Course Description:
Prerequisites: One semester of college-level biology and an ecology course (BIOE 342 Field Ecology at FLBS) or equivalents; or consent of instructor. Principles and methods of conservation ecology applied to aquatic and terrestrial species and ecosystems with emphasis on evolution, population genetics and behavioral ecology as key attributes to be considered in the design and implementation of conservation. This course emphasizes the application of basic biological research to problems in conservation and management with an eye toward the interface between science and policy. Five primary course themes are: defining population units of conservation; the effects of introduced species (including invasive species, hybridization, and infectious disease); habitat modification and climate change; population viability and monitoring; and policy and politics. These themes are applied to a diversity of case studies that have been chosen to illustrate general issues in conservation. A special aspect of the course is spending most of our time in the field with practicing, expert conservation biologists who work for state and federal government agencies or nongovernmental organizations. Instructor – Dr. Gordon Luikart, FLBS-U of Montana (https://flbs.umt.edu/urls/people)

Web Address of Course Info:
https://flbs.umt.edu/apps/education/