Conservati on Bi o 117 St. Loui s Communi ty Col l ege at M eramec Course Syl l abus Fal l 2____ Service Learning component highlighted in red. I N STRUCTOR:

Dr. Jody E. Martin de Camilo Office: SS116 Office Phone (314) 984-7716 e-mail: [email protected]

CRED I T H OURS: 3 hours PREREQUI SI TES: None LECTURE: MWF TEXT: Living in the Environment, 14th edition, by G. T. Miller. Thomson Brooks/Cole Publishing. Supplemental Book: Fire in the Turtle House: The Green Sea Turtle and the Fate of the Ocean, Osha Gray Davidson. CLA SS FORM A T: Lecture presentation, discussion, Website research, supplemental novel, conservation project and poster presentations. COURSE D ESCRI PTI ON : This course will examine the application of biological principles for conserving biological diversity. We will explore in particular how biological theory can be useful and necessary to guide decisions on conserving biodiversity. LEA RN I N G OBJECTI V ES: To provide the basis necessary for the understanding the local and global perspective of conservation issues and how these issues impact our lives. In the first half of this course, we will develop general principles of conservation biology. Biological diversity is defined at different hierarchical levels: genetic, species, community, and landscape. The processes that create and destroy diversity at each level will be studied. Extinction is studied from a historical and modern perspective. An assessment of threatened biological diversity of the world will be made. In the second half of the course, we will examine tools derived from ecology and evolutionary biology to prevent the loss of biological diversity, or to restore species and ecosystems. Biogeographic theory is used to understand the problems of habitat fragmentation and reserve design. Ecosystem and landscape management will be explored. Methods of management of wild and captive

populations of endangered species will be examined. Biological concepts behind ecosystem restoration will be developed. SERVICE LEARNING EXTRA CREDIT COMPONENT: Extra credit will be given to any student that wishes to participate at Laumeier Park with the St. Louis County Parks Clean-Up Effort a service learning environmental/conservation-related organization in the community. This service learning activity will expose you to the role individuals, like yourself, play in a conservation effort. You will be participating with local community organizations. This will provide you with hands-on experience and allow you to participate actively in the eradication of an invasive species thus conserving the biodiversity of Laumeier Park.  Students volunteer for this opportunity. If you are unable to attend we can not make different arrangements for you.  A student must complete the entire event to get the extra credit.  Extra credit slips will be given out at the event and collected in class. No slip = no credit. So hang on to it! EXTRA CRED I T: Currently the Laumeier Park invasive species is the only extra credit opportunities in this class. Should another opportunity arise for extra credit I will let you know. CON SERV A TI ON PROJECT/PRESEN TA TI ON : The goal of this project is to assist you in learning how to develop a conservation project and present it as a poster. We will spend time discussing, step-by-step, where to begin a project, how to gather research information and create a poster to display your work. Poster presentations are required. Students must turn in all the various components of the poster project in order to be given the opportunity to complete and present a final poster. Failure to complete the assigned steps = no poster = no points. ** The peer review process is the most vital step and is conducted in classfailure to complete this step without making PRIOR arrangements will result in a ZERO for the entire poster project. The day of the peer review a CLEAN copy of your paper should be available for review. An older version will result in a zero for the entire project. The paper should be in poster format (as discussed in class) any other format results in a zero for the entire project.

Conservati on Bi o: 117 Fal l 2005 Tentati ve Schedul e of Lecture Topi cs and Exams Week 1

M onday

8/22 Into to Class

Wednesday 8/24 30 Things

Fri day

8/26 What is Conservation? Chap 2

Reading Assignment: Fire in the Turtle House 1-4 2

8/29 8/31 What is Conservation? Tragedy of the Commons Chap 2 Case Study pg 9-11 Case Study: Aldo Leopold pg 30

9/02 Ecosystem Diversity Chap 4

Conservation Project: Topic ID due 9/02. Reading Assignment: Fire in the Turtle House 5-7 – Reflective Review of Book Due 9/2 3

9/05 No Class

9/07 Ecosystem Diversity Chap 4-

9/09 Evolution & Biodiversity Chap 5 Hotlink on website to Biodiversity and It’s Value

Reading Assignment: Fire in the Turtle House 8-10 4

9/12 9/14 Evolution & Biodiversity Evolution & Biodiversity Chap 5 Chap 5 Conservation Project: Library Search due 9/16. 5

9/19

9/16

EXAM #1

9/21 9/23 Chap 6 Chap 6 Chap 6 Case Study: pg 101 Reading Assignment: Fire in the Turtle House 11-13 Final Reflective Review of Book Due 9/23 Climate & Terrestrial Biodiversity

6

9/26 Aquatic Biodiversity

9/28 Threats to Marine Biodiversity

9/30 Continued

Chap 7 Case Study pg 127 Conservation Project: Note Cards due 9/30. 7

10/03 10/05 Community Ecology Outside Exercise Chap 8 community ecology Case Studies: pges: 143, 147, 151 Conservation Project: Outline due 10/7. 8

10/10

EXAM #2

9

10/17 Sea Turtles

10/12 Population Ecology Chap 9 Case Study 163 10/19 Human Population Chap 10 Coral Reef Bleaching

10/07 Community Ecology Chap 8

10/14 Coral Reef Bleaching day off 10/21 Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity Chap 11 Trash in Oceans

10

10/24 10/26 Sustaining Terrestrial Sustaining Biodiversity Biodiversity Chap 12 Chap 11 Sust.terr part 1 sust terrJEM part 2 Conservation Project: Text due 10/28.

10/28 Chap 12 sust terrJEM part 3

11

10/31 11/02 11/04 Chap 12 Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity Chap 13 Case Study: pg 230, 239 Chap 13 HO Economic Biodiv Human pop 10 Human pop 10 Human pop 10

12

11/07 Group Results Economics Biodiv HO Economic Biodiv

11/09 Chap 13

Group Results

11/11 EXAM #3

13

11/14 11/16 Food & Soil Chap 14 Chap 14 Conservation Project: Peer Review 11/18.

14

11/21 Climate Change/Ozone Chap 21

15

11/28 Econ & Env Chap 21

11/23 Chap 21

11/30 Poster Presentations

11/18 PEER REVIEW

11/25 NO CLASS 12/02 Chap 21

Conservation Project: Poster Presentations 11/30. 16

12/05 Study Case

12/07 Study Case

12/09 Study Case