Spring 2026
This course will provide an introduction to the discipline of conservation biology. The first two-thirds of the course will focus on the biological aspects of the discipline. Topics covered will include patterns of biodiversity and extinction, causes of extinction and population declines, techniques used to restore populations, landscape level conservation planning, and the role of conservation in protecting ecosystem services. The final third will cover the practical aspects of implementing conservation actions and will include lectures on conservation economics and conservation law. In other words, the study of extinction and biodiversity loss – how it happens, why it happens, and what people can do to lower the risk.
Basic course information
Credits: 3
Instructor: Chris Elphick, chris.elphick@uconn.edu. Office hours: see below.
Teaching assistant: Sean Lyon, sean.lyon@uconn.edu. Office hours: TBD
Lecture: M, W 2-3:15
Location: BPB 131
Contacting us outside class: We will work hard to respond to emails promptly, but you can help by being aware of ways to make it easier for us to find and follow up on your messages. In all emails to us, please include “EEB 2208E” in the subject line. I check email at the start and end of each work day (8-5, M-F) and will prioritize student messages with the goal of responding within 24 hours (except on weekends). I receive a high volume of email, though, and messages that are not readily identifiable or found via a simple search are easy to miss. Emails without a clear subject line, and especially those with a blank subject line, may get treated as SPAM and be deleted without being read. If you do not get a response within 48 hours, please do not hesitate to resend the message in case it was missed.
If you are struggling with the course, please do not hesitate to reach out for help at any time. Waiting until the end of the semester to ask for help will likely make it impossible for us to do anything to help you improve your grade.
Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites for the course, but it is aimed at students who are at least sophomores and have taken at least some biology in high school.
Textbook: I lecture primarily from my own notes, and there is no required textbook for the course (so you won’t find anything in the bookstore). Reading beyond the lecture material, however, will be helpful as I will expect you to know a range of examples for each of the phenomena I describe. There are also topics that I will not have time to cover in the course, which might interest you if you plan a career in conservation. If you want to delve deeper into the topic, or find the use of a textbook to be helpful, then I’d recommend two inexpensive options: Essentials of Conservation Biology (Primack, 6th Edition, Sinauer), which closely follows the sequence of my lectures, and Conservation Biology for All (Sodhi and Ehrlich), which is available as a free download. Both are a few years old now, but the basics have not changed greatly. The free textbook covers many of the topics I’ll cover in class, but is not as comprehensive as Primack’s book, and not as similar in its organization to the way that I have set up my lectures. Another more recent option – most valuable to students planning a career in conservation – is An Introduction to Conservation Biology (A Sher and E González-Sargas, 4th Edition, Oxford).
Web site: This site will serve as a syllabus and central resource for information about the course. We will also have a HuskyCT site where course materials will be collated by lecture. The HuskyCT site will become available on the first day of class, but you will not see not see things on it until you need them.
Research paper readings: Throughout the class, I will provide supplemental readings from the primary research literature to augment the lecture material. These readings will be the subject of class discussions and short graded responses. Information on when these discussions will occur and what is expected of you is given below.
Optional reading that might be helpful: If you are really interested in this topic, then you will be well served if you check out recent issues of the journal Conservation Biology (note that to read articles you will need to be connected to the UConn system – either by being on campus or by using a VPN or the library eproxy).
Questions: Please ask lots of them! Class is much more interesting (for me and you) when people ask questions. The best way to ask questions is during class sessions or via the discussion board on HuskyCT, so that everyone can hear the responses. If you prefer, you can send me questions over email, and I will post them on the discussion board without your name, along with the answers.
Office hours: I will usually be available in the classroom 10 minutes before class, and will stay afterwards to answer any questions you have. Please feel free to introduce yourself during these periods – the class is big and it is hard for me to get to know people otherwise. I am also happy to meet at other times by appointment. If you would like to meet, then email me, telling me (a) what you want to discuss (so I can prepare) and (b) when would be good times to meet (Mon, Wed, or Fri will usually be best). The TA is also available to answer questions by email, during their office hours and/or by appointment (see above for details); questions about grading, however, should be directed to me.
