Mar 29, 2024  
College Catalog 2009-2011 
    
College Catalog 2009-2011 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

BIOL 115 - Global Diversity and the Biology of Conservation


This is a non-majors course designed for the liberal arts student. This course explores the reasons behind the alarming loss of biodiversity occurring throughout the world today. The implications of this loss and the efforts underway to reduce the rate of loss will be main topics of the course. Students will be introduced to the different types of biodiversity, including genetic diversity, species diversity, and habitat diversity. The process and implications of species extinctions occurring worldwide will be examined in detail. The underlying biological and evolutionary processes involved in extinctions will be considered along with the role of human values and economic development in the loss of biodiversity. Principles will be illustrated through case studies of both extinctions and recovery efforts in different parts of the world. This course counts toward a minor in biology, but not toward a major in biology. No prerequisites. Three lecture hours per week. Alternate years. (4 Credits)