Conservation biology is a relatively new discipline which arose in response to the alarming loss of biodiversity throughout the world. The course examines the scientific principles that underpin the theory of conservation biology and the social, legal and political frameworks within which practitioners must operate. 

Topics covered include:

• Biodiversity and why we need to conserve it
• The biological factors that predispose species to extinction, and the threat to biodiversity.
• Conservation practices aimed at conserving biodiversity from genetic diversity, to species through to ecosystems will also be examined, with an emphasis placed upon dealing with the uncertainty inherent in ecological systems.
• Special methodologies including basic ecological sampling, genetic analyses, population viability analysis, adaptive management and reserve design principles will be studied. 

The course will include practitioners from government and non-government organisations to expose students to practical examples of conservation and wildlife management.

On satisfying the requirements of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Understand and describe the scientific principles that underpin the theory of conservation biology and the social, legal and political frameworks within which practitioners must operate
2. Use the software package RAMAS Ecolab to perform population viability analysis of example data sets and evaluate and interpret the outcomes in written form
3. Apply reflective and argumentative thinking to find solutions to overcome conflicting scientific, societal and personal views that impact on conservation outcomes
4. Search the literature to identify papers relevant to a topic in conservation biology and distill, integrate and synthesise these findings in writing

Assessment will be based on:

• Quizzes to demonstrate understanding of the field (10%; LO 1)
• Computer-based tutorial reports demonstrating competent use of the software, understanding and meaningful interpretation (15%; LO 2)
• Literature review  demonstrating literature search skills, critical evaluation and synthesis of a topic (30%; LO 1, 3, 4)
• Participation in online and tutorial discussion and debate to demonstrate reflective and argumentative thinking (5%; LO 3)
• Final exam to demonstrate depth and breadth of understanding of the field and an ability to effectively argue a case for resolving conflicting values that impact on conservation outcomes (40% LO 1, 2, 3, 4)

Up to 10 hours (5 x 2 hour sessions) involving guest lectures and discussion, 5 hours of computer based tutorials with the remainder of the course delivered online.

D.B. Lindenmayer and Brugman, M.A (2005) Practical Conservation Biology, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.