Lecturers: Francesca Cagnacci, Federico Ossi, Heidi C. Hauffe 

Summary Conservation biology strives to describe, understand, and forecast biodiversity dynamics by applying ecological and evolutionary theory within the contexts of resource management, economics, sociology and political science. This course will explore the motivation for preserving biodiversity at all levels (genetic, species, ecosystem), available decision-making tools, and the consequences of various interventions, covering mainly terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and including wild animal and plant species.

Module 1 (8 hours) Principles of conservation biology. We have entered the Anthropocene, the Era of humans, where human impact is widespread in all biomes. The module will cover the essentials of conservation biology science, its area of application, and the analysis of major threats of humans on ecosystems.

Skills acquired: theory of conservation biology and fields of application.

Module 2 (8 hours) Conservation of terrestrial mammals in the Alps. The module will use the principle acquired in Module 1 to analyse conservation cases of terrestrial mammals in the Alpine range.

Skills acquired: application of conservation biology theory to terrestrial mammals

Module 3 (8 hours) Conservation genetics. The interactive module will focus on the application of genetics, genomics and metagenomics to conservation science, including wildlife forensics, and the importance of preserving genetic variation.

Skills acquired: principles of conservation genetics/genomics with practical examples of current research, and active discussion of case studies.

Course Schedule - Attention: this year the course will not be activated

Evaluation procedure: Group project (written with scientific presentation (oral assignment) - Data analysis and/or Outreach (practical assignments)