Chen, Gottgens and Philpott
EEES 5750/7750 – Conservation Biology – Spring 2010
GRADUATE STUDENT SUPPLEMENTAL SYLLABUS
Place: BO-3045
Time: Tuesdays, 5:30 - 6:20 pm
Instructors
Dr. Jiquan Chen
BO 3015 (530-2664)
jiquan.chen@utoledo.edu
Dr. Hans Gottgens
BO 1009C (530-8451)
johan.gottgens@utoledo.edu
Dr. Stacy Philpott
BO 3003A (530-2578)
stacy.philpott@utoledo.edu
Graduate students will be expected to attend and participate in the discussion section of the Conservation
Biology course. In this section we will focus on journal articles in the field of conservation biology.
Some of these are “classic” papers that have been widely cited; some are recent contributions; some are
regarded as controversial. There will be two major tasks for graduate students enrolled in this class:
1. Weekly Discussions: Each student will participate in discussion sessions on selected topics (with
several papers) during the semester. In addition, each student will lead one discussion section. Because of
the large enrollment, two students will lead some discussions. The faculty member attending the
discussion will send a PDF version of the readings to the class a week before the class meets. Each
student should come prepared to class to discuss the paper and, during class, bring up at least one
question that addresses the main ideas presented in one of the papers, its strengths and shortcomings. For
each discussion, each student will also submit a typed version of three questions or comments about any
or all of the articles to the faculty member present immediately after the class. Students may decide on
their own to combine these questions and compile one file with papers in the discipline and their
associated critical thoughts and questions. Late assignments will not be graded and will receive a zero.
2a. Term Paper: Each student will choose a topic in conservation biology for a term paper by discussing
potential ideas with the instructors. Students will conduct a literature search of major scientific journals
(e.g., Conservation Biology, Biological Conservations, Ecology, Ecosystems, Global Change Biology,
Ecological Applications, Restoration Ecology, Wetlands Ecology and Management, etc.) to find at least
five relevant papers as sources of information and as references for the term paper. Papers should be
formatted according to the guidelines for authors for Conservation Biology submissions,
(http://www.conbio.org/Publications/ConsBio/Instructions/) and will be limited to 10 pages (doublespaced, excluding references). The deadlines for successful term papers include: title/topic choice (March
16), outline (March 30), first draft (April 13). The final drafts are due on April 27, 2010.
2b. Manuscript development for journal publication: An alternative to the term paper is for selforganized groups of students (<5) to develop a manuscript for publication (e.g. a synthesis,
communication or results from a meta-analysis). The instructors have checked with professional journals
(Conservation, Biodiversity and Conservation, open access Conservation Biology Journal) for potential
publications. Interested students need to be self-organized and decide whether or not to pursue this option
within the first two weeks of class to make sure the manuscript can be submitted by the end of the term.
Grading:
The graduate seminar counts for a total of 50 points (11 short writing assignments worth 3 points each
and the 17 point term paper or manuscript). These 50 points will be added to the 100 points for the
lecture portion of the course to determine the final course grade for EEES 5750/7750.
Chen, Gottgens and Philpott
Weekly schedule for EEES 5750/7750, Spring 2010
Date
Topic
Convener
Jan 12
Introduction
Globalization of Conservation
HG
Jan 19
Measuring Biodiversity
SP
Jan 26
Biodiversity Hotspots
SP
Feb 2
Invasive species
SP
Feb 9
Regulation of diversity
HG
Feb16
Diversity and ecosystem stability
HG
Mar 2
Landscape perspective in
conservation biology
The checklist
Mar 16
Edges and ecotones
JC
Mar 23
Conservation of wetlands
HG
Mar 30
Apr 6
Fragmentation
Field trip
JC
NA
Apr 13
Conservation & Agriculture
SP
Apr 20
Apr 27
Field trip
Field trip
NA
NA
Feb 23
Discussion
leader
Review papers
Rodriguez et al. 2007 (to be
read in class)
May & Beverten 1990, Gotelli
& Colwell 2001
Myers et al. 2000, Kareiva &
Marvier 2003, Rodrigues et al.
