Conservation Biology

Notes on Conservation Biology

If you'd like to print a copy of any of these notes, I suggest printing the PDF version, which you can download by clicking on the icon. I'd also suggest printing them not long before lecture, because they're liable to be modified. (I know that there are errors to be corrected in some of them).

• What is conservation biology?
• Patterns of extinction
• Biology of small populations
  • Introduction
  • Demography
  • Genetics
• Population viability analysis
  • Introduction
  • Northern spotted owl
  • Bay checkerspot butterfly
• Systematics and endangered species
• Diversity, stability, and ecosystem function
• Ecosystem management
• Habitat fragmentation
• Landscape change and conservation objectives
• Species invasions
• Global biodiversity patterns
• Theory and design of conservation reserves
• Decision making under uncertainty: statistical decision theory
• Valuing biodiversity -- economics
• Valuing biodiversity -- ethics and aesthetics

Case studies

• Black-footed ferret
• Black sea turtle
• Ecosystem management in the interior Columbia basin
• Pleistocene re-wilding
• Setting global conservation priorities

Discarded notes (no longer updated)

• Species interactions and biodiversity conservation
• Design of reserve systems: an example
• Conservation of genetic resources
• Philosophical problems for an environmental ethic

These notes are provided under a Creative Commons License.