Course objectives and expectations: My goal is to provide you with a basic understanding of the scientific field of conservation biology and the application of science to solving conservation problems. My primary goal is for you to learn and understand basic concepts and general ideas, although to get an A or a high B, you will need to know plenty of details too. I will expect you to know examples relating to each major concept, so that you can relate theory to practical, real-world situations. I will not expect you to memorize all of the minutia that I talk about; for example, I would not ask you exactly how many species have gone extinct in the last 500 years. I will expect you to have a solid understanding of the basic information that would be required for a job in this field; for example, I would expect you to know whether the number of extinctions this century is likely to be closer to 2 or 20,000.
Specific things that I hope you will learn are:
- to understand the basic issues that define the field of conservation biology;
- specific factual information about major issues in conservation biology;
- specific examples of all important concepts, problems, and solutions;
- to use general principles to think about ways to solve specific conservation problems;
- to extrapolate from examples I provide in class to other cases with similar characteristics (e.g., that I may ask about in exams!);
- to acknowledge scientific uncertainty when it exists, and to recognize when it hampers understanding and when it does not;
- to read scientific papers and understand the main points that they make;
- to interpret graphs, tables, and simple statistics presented in the scientific literature.
These items relate to UConn’s Common Curriculum as follows:
| Topic of inquiry | Common curriculum objective | Learning objectives | Course assessments |
| TOI-4 | 1: Students will be able to investigate how human activities impact Earth systems | 1-9 | Homework, discussions, exams |
| TOI-4 | 2: Students will be able to examine how Earth systems affect human activities and well-being. | 1-9 | Homework, discussions, exams |
| TOI-4 | 3: Students will be able to assess how human-environment interactions are represented culturally, creatively, or artistically, and how these representations influence attitudes and behaviors. | 1-9 | Homework, discussions, exams |
| TOI-4 | 4: Students will be able to evaluate how public policies, legal frameworks, and/or other social systems affect environmental and social justice. | 1-10 | Homework, discussions, exams |
| TOI-4 | 5: Students will be able to articulate moral, ethical, and/or philosophical issues regarding the environment. | 1-9 | Homework, discussions, exams |
| TOI-6 | 1. Students will be able to explain and appropriately use basic scientific language and concepts. | 1-10 | Homework, discussions, exams |
| TOI-6 | 3. Students will be able to solve problems described verbally, graphically, symbolically, or numerically | 1-10 | Homework, discussions, exams |
If you are just taking this course out of general interest, then hopefully it will provide you with a sense of how the biological sciences can be applied to protection of the natural world, and will give you a better understanding of the main issues in conservation biology. For those of you wishing to pursue a career in conservation biology, I hope that this course will give you a solid foundation on which to build with future courses (e.g., EEB 5310, EEB 5370). There are also links to good sites for finding internships and jobs (short-term and permanent) in conservation biology at the bottom of this web page.
Class community and inclusive learning environment: UConn values diversity and inclusion, and so do I. I expect everyone in this class to contribute to a respectful, welcoming, and inclusive environment and to support the learning of all other members of the class, regardless of ability, age, background, culture, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or other seen or unseen identities. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion or accurate assessment of your achievements, please let me know.
General student help
Student Health and Wellness – Mental Health: (860) 486-4705
Dean of Students Office: (860) 486-3426
Center for Students with Disabilities
Alcohol, Other Substance Use, and Support
Academic rules and conduct
All students should be aware of the guidelines on academic integrity contained in the Student Code, which is available here, and will be expected to abide by UConn’s Academic, Scholarly, and Professional Integrity and Misconduct Policy.
Schedule of lectures and examinations (subject to change)
NOTE THAT THIS SCHEDULE HAS NOT YET BEEN UPDATED FOR 2026
The schedule below describes the order in which we will cover material. Not every topic fits nicely into the time set aside for a lecture, so be prepared for us to start some topics a lecture early, and for others to take longer than the syllabus suggests. Snow days may also disrupt things, so don’t be surprised if the topic listing changes slightly. Should changes to the schedule be necessary I will send everyone in the class an announcement via HuskyCT.
