UCC/UGC/YCC
Proposal for Course Change
FAST TRACK
(Select if this will be a fast track item. Refer to UCC or UGC Fast Track Policy for eligibility)
1. Effective BEGINNING of what term and year?:
Spring 2012
See effective dates calendar.
2. College:
CEFNS
4. Current course subject and number:
3. Academic Unit:
FOR 504
5. Current title, description and units. Cut and
paste, in its entirety, from the current on-line
academic catalog*.
(www4.nau.edu/aio/AcademicCatalog/academiccatalogs.htm)
FOR 504 FOREST WILDLIFE ECOLOGY
AND MANAGEMENT (3)
After brief overview of theory and practice,
course involves critically evaluating current
literature on a specific management concern,
such as migratory birds, predators, or
endangered species. Letter grade only. May
be repeated for up to 12 units of
credit. Prerequisite: one course in general
biology or ecology.
*if there has been a previously approved UCC/UGC/YCC
change since the last catalog year, please copy the
approved text from the proposal form into this field.
Revised 06/22/2011
Forestry
Bold the proposed changes in this column to
differentiate from what is not changing, and
Bold with strikethrough what is being
deleted.
FOR 504 FOREST WILDLIFE ECOLOGY
AND MANAGEMENT CURRENT TOPICS IN
WILDLIFE ECOLOGY AND APPLIED
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY (3)
After brief overview of theory and
practice, course involves critically
evaluating current literature on a specific
management concern, such as migratory
birds, predators, or endangered
species. The class will evaluate primary
literature (instructor will provide the
reading list) on a current topic in wildlife
ecology or conservation biology, with an
emphasis on applied ecology and
conservation interventions. Letter grade
only. May be repeated for up to 12 units of
credit. Prerequisite: one course in general
biology or ecology Graduate Student
Status.
6. Is this course in any plan (major, minor or certificate) or sub plan (emphasis or concentration)?
Yes
No
If yes, describe the impact and attach written responses from the affected academic units
prior to college curricular submission.
Conservation Ecology; Grad Cert (elective), Master of Forestry; Ecosystem Science
Concentration (elective), PhD Forest Science; Ecosystem Science Concentration (elective)
7. Is there a related plan or sub plan change proposal being submitted?
Yes
If no, explain.
This change proposal requires no plan change because it is only course title and
description change.
No
8. Does this course include combined lecture and lab components?
Yes
If yes, note the units specific to each component in the course description above.
No
9. Is there a course fee?
No
Yes
10. Justification for course change.
I have taught this course as if it were "Current Topics in wildlife ecology and applied
conservation biology" since 1996. This proposed change will make the course title match
the Catalog Course Description (the old description and the proposed new one). The
proposed new description deletes the reference to "an overview of theory and practice,"
which has not been part of the course. I have taught this course in alternate years,
alternating with FOR625 (Applied Conservation Biology), which sometimes barely meets
minimum enrollment. I am simultaneously filing a Proposal for Graduate Course Deletion
for FOR625. I will then offer FOR504 each year. As a 500-level course, FOR504 will be open
to a broader pool of students, and thus will be more likely to meet minimum enrollment.
IN THE FOLLOWING SECTION, COMPLETE ONLY WHAT IS CHANGING
If the changes included in this proposal are significant, attach copies of original and
proposed syllabi
CURRENT
Current course subject and number
PROPOSED
Proposed course subject and number
Current number of units
Proposed number of units
Current short course title
FOREST WILDLIFE ECOLOGY & MGT
Proposed short course title (max 30 characters)
APPLIED CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
Current long course title
FOREST WILDLIFE ECOLOGY AND
MANAGEMENT
Current grading option
letter grade
pass/fail
or both
Proposed long course title (max 100 characters)
CURRENT TOPICS IN WILDLIFE ECOLOGY
AND APPLIED CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
Proposed grading option
letter grade
pass/fail
or both
Revised 06/22/2011
Current repeat for additional units
Proposed repeat for additional units
Current max number of units
Proposed max number of units
Current prerequisite
one course in general biology or ecology
Current co-requisite
Proposed prerequisite
Graduate Student Status.