2003
Leung et al. 2002, Gurevitch
& Padilla 2004
Connell 1978, Pimm & Brown
2004
Tilman & Downing 1994,
Rapport & Whitford, 1999
JC
Chen & Saunders 2006
JC
Lindenmeyere et al. 2008
Harper et al. 2005, Fearnside
2005
Moore et al. 1989, An et al.
2007
With 2002
Green et al. 2005, Kaimowitz
& Sheil 2007
List of papers:
An, S, H. Li, B. Guan, C. Zhou, Z. Wang, Z. Deng, Y. Zhi, Y. Liu, C. Xu, S. Fang, J. Jiang and H. Li.
2007. China’s Natural Wetlands: Past Problems, Current Status, and Future Challenges Ambio
36(4): 335-342
Chen, J. S.C. Saunders. 2006. Ecology of multiple ecosystems in time and space. In: Ecology to
hierarchical landscapes: from theory to application (Eds. Jiquan Chen, Sari C. Saunders, Kimberly D.
Brosofske, and Thomas R. Crow), Nova Publishing, Carbondale, IL, USA, pp. 1-34.
Connell, J. 1978. Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs. Science 199: 1302-1310
Fearnside, P.M. 2005. Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia: History, Rates, and Consequences.
Conservation Biology 19(3): 680 – 688.
Gotelli, N. J., and R. K. Colwell. 2001. Quantifying biodiversity: procedures and pitfalls in the
measurement and comparison of species richness. Ecology Letters 4:379-391.
Green, R. E., S. J. Cornell, J. P. W. Scharlemann, and A. Balmford. 2005. Farming and the fate of wild
nature. Science 307: 550-555.
Gurevitch, J. and D. K. Padilla. 2004. Are invasive species a major cause of extinctions? TRENDS in
Ecology and Evolution 19: 470-474
Harper, K.A., S.E. MacDonald, P.J. Burton, J. Chen, K.D. Brosofske, S.C. Saunders, E.S. Euskirchen, D.
Roberts, M.S. Jaiteth, and P.A. Esseen. 2005. Edge influence on forest structure and composition in
fragmented landscapes. Conservation Biology 19(3): 768-782.
Kaimowitz, D., and D. Sheil. 2007. Conserving what and for whom? Why conservation should help meet
basic human needs in the tropics. Biotropica 39: 567-574.
Kareiva, P and M. Marvier. 2003. Conserving biodiversity coldspots. American Scientist 91: 344
Leung, B., D. M. Lodge, D. Finnoff, J. F. Shogren, M. A. Lewiis, and G. Lamberti. 2002. An ounce of
prevention or a pound of cure: bioeconomic risk analysis of invasive species. Proceedings of the
Royal Society of Lond. B 269: 2407–2413
Lindenmeyere et al. 2008. A checklist for ecological management of landscapes for conservation.
Ecology Letters 11: 78–91
May, R. M. and R. J. H. Beverton. 1990. How Many Species? Philosophical Transactions: Biological
Sciences, Vol. 330, No. 1257, Population, Regulation, and Dynamics, pp. 293-304
Moore, R.J., P.A. Keddy, C.L. Gaudet and I.C. Wisheu. 1989. Conservation of Wetlands. Do infertile
wetlands deserve a higher priority. Biological Conservation 47: 203-217
Myers, N., R. A. Mittermeier, C. G. Mittermeier, G. A. B. da Fonseca, and J. Kent. 2000. Biodiversity
hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853-858
Rapport, D. and W. Whitford. 1999. How ecosystems respond to stress. BioScience 49(3): 193-203.
Rodrigues, A. S. L., et al. 2003. Effectiveness of the global protected area network in representing species
diversity. Nature 428: 640-643
Rodriguez, J.P. and 20 co-authors. 2007. Globalization of conservation: A view from the South. Science
317: 755-756
Pimm, S.L. and J.H. Brown. 2004 Domains of diversity. Science 204: 831-833
Tilman, D. and J. Downing. 1994. Biodiversity and stability in grasslands. Nature 367: 363-365
With, K.A., 2002. The landscape ecology of invasive spread. Conservation Biology16 (5): 1192-1203