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London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)ModulesEconomics, Management, Finance and the Social Sciences - Units155 Biodiversity This unit provides
students with a broad background in the principles and theoretical
underpinnings of the scientific study of biodiversity. This serves to
give students a solid conceptual knowledge in the disciplines of
biogeography and ecology, building on the material covered in unit 149 Prerequisite Aims and objectives Learning outcomes At the end of the unit and having
completed the essential reading and activities students should have: Essential reading Assessment This unit is assessed by a three hour unseen written examination. Students should consult the Programme Regulations for degrees and diplomas in Economics, Management, Finance and the Social Sciences that are reviewed annually. The Prerequisites, Exclusions, and Syllabus are subject to confirmation in the Regulations. Notice is also given in the Regulations of any units which are being phased out and students are advised to check unit availability. Syllabus This is a description of
the material to be examined, as published in the Regulations. On
registration, students will receive a detailed subject guide which
provides a framework for covering the topics in the syllabus and
directions to the essential reading The questions ‘why are there so many
species?’, or, conversely, ‘why aren’t there just a very few, very
widely-distributed, dominant species?’ remain at the forefront of
contemporary ecology; satisfactorily resolving this issue is of
conceptual and practical importance. This unit considers these questions
from a range of different It considers the various concepts of biodiversity, the processes generating and maintaining biodiversity, and the issues surrounding the conservation of biodiversity for the future. At regional and global levels,patterns of biodiversity are usually the result of evolutionary and geological factors while at smaller (local) scales they are the result of ecological processes and interactions. Therefore, consideration will be given to the processes generating and maintaining biodiversity at a wide range of spatiotemporal scales (from single years to millions of years and from individual organisms to the entire globe). This unit provides the necessary background to understand some of the most important problems in contemporary ecology and to understand other important principles and theories in ecology. Specifically, the unit covers: |