Marine Conservation and Policy

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• To synthesise and present reasoned scientific and societal arguments informing non-specialists on research that may be important for the development of marine management strategies.
• To describe contemporary UK and international conservation issues and have an understanding of the development of both conservation policy and biodiversity policies.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the factors that underpin effective marine ecosystem management and conservation
• To summarise the main issues affecting biodiversity and its socio-economic value.
• To explain the effectiveness of and apply different tools used for biodiversity monitoring, tracking and for projections of biodiversity futures to improve conservation outcomes.

The module will focus on key biodiversity issues and will contribute to an understanding of the scientific processes which underpin conservation and management, focussing in particular on marine biodiversity, threats to biodiversity and how it can be preserved. The module will include discussions of the challenges surrounding the management and conservation from coastal and inshore organisms and ecosystems to the tracking of highly mobile fish and mammals, including national and international legislative frameworks.

Students will assess how marine biodiversity is threatened by e.g., habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, over-exploitation, and pollution and will develop a policy brief to communicate recent research findings to a non-specialist audience such as government or the general public to inform conservation and management strategies.

Research led examples, presentations from guest speakers e.g., conservation trusts and the Southern IFCA will provide a wide breadth of perspectives, allowing discussion and debate on issues surrounding conservation, human use of habitats and exploitation of marine resources.

The overarching goal is to provide the students with an interactive and hands-on experience of the central issues surrounding biodiversity conservation, management and policy development.

Lectures/Seminars: A series of core lectures will introduce and analyse the central aspects of marine biodiversity conservation, the importance of ecological models for predicting and improving conservation outcomes. We will investigate the challenges of managing highly mobile animals in the high seas and look at different biodiversity monitoring and tracking techniques.

Case Studies: Research-centred topics of relevant interest will be covered by seminars and presentations given by guest speakers discussing their topical research carried out in Southampton and from local conservation trusts and authorities.

Discussion/Practical sessions

1)Poole Harbour: fisheries management and conservation designations

2) Conservation and management of seagrass habitats in Studland bay

3)Communicating science to decision makers and managers: developing a policy brief

4)Conducting a Shark-movement analysis

5)Using ecological models to inform decision making

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.