Biodiversity and Conservation

Code: BIO10182M

6 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours

Scientific Area: Biological Sciences

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, English

Regime de Frequência: Presencial

Presentation

Course unit that introduces to the major structural and fundamental themes of Conservation Biology that was developed to combat the biodiversity crisis of this millennium.

Sustainable Development Goals

Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Cidades e comunidades sustentáveis - Tornar as cidades e os assentamentos humanos inclusivos, seguros, resilientes e sustentáveis.

Consumo e produção responsáveis - Assegurar padrões de produção e de consumo sustentáveis.

Ação contra a mudança global do clima - Tomar medidas urgentes para combater a mudança climática e seus impactos (*).

Vida na água - Conservação e uso sustentável dos oceanos, dos mares, e dos recursos marinhos para o desenvolvimento sustentável.

Vida terrestre - Proteger, recuperar e promover o uso sustentável dos ecossistemas terrestres, gerir de forma sustentável as florestas, combater a desertificação, deter e reverter a degradação da Terra e deter a perda da biodiversidade.

Learning Goals

OBJECTIVES
1. Learning to valuing biodiversity and nature conservation in a multidisciplinary context;
2. Learning the basics of Population Viability Analysis;
3. To recognize human activities including grazing, agricultural intensification, habitat fragmentation and climate change as major threats for nature conservation in the Mediterranean region;
4. Recognize the importance of people in conservation.
COMPETENCES
A. To be practical and efficient in defending conservation points of view;
B. Acquire capacity to integrate different points of view in and to reach consensual decisions;
C. Learn do manage an decide taking into account environmental sustainability.

1. Human Population Growth and Environmental degradation
2. Main Guidelines in Conservation Biology
3. Biodiversity: losses and threatens
4. Population Viability Analysis
5. Conservation Legislation
6. Protected and classified areas
7. Global changes
8. Ecology, sociology, politics and economy
The role of people in conservation
Quantifying economic value of Biodiversity
9. Sustainable development
10. Landscape and conservation
11. Agriculture and conservation

Teaching Methods

Theory in oral lessons; talking and discussion, thematic seminars; computer simulations.
The autonomous study will be supported by tutorial hours and e-learning.

Assessment

Evaluation will be based on the elaboration of a short report concerning a conservation issue and an oral presentation followed by a discussion which corresponds to 100% of the final grade. Students may also be assessed individually in the exam season which will correspond to 100% of the evaluation.