EE BIOL C146
Conservation Genetics
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: course 150 or Life Sciences 107, Life Sciences 7A, 7B, 7C. Conservation genetics is interdisciplinary field that integrates genetic methods and concepts from population genetics, evolutionary biology, molecular ecology, and systematics to understand how to conserve and manage populations and species of natural organisms, and understand genetic processes underlying why some go extinct. Case studies of plants and animals cover range of topics including habitat loss, population size, and inbreeding depression; landscape change and genetic connectivity of populations; climate change and local adaptation; management of wild and natural populations; and invasive species. Concurrently scheduled with course C246. Letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - The subject matter of this class was interesting and focused a lot on real world application through real case studies and conservation methods. Throughout the quarter, Professor Sork built upon concepts so that I felt like I had a well-rounded grasp on the material by the end of the course. Sometimes the lectures could be a little confusing and scattered, but the professor was super open to questions at any time and tried her best to understand the student point of view. Office hours were useful for any questions as well. The class was small which was very conducive to discussion, and discussion sections were very helpful for reviewing and expanding on material. Quizzes each week were quick but required some thought. There was one case study reflection paper due with a straightforward rubric. The exams were not too difficult, although the some regrading/post-exam question changes were made because some questions were not worded correctly/fairly -- but at the end of the day, Prof. Sork did her best to be fair and understand student performance. Workload was really not bad. The textbook was a bit wordy but useful to skim read before lectures or tests. Maybe not the best class to take if ecology/conservation/genetics don't interest you, but if it does, I recommend!
Winter 2024 - The subject matter of this class was interesting and focused a lot on real world application through real case studies and conservation methods. Throughout the quarter, Professor Sork built upon concepts so that I felt like I had a well-rounded grasp on the material by the end of the course. Sometimes the lectures could be a little confusing and scattered, but the professor was super open to questions at any time and tried her best to understand the student point of view. Office hours were useful for any questions as well. The class was small which was very conducive to discussion, and discussion sections were very helpful for reviewing and expanding on material. Quizzes each week were quick but required some thought. There was one case study reflection paper due with a straightforward rubric. The exams were not too difficult, although the some regrading/post-exam question changes were made because some questions were not worded correctly/fairly -- but at the end of the day, Prof. Sork did her best to be fair and understand student performance. Workload was really not bad. The textbook was a bit wordy but useful to skim read before lectures or tests. Maybe not the best class to take if ecology/conservation/genetics don't interest you, but if it does, I recommend!