Syllabus
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1) What is conservation biology. We will start with introduction to the field. We will discuss development in the field and I will show basic literature. Further I will outline issues related to species and diversity protection that will be discussed in the latter talks. We will also discuss basic existing laws ensuring species and area protection in our country and in the world. *
2) Population biology of small populations. One of the key topics of the talk. The aim of this part is to discuss species behavior in small populations from both genetic and demography point of view including evolution in small populations. We will also discuss problems with estimating minimum viable population size. *
3) Effect of habitat fragmentation on species dynamics. In this part we will shift from the studies at local scale discussed in part 2 to the regional scale. The aim of this part will be to discuss species behavior in fragmented populations. We will mainly discuss models of species dynamics, species migrations, importance of gene flow and ways to assess these. We will also discuss issue related to design of nature reserves. *
4) Population viability analysis. This part will link the issues discussed above and will introduce basic techniques used for population viability analysis. I will try to provide overview of specific techniques and programs to perform PVA. We will also discuss possibilities to use these techniques in the real world. Important part of this section will be a discussion of recovery programs of species in the Czech Republic and in the world. This part of the talk will be done together with Vlastimil Rybka from Prague's botanical garden, one of the authors of the methodology for preparation of species recovery plans in the Czech Republic. *
5) Diversity, stability and function of ecosystems. In this last part we will move from issues related to dynamics and protection of single species to species diversity. Here we will discuss methods of studying species diversity, factors affecting species diversity in a landscape and importance of species diversity for function and stability of ecological systems.
Annotation
The lectures is given in English in the presence of foreign (English speaking) students.
The aim of the course is to provide overview of the issues related to conservation of rare and endangered species and their communities. It explores demographic and genetic factors determining dynamics of species in small populations, effects of habitat fragmentation, identification of minimum viable population size and minimum number of populations at the landscape level. It further explores models of species dynamics in the landscapes, methods for studying species dispersal and problems related to design of nature reserves. It emphasizes methods of population viability. Except for theoretical introduction to each studied issue, great emphasis is put to reading and discussing papers related to the problem, and analyzing sample datasets.