Pumping water to maintain wildlife during drought at the Kheoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur, India

Photo:  Daniel Factor

Educational Modules with Biodiversity Components

In order to meet the challenge facing us due to loss of biodiversity on earth, we need to train individuals to:

1. recognize biodiversity;
2. manage populations, communities and ecosystems in a way that promotes
   increased biodiversity; and
3. understand the ecological processes underlying biodiversity in places as common as the land around our own
   homes and as exotic as an unstudied tropical rainforests.  

In addition to professional scientists, common citizens need to be able to recognize biodiversity at all levels beginning
with the recognition of individual species and their role or niche that they
inhabit in their communities.

The following courses are offered through the Center for the Study of Nature and Society Biodiversity Initiative at Hiram College and through the Shoals Marine Laboratory.   These programs offer training not only in recognizing organisms and understanding the roles they play in their own environments, but also in using  standardized methodologies and protocols for sampling communities, identifying organisms, and establishing measurements (metrics) of ecosystem health.

 

Diane DeLuca of New Hampshire Audubon discussing vegetation problems on Seavey Island - General Ecology

Photo:  Class member Genearl Ecology Fall 2005

Dennis J. Taylor

taylordj at hiram.edu

last updated 25 April 2008