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Conservation Biology (ENVIRON 317)
Conservation Biology (ENVIRON 317)
This undergraduate class offers a synthetic overview of the historic and present-day causes of species extinction, and of the biological principles central to species conservation and habitat management. Students learn about episodes of extinction and diversification over earth's history; the geographic distribution of endangered species, sustainable management of ecosystems and conservation methodologies used to recover endangered species. Weekly recitation sections discuss material from lectures, assigned readings and films, and perform computer and gaming simulations. Regular field trips to a diversity of endangered ecosystems and conservation sites including zoos, allows students to witness how basic conservation principles are applied in the real world.
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation (EAS 501/EAS 518)
This upper level course focuses on the ecology and evolution of wildlife species and the conservation management tools relevant to the survival of free-ranging mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian populations. Students utilize a diversity of advanced approaches ranging from computer exercises to field research to engage pertinent issues in wildlife ecology and conservation. Topics discussed include wildlife habitat assessment, population abundance and density estimates, nutritional ecology, wildlife disease management, and endangered species restoration, both in a national and international context.
Conservation Biology & Ecosystem Health (EAS 639)
Conservation Biology & Ecosystem Health (EAS 639)
This graduate seminar initially reviews key principles underlying the maintenance and management of biodiversity in general, and then focuses on the role that pathogens play in these processes. Recent advances in this area have demonstrated that parasites and pathogens, aside from being critical components of biodiversity, can have important effects on ecosystem function and are therefore directly relevant to the conservation of natural resources. Conversely, the ecological phenomena shaping the occurrence of parasites and pathogens are central for maintenance of human and ecosystem health.
Ecology: Science of Context and Interaction (EAS 509/NRE 509)
This natural science graduate core course provides a foundational treatment of concepts and processes that operate in ecological systems. It covers interactions among water, soils, the atmosphere, and basic life processes (respiration and photosynthesis) in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including the principles of energy flow and the cycling of matter. It also covers ecological principles such as population growth and regulation, trophic interactions, ecological networks, and community change. In the process, lectures explain topics such as evolution and natural selection. The course draws examples from some of the dominant habitats on earth, including rivers, lakes, oceans, wetlands, forests, grasslands, and agricultural systems. Principles and examples covered are designed to give students a foundation for the understanding or study of global change.
Sustainability Challenges and Opportunities in East Africa (ENVIRON 302)
This course explores the underlying sustainability issues facing rural communities and wildlife in East Africa. Contextualizing and understanding these problems necessitates a foundation in both ecology and anthropology. In this course students will gain deep understandings of both the theory and fieldwork that define these two disciplines, as well as practical research methods and specific project designs for addressing conservation and sustainability. Over the duration of the course, students will also investigate the complexities of conservation and development in Africa, the methods researchers use to design and assess integrated conservation efforts, and ultimately the challenges and opportunities offered by these issues to the larger goal of sustainability.
Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEB 315/ENVIRON 315)
The course provides an introduction to the ecological and evolutionary processes observed in parasites and other disease-causing organisms. You will be introduced to the wonderfully bizarre world of malaria, measles, fleas, tapeworms, HIV and anthrax. Topics examined include the evolution of various life histories in human and wildlife parasites, spatial patterns of disease, host-parasite co-evolution and the role of disease throughout human history. Quantitative models for the temporal patterns of infectious diseases are also presented. The course also focuses on the various manners in which pathogens overcome or evade the host’s immune system, and how they manipulate host behavior to facilitate transmission. In the last part of the course, we examine the environmental factors leading to the emergence of new pathogens such as Lyme disease, Ebola and West Nile encephalitis, as well as the importance of pathogens for wildlife conservation.
First Year Seminar: Emerging Diseases (ENVIRON 139)
First Year Seminar: Emerging Diseases (ENVIRON 139)
The course offers an introduction to the topic of emerging diseases which is examined from a diversity of medical, epidemiological, ecological, social and political aspects. Course offered as need arises.
Graduate Seminar in Conservation Biology (EAS 639)
Seminar focuses on primary literature readings in Conservation Biology. Seminar is offered semi-periodically. (Inquire with Johannes regarding future schedule).
Humans & Environment: Ecology, History, & Conservation of the Mediterranean (formerly taught at Princeton) (HLS/EEB 398)
Ecosystems of the Mediterranean are unusual not only because of the intense, long-term association of humans with the natural environment, but also because of the outstanding historical record documenting this interaction. The course examines how humans have altered Mediterranean ecosystems over the millennia, and also how the Mediterranean environment has shaped human culture. Furthermore the course examines the function and the unique characteristics of Mediterranean ecosystems and the spatial and temporal patterns of biological diversity. In the last part, we will look at current and emerging conservation problems in the Mediterranean, as well as various ways of addressing these problems.
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