Courses

Chair of Natural Resources

 

The course of conservation biology covers the scientific and methodological principles of contemporary nature conservation. The course will develop general competences on scientific information search, academic writing, critical thinking, team work skills, problem solving, and oral communication skills. The course of conservation biology covers the scientific and methodological principles of contemporary  nature conservation. The course will develop general competences on scientific information search, academic writing, critical thinking, team work skills, problem solving, and oral communication skills.

The course introduces the main tasks, approaches and theoretical foundations of conservation biology. Theory and practical models are united to demonstrate how demographic and genetic processes, habitat loss, community structure and ecosystem dynamics are considered in nature conservation. The course also explores the impacts of alien species and environmental pollution on biological diversity. Students are provided with skills to plan reserves, protect species in artificial conditions, and to take into account social and economic factors in nature conservation.

The main aim of the course is to increase the general knowledge about the protected species.

The diagnostic characters and identification techniques for identifying the protected species of plants, animals and fungi in Estonia are introduced; the different data and databases concerning the protected objects (incl geological objects) are presented.

In the course of practical work, students will come to know the main species communities (and site types) in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, the environmental factors shaping these and their characteristic species.

Terrestrial plant communities with characteristic animals, invertebrate communities in freshwater, and maps depicting the environmental factors impacting the communities will be introduced. Students learn how to describe the communities and make an overview material with examples about the classification of the site types/habitats.

Lõpuaktus

Bachelor’s degree graduation ceremony 2024