Lecture material has been pre-recorded and will be posted in HuskyCT. For each lecture there will be multiple short videos, to break the information down into sections. Each lecture also has a set of notes summarizing the material (linked to the topic titles in the syllabus below). My expectation is that you will have watched all videos before coming to class, and my advice is that you should (a) look the notes over before watching the video, (b) make supplemental notes while watching, and (c) come to class with questions about anything you do not understand (you can also post questions in the discussion board for the class). In class, I will review the most difficult information and we will conduct exercises to help you develop the skills that will be needed to do well on the final. Some of these exercises will be graded. In exams, you will be expected to know about all the things covered in the videos, not just the summary information in the web notes. If you choose to rely only on the web notes or to skip class it will likely reduce your grade.
The symbol ** in the “Reading” column means that there is important reading from the primary literature that we will discuss in class (if there is no ** then the reading is still important, but will not be the subject of graded activities). Reading these papers is important as there will be graded, writing assignments for each one. I will also pick people in class to answer questions about them. We will post the papers on the HuskyCT site.
Weekly homework will be assigned on Thursdays, with each assignment posted on HuskyCT. Your responses should be submitted via HuskyCT and are due by 8 pm on the Sunday after the homework was assigned (see homework column in the table below). Answers will be posted on HuskyCT.
Because conservation biology is a fast-moving field, with the latest research constantly changing, my course notes are updated regularly. Links to the documents in the syllabus below will take you to the most recent version, but do not be surprised if they are updated a day or so before the relevant lecture.
In the schedule I have included special lectures or other events (in green) that will take place this semester and that are at least loosely connected to this course. Attendance at these lectures is not required, but the presentations should be of interest to anyone interested in conservation biology.
| Lecture | Date | Topic | Background reading | Homework (due 8 pm, Sundays) | Supplemental information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 Jan | What is conservation biology? | Primack Ch 1 & 6 S & E Ch 1 |
A summary of what the course is about: Part 1 and Part 2 | |
| 2 | 26 Jan | Interpreting statistics (when there’s an agenda) | Sutherland et al. 2013 | Theory of the Stork | |
| 3 | 28 Jan | Forms of biological diversity | Primack Ch 2 S & E Ch 2 |
Hwk #1
(due 1 Feb) |
International Year of Biodiversity Ecosystem services |
| 4 | 2 Feb | Patterns of biodiversity | Primack Ch 3 S & E Ch 2 |
New species discoveries | |
| 5 | 4 Feb | Extinction rates | Primack Ch 7 S & E Ch 10 |
Hwk #2
(due 8 Feb) |
Thylacine video – all that’s left |
| 6 | 9 Feb | Patterns of extinction | Primack Ch 8 | Extinction debt video | |
| 7 | 11 Feb | Causes of population decline | Primack Ch 8 | Hwk #3
(due 15 Feb) |
1ST DISCUSSION TODAY!!! The fate of passenger pigeons IUCN Red List |
| 8 | 16 Feb | Habitat loss & degradation | Primack Ch 9: 175-196 | Another victim of habitat loss | |
| 9 | 18 Feb | Over-exploitation | Primack Ch 10: 215-227 | Hwk #4
(due 22 Feb) |
Bushmeat |
| 10 | 23 Feb | Invasive species | Primack Ch 10: 227-238
Watch Cane Toads |
IPANE | |
| 11 | 25 Feb | Disease | Primack Ch 10: 238-245 | Hwk #5
(due 1 Mar) |
Chytrid video |
| 12 | 2 Mar | Global change | Primack Ch 9: 197-216 | National Academies video, part 1 USFS climate change atlases for trees and birds Climate Change Time Machine |
|
| 13 | 4 Mar | Mid-term Exam | Study lectures 1-12 | Hwk #6
(due 8 Mar) |
|
| 9 Mar | Ecosystem services | pp. 1-24 MEA Summary for decision makers
|
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) | ||
| 14 | 11 Mar | Small population conservation | Primack Ch 11 | Hwk #7
(due 22 Mar) |
|
| 16 Mar | Spring recess (no class) | ||||
| 18 Mar | Spring recess (no class) | ||||
| 15 | 23 Mar | Population viability analysis | Primack Ch 12 | Demos of PVA simulations in class today and/or Wednesday | |
