Applied Landscape-Scale Conservation Biology

Target Audience:

Anyone who wants a core understanding of conservation biology and landscape ecology and their application to conservation planning.

Summary and Objectives:

This course provides participants with a foundation in the conservation biology and landscape ecology principles needed for designing sustainable landscapes. Participants will learn how to apply these principles at the landscape scale and within a Strategic Habitat Conservation framework. Within the context of landscape conservation and climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change , the course entails a variety of exercises covering species diversity, genetic drift, effective population size, demographic and environmental stochasticity, single population and meta-population viability analyses, habitat fragmentation, and connectivity.

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the principles of conservation biology and landscape ecology and their application to conservation planning.
• Develop measurable biological objectives and monitoring programs for adaptive management.
• Conduct viability analyses for single populations and meta-populations.
• Understand the implications of habitat fragmentation, such as edge effects, connectivity, and patch dynamics.
• Learn to set priorities for designing sustainable landscapes and conservation planning.

Competencies Addressed:

Conservation Biology - Intermediate, Landscape Ecology - Intermediate, Wildlife and Fisheries Biology Management - Intermediate, Wildlife Biology - Intermediate, Fishery Biology - Intermediate