Conservation Biology Biodiversity

This course starts by giving the students various definitions and measures of biodiversity. Throughout the course, the students will learn the importance of conservation and environmental impact assessments during the planning stages of large development projects. They will understand why it is important to prevent species extinction, what happens when a keystone taxon goes extinct and how this influences ecosystem dynamics. By the end of the course, the students will also gain an appreciation of how can the establishment of protected reserves limit the impact of other threats to biodiversity such as habitat destruction, fragmentation and degradation.