Course Outline

1 Environmental biology and our time

Setting the scene
Humans and environmental problems
The human animal
Human cultural development
Studying human impacts
Chapter review

2 Biodiversity and the environment

What is population ecology?
Properties of populations and how to study them
What influences population growth?
Applying population ecology
Chapter review

3 Living together – communities and ecosystems

Characteristics of biological communities
Interactions in communities
From community to ecosystem
Response to disturbance – succession and resilience in communities
Human-modified ecosystems
From ecosystem to biosphere
Chapter review

4 The science of conservation biology

What is conservation biology?
Conserving populations and species
Conserving ecological communities
Chapter review

5 Cultural conservation biology

Conservation biology and society
The cultural nature of conservation biology
Why should human cultures conserve biological diversity?
The ‘who’ of conservation biology actions
Recovery and threat abatement planning for species and communities
Chapter review

6 Redressing the problem – environmental restoration

What is environmental restoration and why is it necessary?
Natural and human-induced disturbance of ecosystems
Key steps in environmental restoration
Repairing damaged primary processes
Directing vegetation change
Fauna and restoration
Landscape-scale restoration
Working with the community
Policy instruments
Conservation and restoration
Chapter review

7 Seven Environmental Principles of Nature