Proposed co-requisite
Current co-convene with
Proposed co-convene with
Current cross list with
Proposed cross list with
Answer 11-15 for UCC/YCC only:
11. Is this course an approved Liberal Studies or Diversity course?
If yes, select all that apply. Liberal Studies
Diversity
Both
Yes
No
12. Do you want to remove the Liberal Studies or Diversity designation?
If yes, select all that apply. Liberal Studies
Diversity
Both
Yes
No
Yes
No
14. Is the course a Common Course as defined by your Articulation Task Force? Yes
No
15. Is this course a Shared Unique Numbering (SUN) course?
No
13. Is this course listed in the Course Equivalency Guide?
Scott Galland
Reviewed by Curriculum Process Associate
Yes
02/09/2012
Date
Approvals:
Department Chair/ Unit Head (if appropriate)
Date
Chair of college curriculum committee
Date
Dean of college
Date
Revised 06/22/2011
For Committee use only:
UCC/UGC/YCC Approval
Approved as submitted:
Date
Yes
No
Approved as modified: Yes
No
Basically, I do not intend to combine FOR625 material (a survey course) into FOR504
(which is much narrower than a survey course, but covers one topic per year in depth).
Tom Sisk offers an excellent survey course in Conservation Biology (ENV550).
Paul Beier
School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff AZ 86011-5018
928 523 9341
Revised 06/22/2011
SAMPLE TOPICS SYLLABUS
College of Engineering, Forestry and Natural Science
School of Forestry
FOR504 – Climate-savvy conservation
Spring 2012
Forestry Room 135, Tuesday & Thursday 9:35-10:50
3 units
Instructor:
Paul Beier, Room 239 Forestry, 523-9341, Paul.Beier@nau.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:30, or by appointment
Prerequisites:
Graduate student status. You may repeat FOR504 for credit. Your transcript for this semester will
read “FOR504 Climate-savvy conservation.”
Course Description:
We will evaluate primary literature on practicing conservation in the face of climate change. We will
avoid readings that merely predict the impacts of climate change (it’s bleak). Instead we will read
papers that describe and evaluate conservation strategies to “adapt” conservation efforts to climate
change. Each meeting will have a focus, such as “Vulnerability assessments,” “Protecting the
ecological stage,” “Identifying and protecting refugia,” or “Protecting connectivity.” Each student will
lead or co-lead 1-3 class discussions and interactive exercises.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand and critically evaluate strategies for climate-savvy conservation.
2. More broadly, develop ability to critically read and evaluate scientific papers related to
conservation, ecology, and management.
Course Structure:
Reading & Discussion: Each meeting will be a round-table discussion of book chapters or papers that
will have been read by all participants. This is NOT a lecture class. There will be a short in-class
quiz or take-home assignment at or before the start of each class to ensure that you have done the
readings.
Student-led meetings: Each student will lead 2 or more class meetings. Do not simply lead a
discussion of reading A, then reading B, then reading C. Instead, focus on the strategy described in
the readings: Is the strategy grounded in scientific theory? What are the key assumptions? Is the
strategy practical? If you had outputs from the strategy or tool, how exactly would you do
conservation differently? Important: Please devise and lead an interactive exercise to engage us
all in the topic. This could be small-group work with report-back, or a pre-class ‘homework
assignment’ (which you must coordinate with me at least 4 days ahead of time). Be creative and
have fun with this. The goal is to keep us all awake and engaged in the topic. You will sign up for
dates in Week 1; students can swap dates freely as long as they notify me right away. I consider
the difficulty of the assigned topic in evaluating your leadership of the meeting, so please don’t
worry that you might be signing up for the “hardest” topic.
Revised 06/22/2011
Final Exam: Each student will complete an open-book final exam with a strict page limit. All
responses must be submitted electronically (single spaced, size 12 Times New Roman font, 1.25”
margins). Tentative questions are (1) Select one conservation strategy that you believe is the single
best “no-regret” strategy for climate-savvy conservation, i.e., the strategy that is most likely to
advance conservation of biodiversity under any future climate). Briefly describe that strategy.
Justify your choice. Explain why you think this strategy is superior to its closest 1 or 2
competitors. (2) Select one conservation strategy (different from the one you selected in #1) that
entails more risk (i.e., under some future scenarios, it might fail) but has great potential to advance
conservation of biodiversity in a changing climate. Describe, explain, and justify. (3) Of the
conservation strategies we discussed in class, which one seems the least likely to be useful as a
practical conservation intervention? Describe, explain, & justify.
Quizzes: There will be regular quizzes at the start of class. I drop your scores on your worst 3
quizzes. There are no make-up quizzes. Each quiz will take less than 10 minutes. Most or all
points will be assigned to questions related to this week’s reading. Some points may ask you
to relate this week’s reading to previous material. The purpose of the quiz is to make sure
that everyone comes to class ready to have a stellar discussion. Most in-class quizzes are
closed-book. In some weeks, I assign open-book, take-home quizzes that require you display
greater understanding of the material.
