Worldwide, life is experiencing dramatic extinction on a scale only matched by a handful of events in the history of our planet. The actions of human society appear to be all or part of the cause of most species extinctions documented in human history. Conservation biologists work to understand animal and plant populations in an effort to develop strategies to prevent species from going extinct. In class we discussed bird populations, how they are studied, and some of the most common causes of changes in bird populations.
Assignment
Goal: Students will expand on the framework established in class by studying and thinking about changes in the population of a bird species, how the change was detected, what may have caused the change, and what actions they suggest to address the change. Each student will select one species of bird from a list provided by the instructor. Students may select a species that is not on the list with the instructor’s approval. Each student will write about a different bird species.