| 16 | 25 Mar | Conservation genetics | Primack Ch 13 | Hwk #8
(due 29 Mar) |
Frozen Ark Project |
| 17 | 30 Mar | Ex situ conservation, release programs | Primack Ch 14 | Info on UConn’s endangered and extinct in the wild plants | |
| 18 | 1 Apr | Conservation reserves | Primack Ch 15 | Hwk #9
(due 5 Apr) |
US Protected Areas |
| 19 | 6 Apr | Reserve networks | Primack Ch 16 |
|
Poster design tips |
| 20 | 8 Apr | Conservation in the matrix | Primack Ch 18 | Hwk #10
(due 12 Apr) |
Flooding rice |
| 21 | 13 Apr | Management | Primack Ch 17 | Read about re-wilding | |
| 22 | 15 Apr | Habitat restoration | Primack: Ch 19 | Hwk #11
(due 19 Apr) |
|
| 20 Apr | Economics of conservation | Primack: Ch 4, 5 | Valuing ecosystems | ||
| 22 Apr | Conservation law | Primack: Ch 5 | Hwk #12
(due 16 Apr) |
Short video on wildlife trade | |
| 23 | 27 Apr | Recent advances: nature positive |
Primack: Ch 20 |
Nature Positive Universities | |
| 24 | 29 Apr | Recent advances: AI in conservation | Primack: Ch 21, 22 | Hwk #13
(due 3 May) |
|
| 31 Apr | On-line exam prep Q & A on HuskyCT | ||||
| TBD | Final exam: confirm time and date here | Cumulative | Exam will cover material from entire course | ||
* Questions about final exam rescheduling should be directed to the Dean of Students Office (here). I am not allowed to consider rescheduling requests unless you already have approval from that office. Except in emergencies, rescheduling of other graded activities will be considered only if a written request is made at least one week in advance. Rescheduling is not guaranteed.
These lecture notes are intended for students in EEB 2208E at the University of Connecticut, and may not make sense in other contexts. If, however, you are not a UConn student and they are useful to you, please use them – but kindly let me know first if you intend to use them for anything more than your own on-line reading. If you find errors, please let me know that too.
Important policies
Policy Against Discrimination, Harassment and Related Interpersonal Violence
The University is committed to maintaining an environment free of discrimination or discriminatory harassment directed toward any person or group within its community – students, employees, or visitors. Academic and professional excellence can flourish only when each member of our community is assured an atmosphere of mutual respect. All members of the University community are responsible for the maintenance of an academic and work environment in which people are free to learn and work without fear of discrimination or discriminatory harassment. In addition, inappropriate amorous relationships can undermine the University’s mission when those in positions of authority abuse or appear to abuse their authority. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, the University prohibits discrimination and discriminatory harassment, as well as inappropriate amorous relationships, and such behavior will be met with appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from the University. Additionally, to protect the campus community, all non-confidential University employees (including faculty) are required to report sexual assaults, intimate partner violence, and/or stalking involving a student that they witness or are told about to the Office of Institutional Equity. The University takes all reports with the utmost seriousness. Please be aware that while the information you provide will remain private, it will not be confidential and will be shared with University officials who can help. More information is available at equity.uconn.edu and titleix.uconn.edu.
Information for Students with Disabilities
The University of Connecticut is committed to protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities and assuring that the learning environment is accessible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability or pregnancy, please let me know immediately so that we can discuss options. Students who require accommodations should contact the Center for Students with Disabilities, Wilbur Cross Building Room 204, (860) 486-2020 or http://csd.uconn.edu/.
Links to other key policy information.
Other information
For information about the Society for Conservation Biology, click here.
For information on jobs in conservation biology, click here or here.
For information on jobs in wildlife biology/natural resources, click here.
For additional job information, compiled by the EEB department click here.