Summary of texts and online resources for an undergraduate course in biodiversity: Hunter and Gibbs. 2007. Fundamentals of Conservation Biology 3rd edition Groom et al. 2005. Principles of Conservation Biology Frankham, R., J.D. Ballou, and D.A. Briscoe. 2004. A Primer of Conservation Genetics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK) Primack.2008. Essentials of Conservation Biology, 4th Ed. Hartl, D.L. 2000. A Primer of Population Genetics. Sinauer Assoc., Conner, J.K. and D.L. Hartl. 2004. A Primer of Ecological Genetics. Sinauer Assoc. E.O. Wilsons The Diversity of Life Theodoropoulos, David I. Invasion Biology: Critique of a Pseudoscience. Botkin, Daniel. Discordant Harmonies: A New Ecology for the Twenty-First Century. Powerpoints and class exercises: http://ncep.amnh.org/ Syllabus and a lecture schedule: http://bcrc.bio.umass.edu/courses/fall2008/biol/biol108/syllabus.phtml I've used the Hunter and Gibbs 3rd edition for a 300-level course. It is a good, readable text. Not as rich in detail perhaps as Groom et al. which I have also used for introductory grad level course. But, with the addition of Gibbs the book has gone much further into population dynamics and genetics, and so might be a good choice depending on what level your undergrads are. This is not directly relevant to your question, but it might be useful. You can find PowerPoints and class exercises (field or classroom) for such a course at: http://ncep.amnh.org/ As an undergrad about to graduate myself, I have been exploring this topic in some depth for a few semesters, though mostly from a theory/paradigm perspective. For balance, I would highly recommend the following: Theodoropoulos, David I. Invasion Biology: Critique of a Pseudoscience. Botkin, Daniel. Discordant Harmonies: A New Ecology for the Twenty-First Century. What I'm finding is that ecological terms are highly subjective and not at all consistently defined, even among academia and the scientific community. Add the media into the mix, and misinterpretations abound. At Hood College, our Biodiversity course has been taught using E.O. Wilsons The Diversity of Life as the primary text. Its pretty convenient, because it covers all of the important topics in 15 chapters, including genetics (which works out nicely to ~1 chapter per week of a semester), but it does require the instructor to provide a lot of supplemental information to fill in the details of definitions and concepts that may be unfamiliar to undergrads. So in that respect, Ive been keeping my eyes open for some better text options (something that would provide the students with a more concrete basis of concepts) and would be interested to hear what others respond to you. Ive attached my lecture/lab schedule, which you can see basically looks like the Table of Contents from Wilsons book. I teach a non-majors general education course on biodiversity. You can find a syllabus and a lecture schedule here: http://bcrc.bio.umass.edu/courses/fall2008/biol/biol108/syllabus.phtml
I've taught Conservation Biology many times, always for undergraduates. Frankham et al. (2004) has a great little primer on conservation genetics which is very well done (Frankham, R., J.D. Ballou, and D.A. Briscoe. 2004. A Primer of Conservation Genetics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK). I've required this text in addition to the book by Primack (Essentials of Conservation Biology, 4th Ed.) for my upper-division conservation biology course. Dan Hartl has a couple of books which also deal with population genetics which make great resources, Hartl, D.L. 2000. A Primer of Population Genetics. Sinauer Assoc., and Conner, J.K. and D.L. Hartl. 2004. A Primer of Ecological Genetics. Sinauer Assoc. I an ecologist, so genetics isn't necessarily my strong suit, but I have found all of these to work well, especially Frankham et al. (2004). There are great examples, and I have found both the breadth and depth of topics covered in Frankham et al. (2004) to work well. The 'math' can get a little hairy at times, but generally junior and senior biology majors were able to handle most of the topics covered. My course is what I consider to be a classic course in conservation biology, so I am not exactly sure how different this might be from a course in 'Biodiversity'. I have taught a course I called 'Biodiversity' in the past, but this course was designed more for non-biology majors (most environmental studies/science majors). I used Primack's 'A Primer of Conservation Biology' for this course, and I personally do not see much of a distinction between a course on 'biodiversity' and one covering the discipline 'conservation biology'. You might want to see what might be available at the Society for Conservation Biology web page, if you already haven't done so. Good luck, and if I can be of any more assistance, please let me know. Kerry Griffis-Kyle Department of Natural Resources Management Texas Tech University Box 42125 Lubbock, TX 79409 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.rw.ttu.edu/ttunrm/ Kerry Griffis-Kyle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Im designing a course in biodiversity with a strong genetics component for undergrads, and I would like any input/suggestions from those of you that have taught similar courses. I checked out the ESA syllabus exchange, but didnt find any syllabi for courses in biodiversity. I am interested in syllabi, relevant topics, and suggestions for texts. Please email me off-list and I will post a summary of responses. Thanks! Kerry Griffis-Kyle Department of Natural Resources Management Texas Tech University Box 42125 Lubbock, TX 79409 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.rw.ttu.edu/ttunrm/ ***************************** Kerry Griffis-Kyle Assistant Professor Texas Tech University
