FRS 002A - Sec. 001 - (2 units) - CRN 92781 - M 5:10-7:00 pm - 366 Briggs
Conserving Australia’s Biodiversity
Instructors: Penelope Gullan and Peter Cranston, Department of Entomology, College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences
Description: How does Australia, the only biologically megadiverse country
with a well developed economy, manage its biodiversity? Fifty million years
of isolation of the continent saw the development of a unique biota which has
undergone dramatic change in the 50,000 years since aboriginal arrival, and
the 200 years since European settlement. What can we learn about maintenance
of biodiversity on an old, fragile and dry continent surrounded by an immense
coastline, but populated with 30 million resource-demanding humans? Are there
analogies with the biotic and human histories of the North American continent,
as Tim Flannery argues? If Australia cannot protect its biodiversity, which
country can? Using directed readings from the writings of conservationists and
environmentalists, state and federal government agencies and modern media resources,
students will explore the 'State of the Australian Environment.' A local, regional,
and global perspective will be maintained such that the widest contextual meaning
can be drawn from the studies.
Format: The two unit seminar will meet for two hours each week. The time will be divided between informal lecture presentations, discussion and student presentations. Powerpoint will be used for presentations by instructors. Assigned reading material will be web-available as pdf files behind a password. There is no text. Early seminars will be discussions led by instructors. Later ones will include student presentations based on selection of an issue from a list of topics, and at least one targeted piece of reading for the complete seminar group on one major issue. Examples – introductory chapter to the State of the Environment report, the same for the ABRS Fauna and Flora series; the major (including Green) Party policies on biodiversity / conservation (Federal election likely during seminar); policies for control of introduced species; Great Barrier Reef protection; Statistics on value of backpacker / ecotourism; Tim Flannery chapter or two. Grading: Students will be letter graded on the quality of their contributions to discussions (25%), evidence of having read and understood weekly assigned reading (25%), and predominantly on their 1000 word maximum-length term paper based on their topic chosen from a diverse list (50%). The latter will be assessed 20% for Style, 20% for Coverage, 20% for Comprehension, 20% for Logic, 20% for use of references.
About the Instructors: Professors Penny J. Gullan (Faculty, Entomology) and Peter S. Cranston (Faculty, Entomology) are recently (2000) recruited from Academic and Government Research positions, respectively, in Australia. Their research interests lie in the biodiversity of insects, but they have wide interests in biodiversity conservation on a regional, continental and global scale. Penny and Peter co-teach courses in Biodiversity (ENT/EVE 002), Insect Systematics (ENT 103) and Insects in the Environment (ENT 50). Contacts: pjgullan@ucdavis.edu. pscranston@ucdavis.edu, 530 754 5805