Required Readings:
Typically, > 40 pages of primary literature per week. The instructor will provide the reading list. All
readings papers will be available as electronic (usually pdf) files. The reading list has a terrestrial
emphasis, ignoring the literature on adapting to sea level rise, design of marine conservation areas,
and beach management.
Purchase this text:
SimUText Climate Change module. $9. Online at http://simutext.com
Recommended (NOT required) Textbook:
Hansen LJ, and JR Hoffman. 2011. Climate-savvy: adapting conservation and resource management
to a changing world. Island Press. I’ve read the whole thing – this is the only book on this topic,
and it is full of practical ideas and written in clear non-technical language.
Lovejoy, T. E., and L. Hannah, editors. 2005. Climate change and biodiversity. Yale University
Press, New Haven, Connecticut. I have read almost every chapter. A superb reference.
Policies: NAU policies on Safe Working and Learning Environment, Students with Disabilities,
Institutional Review Board, and Academic Integrity policies apply to this course. See
http://www4.nau.edu/avpaa/UCCPolicy/plcystmt.html. I have zero tolerance for plagiarism or
cheating; one occurrence = F in course. As mentioned above, there are no make up quizzes or exams.
Students are expected to attend all class meetings or provide a medical or institutional excuse.
Grading:
Final exam
35%
Weekly Quizzes (about 20 quizzes, drop your lowest 3 grades)
50%
Student leadership of class meeting, including interactive exercise
15%
Revised 06/22/2011
“H&H” refers to the optional textbook by Hansen & Hoffman.
We meet Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9:35-10:50 AM in Room 135 Forestry
Date
Lead Topic (Conservation Readings
strategy)
Jan 17 pb
Introduction
Syllabus; Reading List
Kerr. 2011. Where’s the science? Science
Jan 19 pb
Adaptation
Heller, N., and E. Zavaleta. 2009. Biodiversity management in the
overview
face of climate change: a review of 22 years of recommendations.
(H&H 27-54)
Biological Conservation 142:14-32.
Mawdsley, J, R O’Malley, and D Ojima. 2009. A review of
climate-change adaptation strategies for wildlife management
and biodiversity conservation. Conservation Biology 23:10801089.
Jan 24 pb
The climate
SimUText module on climate change http://www.simbio.com This
commitment
will cost you $9. Your score on the chapter is your quiz score.
(H&H, pp 1-26)
Jan 26 pb
Overview of
Rowland, E. J Davis, and L Graumlich.2011. Approaches to
vulnerability
evaluating climate change impacts on species: a guide to
assessments
initiating the adaptation planning process. Environmental
(H&H 55-69)
Management
Jan 31 tw
Vulnerability
Willis, Bailey, Bhagwat, Birks. 2010. Biodiversity baselines,
assessments I:
thresholds and resilience: testing predictions and assumptions
insights from
using paleoecological data. TREE 25:583-591.
paleo-ecology
Willis & Birks. 2006. What is natural? The need for a long-term
perspective in biodiversity conservation. Science 314:1261-1265.
Feb 2 tw
Vulnerability
Parmesan, C. 2006. Ecological and evolutionary responses to
assessments II:
recent climate change Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, &
insights from
Systematics 37:637-669.
recent range shifts Crimmins, S. et al. 2011. Changes in climatic water balance drive
downhill shifts in plant species’ optimum elevations. Science
331:324-327.
DeVictor, V., R. Julliard, D. Couvet and F. Jiguet. 2008. Birds are
tracking climate warming, but not fast enough. Proceedings of
the Royal Society. B. 275:2743-2748. Read Abstract, Intro and
Discussion only.
The next 2 papers are well-summarized by Parmesan 2006, so you don’t
need to read them. But these are the first 2 major papers on this topic,
and you should skim the Abstracts, Tables, & Figures.
Parmesan, C, & G Yohe 2003. A globally coherent fingerprint of climate
change impacts across natural systems. Nature 421:37-.
Root, T. L., J. T. Price, K. R. Hall, S. H. Schnelder, C. Rosenzweig, and
J. A. Pounds. 2003. Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals
and plants. Nature 421: 57-60.
