Course Overview
Restoration plans must take into account the needs of current or desired wildlife species in project areas. This course gives ecologists, restorationists, administrators, and other professionals involved with restoration projects the tools they need to understand essential ecological concepts, helping them to design restoration projects that can improve conditions for native species of wildlife. It also offers specific guidance and examples on how various projects have been designed and implemented. This course interweaves theoretical and practical aspects of wildlife biology that are directly applicable to the restoration and conservation of animals. It provides an understanding of the fundamentals of wildlife populations and wildlife-habitat relationships as it explores the concept of habitat, its historic development, components, spatial-temporal relationships, and role in land management. It applies these concepts in developing practical tools for professionals. The course is based on Morrison, M.L. 2009. (Restoring Wildlife: Ecological Concepts and Practical Applications) and Maehr et al. 2001 (Large Mammal Restoration), both published by Island Press, Washington, USA. Case studies will be used to illustrate concepts while field labs will train students on key concepts.
Prerequisite(s)
- RENR 7004
- Or equivalent or by department approval.
Credits
4.0
- Not offered this term
- This course is not offered this term. Notify me to receive email notifications when the course opens for registration next term.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Interpret underlying principles of ‘populations’, including:
- Time frames and historic condition,
- Natural versus desired condition,
- Population concepts,
- Distribution patterns of populations,
- Metapopulation structure,
- Exotic species,
- Linking populations and restoration ecology,
- Restoring a population.
- Interpret underlying principles of ‘habitat’, including:
- What and when to monitor,
- Spatial scale,
- Measurements of the animal and of the habitat,
- ‘Focal animal’ approach,
- How to measure habitat.
- Design ‘desired condition’, including:
- Conducting historic assessment using existing data sets, museum records, literature, etc.,
- Developing desired condition for sample restoration site:
- Step 1: Planning area
- Step 2: Project area
- Step 3: Adaptive management implementation.
- Interpret basic design concepts for wildlife restoration, including:
- Habitat heterogeneity, fragmentation, disturbance ecology,
- Landscape matrix as a planning area,
- Population and restoration management implications:
- Guidelines for species richness and diversity,
- Guidelines to maintain within-patch condition,
- Guidelines to maintain a desired occupancy rate of habitat patches,
- Guidelines for habitat configuration.
- Design and initiate monitoring field methods and applications, including:
- Implementation monitoring, effectiveness monitoring, validation monitoring, compliance monitoring,
- Adaptive management and monitoring,
- Conducting wildlife sampling for:
- Amphibians and reptiles,
- Birds,
- Mammals.
Effective as of Winter 2014
Related Programs
Restoring Wildlife Populations (RENR 8107) is offered as a part of the following programs:
- Indicates programs accepting international students.
- Indicates programs eligible for students to apply for Post-graduation Work Permit (PGWP).
School of Construction and the Environment
- Ecological Restoration
Bachelor of Science Full-time/Part-time
Programs and courses are subject to change without notice. Find out more about BCIT course cancellations.