How do we tackle conservation problems at the species and population levels? You’ll explore how species conservation biology frequently intersects with ecosystem-scale conservation and design and management of protected areas such as national parks. You’ll consider how certain species may be used to provide political or financial leverage in conservation programmes, while others may play fundamental and ecologically functional roles in whole ecosystem restoration and rewilding initiatives. You’ll examine how to prioritize species conservation when resources are limited, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Topics such as captive breeding, health monitoring, translocation and reintroduction will inform your understanding of species conservation alongside an appraisal of the role of conservation genetics and our understanding of extinction risk. You’ll consider these topics alongside established evolutionary theory that underpins population biology and conservation ecology. You’ll then go on to gain skills in population assessment, understanding evolutionary processes such as natural selection, genetic drift and effects of inbreeding, together with an understanding of genetic techniques to examine some of these processes. Throughout the module, you’ll see how these approaches are implemented in real-world conservation programs, including the roles played by conservation NGOs and zoos in protecting and conserving biodiversity.
Lectures 12, Seminars 20
The module is compulsory for the following courses
MSc Conservation Science
The module is not available as an optional module
Also available as an elective module.
Report. Assessment Details: Individual Report 2,500 words worth 50%.
Report. Assessment Details: Individual Report 2,500 words worth 50%.
Reassessment Method: Like-for-like (different topic/focus where specified).
The University is committed to ensuring that core reading materials are in accessible electronic format in line with the Kent Inclusive Practices. The most up to date reading list for each module can be found on the university's reading list pages.
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1. Apply advanced principles, concepts, theoretical frameworks and approaches to understand the concept of species and populations as units for conservation action and how this relates to conservation at the habitat/ecosystem level;
2. Select and adapt appropriate advanced problem-solving strategies to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of key processes and advanced concepts that underpin population biology and population viability within a conservation context;
3. Synthesize advanced and specialist information on the main evolutionary processes that influence species and populations and how they evolve and interact to influence threatened populations;
4. Systematically and critically analyze and evaluate advanced approaches that measure extinction risk, and apply specialist information to comprehend species conservation within an evolutionary phylogenetic context;
5. Critically analyse and evaluate in detail advanced approaches for population recovery and ecosystem restoration.
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