Feb 7 cs
Vulnerability
assessment III:
Bioclimatic
envelope models
Feb 9 guest Guest-led
Revised 06/22/2011
Lawler, J. et al. 2009. Projected climate-induced faunal change in
the Western Hemisphere. Ecology 90: 588–597.
Pearson & Dawson 2003. Predicting the impacts of climate change
on the distribution of species: are bioclimate envelope models
useful? Global Ecology & Biogeography 12:361–371
Beale, Lennon, & Gimona. 2008. Opening the climate envelope
reveals no macroscale associations with climate in European
birds. PNAS 105: 14908-14912.
special guest Ken Cole. USGS
discussion
Feb 14 cs
Feb 16 np
Feb 21 np
Feb 23 ev
Feb 28 ev
Mar 1 sh
Cole, Ironside, et al. 2011. Past and ongoing shift in Joshua tree
distribution support future modeled ranged contraction.
Ecological Applications.
Cole. 2010. Vegetation response to early Holocene warming as an
analog for current and future change. Conservation Biology
Vulnerability
Kearney & Porter 2009. Mechanistic niche modelling: combining
assessments IV:
physiological and spatial data to predict species ranges. Ecology
Mechanistic
Letters 12: 334–350.
species
Kearney et al. 2008. Modelling species distributions without using
distribution
species distributions: the cane toad in Australia under current and
models
future climates. Ecography 31: 423-434.
Vulnerability
NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Tool download at
indices
http://www.natureserve.org/prodServices/climatechange/ccvi.jsp
USFS SAVS (System for Assessing Vulnerability of Species) tool
http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/grassland-shrublanddesert/products/species-vulnerability/
Climate Wizard tool. http://www.climatewizard.org/
Example
Hole et al. 2011. Toward a management framework for networks
applications of
of protected areas in the face of climate change. Conservation
vulnerability
Biology 25:305-315.
assessments to
Nitschke, Inness. 2008. Integrating climate change into forest
conservation
management in South-Central British Columbia: An assessment
planning
of landscape vulnerability and development of a climate-smart
framework. Forest Ecology & Management 256:313–327.
Fuentes, Limpus, Hamann. 2011. Vulnerability of sea turtle
nesting grounds to climate change. Global Change Biology
17:140–153.
Protect the
Hunter, Jr., M. L., G. Jacobson, Jr., and T. Webb, III. 1988.
ecological stage
Paleoecology and the coarse-filter approach to maintaining
biological diversity. Conservation Biology 2:375-385.
Anderson, M. G., and C. Ferree. 2010. Conserving the stage:
climate change and the geophysical underpinnings of species
diversity. PLoS ONE 5(7): e11554.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011554
Beier, P., and B. Brost. 2010. Use of land facets to plan for climate
change: Conserving the arenas, not the actors. Conservation
Biology 24:701-710.
Protect refugia
Ashcroft et al. 2009. Climate change at the landscape scale:
(areas where
predicting fine-grained spatial heterogeneity in warming and
climate change or
potential refugia for vegetation. Global Change Biology 15:656–
its impacts may be 667.
least severe)
Ashcroft, M. 2010. Identifying refugia from climate change.
Journal of Biogeography 37:1407–1413.
Dobrowski, S. 2010. A climatic basis for microrefugia: the
influence of terrain on climate. Global Change Biology doi:
10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02263.x
Protect refugia II
Trivedi et al. 2008. Spatial scale affects bioclimate model
projections of climate change impacts on mountain plants. Global
Change Biology 14:1089–1103.
West, J, & R Salm. 2003. Resistance and resilience to coral
bleaching: implications for coral reef conservation and
management. Conservation Biology 17:956-967.
Revised 06/22/2011
Mar 6 wr
Protect refugia III
Mar 8 sh
Increase resilience
and resistance to
climate change by
increasing genetic
diversity
Increase resilience
and resistance to
climate change by
forest management
Mar
20
dn
Mar
22
dn
Increase
connectivity I
Mar
27
db
Increase
connectivity II.
corridors based on
shifting climate
envelopes
Mar
29
pb
Increase
connectivity III.
corridors based on
land facets;
corridors based on
today’s climate
gradients
Apr 3 wr
Assisted
colonization
Revised 06/22/2011
Klein, C, K Wilson, M Watts, J Stein, S Berry, J Carwardine, M
Smith, B Mackey, and H Possingham. 2009. Incorporating
ecological and evolutionary processes into continental-scale
conservation planning. Ecological Applications 19:206-217.
(focus only on the sections on drought refugia).
