Introduction to Biodiversity

Readings

Biodiversity- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biodiversity

Species Diversity- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Species_diversity

Species Richness- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Species_richness


Slideshows

Introduction to Biodiversity

http://www.slideshare.net/MarkMcGinley/introduction-to-biodiversity-8383743

Biodiversity: Species, Classification, and Importance

http://www.slideshare.net/MarkMcGinley/biodiversity-species-classification-importance


Species Diversity in Malaysian Bats- Exercise

http://www.slideshare.net/secret/iQrgbLVr19ozgo

Diversity Exercise- Nemo

http://www.slideshare.net/MarkMcGinley/biodiversity-exercisenemo

Diversity Exercise- Candy

http://www.slideshare.net/MarkMcGinley/diversity-exercise-candy-8383776

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- define biodiversity

- discuss components of biodiversity including species richness, species evenness, genetic diversity, etc.

- develop your own "metric" to measure biodiveristy

- use diversity indices such as Shannon Index and Simpson Index

Environmental Issues in China

Environmental Problems in China- WWF. http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/china/environmental_problems_china/

Environmental Concern on the Rise in China
http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/09/19/environmental-concerns-on-the-rise-in-china/

Choking on Growth- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/12/29/world/asia/choking_on_growth_10.html?_r=0

Severe Air Pollution Hits Shanghai (South China Morning Post. November 7, 2013)
http://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1349626/severe-air-pollution-hits-shanghai

Video

The Daily Show's Take on Air Pollution in China
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-january-24-2013/things-may-be-bad--but-at-least-we-can-t-chew-our-air

The Devastating Effects of Pollution in China (part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4DtOhe2LfQ

part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d-Ky7Se-v8

Thought Provoking Posts on my Facebook Page Today

Environmental Regulations

Readings

Clean Air Act, United States-
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Clean_Air_Act%2C_United_States

Clean Water Act, United States
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Clean_Water_Act%2C_United_States

Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Environmental_Protection_Agency%2C_United_States

Endangered Species Act, United States
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Endangered_Species_Act%2C_United_States

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Convention_on_International_Trade_in_Endangered_Species_of_Wild_Fauna_and_Flora_%28CITES%29

Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Montreal_Protocol_on_Substances_that_Deplete_the_Ozone_Layer

Kyoto Protocol
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Kyoto_Protocol

Kyoto Protocol and the United States
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Kyoto_Protocol_and_the_United_States

Powerpoint Presentation

Environmental Regulations
http://www.slideshare.net/secret/3KcVoxWWCDaVLZ

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- discuss important environmental legislation in the United States

- discuss the role of the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Fish and Wildlife Service

- discuss important international environmental agreements such as CITES, the Montreal Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol

Chemical Pesticides & Antibiotic Resistance

Further Reading

Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance-
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/10/4/l_104_03.html

Antibiotic resistance: Questions and Answers- CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/anitbiotic-resistance-faqs.html

Antibiotic resistance- delaying the inevitable (parts 1 and 2) UC Berkeley
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/relevance/IA1antibiotics2.shtml

HIV the ultimate evolver (parts 1-3) UC Berkeley
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/relevance/IA2HIV.shtml

Resisting our drugs-
http://understandingevolution.com/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/bergstrom_03

Turbochared evolution-
http://understandingevolution.com/evolibrary/article/side_0_0/turboevolution_01

Relevance of evolution:medicine-
http://understandingevolution.com/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/medicine_01

Powerpoint Presentation

Here is a link the the powerpoint presentation I used in class.

http://www.slideshare.net/secret/rPekyBdLalUvFY

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course a fully engaged students should be able to

- discuss some potential ecological and evolutionary problems that have arisen from the use of chemical pesticides

- discuss the causes of the development of antibiotic resistance

- discuss where antibiotics come from

- discuss what we have learned from ecology and evolutionary biology about potentila problems associated with antibiotic use

- discuss what we have learned from evolutionary biology that should help us fight microbial diseases more effectively

The Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl was an environmental catastrophe, a natural hazard (multiannual drought) in the 1930s in the Southern Great Plains of the USA, resulting in the activation of a geomorphic process (intense wind erosion) which, when human society could not adapt to it, cascaded into unprecedented agricultural, economic, and societal collapse in its core region. Over the years, the cause of the Dust Bowl has been variably ascribed to specific climatic or meteorological phenomena or land management practices. Drought and wind erosion have been notable phenomena in the Southern Great Plains throughout the Holocene, occurring long before conversion of the land to agricultural use, and still continue today. (Gill and Lee 2006)

Further Readings

Dust Bowl http://www.eoearth.org/article/Dust_Bowl

The Dust Bowl http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1583.html

On the cause of the 1930s Dust Bowl. Science 2004 http://www.sciencemag.org/content/303/5665/1855.abstract

NASA explains the Dust Bowl Drought http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2004/0319dustbowl.html

A critical evlauation of the Dust Bowl and its causes. Gill and Lee. 2006
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006AGUFM.A44C..06G

What America Looked Like: The Dust Bowl (2012 in The Atlantic. lots of good photos)
http://m.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/02/what-america-looked-like-the-dust-bowl/253220/#slide3

Misery on a Grand Scale: The Drought of today and Yesteryear. Wynan Meinzer is a photographer who teachers photography at Tech. He teaches Wildlife Photography at Junction during Intersession which would be a great experience for all budding photographers.
http://www.wymanmeinzer.com/misery-on-a-grand-scale-the-drought-of-today-and-yesteryear/

Video

Surviving the Dust Bowl. PBS
http://video.pbs.org/video/1311363860/