SDG Detail

BIOL8870 - Regional and Global Conservation

None

Project description

This unit deals with the problem of conserving biodiversity as a whole rather than concentrating on individual species or populations. The unit is applied and multidisciplinary, drawing on such areas as ecology, evolutionary biology, biogeography, and informatics. We will explore the concept of biodiversity in both the scientific and legislative arenas. The problem of measuring biodiversity is considered in detail, including the conceptual and practical impediments to measurement. Current and emerging threats to biodiversity are reviewed on a global scale, along with the practical and ethical arguments for conservation. Tutorials and assessments are focussed on analysing and interpreting patterns in biodiversity in space and time as a means of informing conservation decisions.

Year 2022

Location Australia

Organization Macquarie University

Project aims

Project outcome

1. Explain the principles and methods used by Conservation Biology to quantify and value biodiversity at local to global scales. 2. Elucidate the patterns, mechanisms and consequences of biodiversity and biodiversity loss. 3. Integrate observed spatial pattern of biodiversity with other sources of spatial information in order to identify and prioritise areas requiring biodiversity monitoring and/or conservation action. 4. Compile, analyze and interpret biodiversity patterns in a conservation context. 5. Communicate Conservation Biology issues to diverse audiences in written and oral form. 6. Critically evaluate and synthesize scientific literature on topics of interest in Conservation Biology and make recommendations on locations requiring conservation action based on sound scientific evidence.