Saxon, E. 2008. Noah’s parks: a partial antidote to the
Anthropocene extinction event. Biodiversity 9:5-10.
Geos Institute. 2012. Climate-Informed Conservation Blueprint for
the Greater Grand Canyon-Colorado Plateau: identifying climate
refugia. Draft unpublished report.
Reusch et al. 2005. Ecosystem recovery after climatic extremes
enhanced by genotypic diversity. PNAS
Ehlers et al. 2008. Importance of genetic diversity of eelgrass for
its resilience to global warming. Marine Ecology Progress 355:17.
Seavy et al. 2009. Why climate change makes riparian restoration
more important than ever. Ecological Restoration 27:330-340.
Galatowitcsh et al. 2010. Regional climate change adaptation
strategies for biodiversity conservation in a midcontinental region
of North America. Biological Conservation 142:2012-2022.
Sgro, Lowe, & Hoffmann. 2010. Building evolutionary resilience
for conserving biodiversity under climate change. Evolutionary
Applications 4:326-337.
Spring, D, et al. 2010. Building a regionally connected reserve
network in a changing and uncertain world. Conservation
Biology 24:
Vos, CC, et al. 2008. Adapting landscapes to climate change:
examples of climate-proof ecosystem networks and priority
adaptation zones. Journal of Applied Ecology 45:1722-1731.
Williams, P., L. Hannah, S. Andelman, G. Midgley, M. Araujo, G.
Hughes, L. Manne, E. Martinez-Meyer, and R. Pearson.
Planning for climate change: identifying minimum-dispersal
corridors for the Cape Protaceae. Conservation Biology
19:1063-1074.
Phillips, S. J., P. Williams, G. Midgley, and A. Archer. 2008.
Optimizing dispersal corridors for the Cape Proteaceae using
network flow. Ecological Applications 18:1200-1211.
Brost, B. M., and P. Beier. 2012. Use of land facets to design
linkages for climate change. Ecological Applications. (Skip the
methods section.)
Brost & Beier. In review. Comparing linkage designs based on
land facets to linkage designs based on focal species. Journal of
Applied Ecology. (Skip the methods section.)
Nunez, TA. 2011. Connectivity planning to facilitate species
movements in response to climate change. MS Thesis, U.
Washington.
McLachlan, J. S., J. J. Hellman, and M. W. Schwartz. 2007. A
framework for debate of assisted colonization in an era of
climate change. Conservation Biology 21:297-302.
Hunter, M. 2007. TITLE. Conservation Biology
Early, Sax. 2011. Analysis of climate paths reveals potential
limitations on species range shifts. Ecology Letters
Apr 5 rt
Matrix management Pressey, R. L., M. Cabeza, M. E. Watts, R. M. Cowling, and K. A.
and dynamic
Wilson. 2007. Conservation planning in a changing world.
reserve designs
Trends in Ecology & Evolution 22:583-592.
Donald & Evans. 2006. Habitat connectivity and matrix
restoration: the wider implications of agri-environment
schemes. Journal of Applied Ecology
deFonseca chapter in Lovejoy & Hannah
Apr 10 pb
Examples of
Poiani et al. 2011. Redesigning biodiversity conservation projects
adaptation efforts
for climate change: examples from the field. Biodiversity
Conservation 20:183-201.
Lawler et al. 2009. Resource management in a changing and
uncertain climate. Frontiers in Ecology & Environment.
Carvalho et al. 2011. Conservation planning under climate change:
Toward accounting for uncertainty in predicted species
distributions to increase confidence in conservation investments
in space and time. Biological Conservation 144:2020-2030.
Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) website.
Apr 12 rt
Landscape
USFWS website
Conservation
USFWS
Cooperatives
Lovich. 2011. BioScience
Apr 17 guest Mitigation as an
Pacala & Socolow. 2004. Stabilization wedges: solving the climate
imperative
problem for the next 50 years with current technologies. Science
305:968-972.
Salazar 2009 Executive order
Special guest: Deborah Huntzinger
Apr 19 db
Communicating
Kahan, D. 2011
about climate
TBA
change
TBA
Apr 24
TBA
Apr 26
TBA
May 1 pb
Works in progress: Chornesky et al. 2012. Guiding principles for ecosystem
guidance for
adaptation to climate change. Resources Legacy Fund,
managers
Sacramento.
Yale Science Panel. 2012. Framework for spatially-explicit
adaptation to climate change.
May 3
Wrap up
*Note: Mar 13 & 15 = Spring Break
Revised 06/22/2011