threats facing animals and plants inhabiting remote islands, where invasive species and habitat destruction have an even stronger impact than on the mainland, as island endemics have nowhere to escape to.