Highlights from the blogs - edition #1

I also want to highlight some of the posts from the lab section blogs. Runner up for best post was this one by Nathan is here.  Section AC has a number of good posts up, so lots to look at.

I chose section AA this week, good activity on their blog - good diversity of posts on lots of good topics.  The post I mentioned in class is here. Image below.  Important information on population growth from the UN, in lots of detail, available here. Keep the posts coming. Population is a part o the issue, but not all of it, as the article points out. The other great post from this was the market approach to saving whales, which is getting quite a bit of chatter on twitter.  Keep the posts coming. This is a great way to get the word out on your favorite conservation topic.

Priority setting for conservation

Its good getting priorities from someone like John - lots of interesting things to consider.  I posted his lecture.   If you want to read more about the Alliance for Zero Extinction, check out their stuff here.

A map of their site and species is above - can you guess what the dot just above us is?  I have posted jon's lecture on the class site.  I have also posted a couple of other papers under his lecture as well - one, which he mentioned in class, about resilience (here), and another that compares priorities for global conservation organizations with actual dollars spent (this one, as Jon put it, missed a real opportunity, due to the tone of the paper - see if you can see why).  Paper here and an interesting figure from it to the left.

Updates for tuesday.

Hey all - I checked in with Jon Hoekstra and he will be talking about conservation priorities and the use of tools to link ecosystem services to management actions. Lots of cool work being done in this area.  He sent me 3 papers for you all to read prior to class on Tuesday, so you get one more reprieve from absolutely having to have Groom in your hands.  Do read over the chapter on fragmentation over the next week or so, it will be useful for the take home final - see the new improved info on the website project for more on that, and notice that the course dropbox also has DUE DATES for all the website project related materials now.  

Nice work already on the blogs!   I see lots of new stuff flowing in.  I'll announce a week 1 winner on Tuesday. I have changed the timing of the evaluation a bit to keep it fresh - we'll look at everything posted on Monday of each week, announce the winners and runners up on tuesday (top of lecture) and use thursday to feature some cool new stuff flowing in (breaking news).  So, you have a few more days to get the top post for the week.

Nature Blog Network

And while we are on the subject of blogs, if you want to see how this is done, check out the Nature Blog Network!

See you all on Tuesday. Let me know in the comments section if any of my links don't work.

Section Blogs! Hey all - looked over the blog posts - super fun stuff.  Remember to write something when you post - it is important that you put the post in context.  why is it important to conservation, how does it use biology.    Keep it up!

Mary Ruckleshaus, Managing Director for the Natural Capital Project, has agreed to come talk to our class on March 8th!  Mary leads the worlds largest university / NGO collaborative conservation effort, the Natural Capital Project. 


Check out her work, and look for readings associated with her lecture on March 8th.

Jon Hoekstra, Senior Scientist for the Nature Conservancy and Director of Science for TNC in Washington, will NOT be joining us today (Jury Duty)  but he will be coming on the 17th!  For more on Washington TNC, follow the link!

Hey all - I updated the weblinks and the web addresses for the section blogs - they are now a lot easier to get to, and a lot easier to remember.   The links here now take you to the blog itself.  You can edit the blog with the icons on the right side of the screen, as long as you have accepted my invitation to become an author.

Cheers

Getting the best conservation biology up on your lab blog

Here are the links to your section blogs!

Biol476 Section AA: Monday 9:30-11:20

Biol476 Section AB: Monday 12:30 - 2:20

Biol476 Section AC: Wednesday 9:30 - 11:20

Biol476 Section AD: Wednesday 12:30 - 2:20

Biol476 Section AE: Tuesday 9:20 - 11:20

How this will work:  You should all have received an e-mail asking you to join your lab blogger site.  Sign up and start looking for cool stories.    When you find one, post it to your blogger site.  Write a short blog entry explaining why you picked this.  In particular, make sure to say why it is important to conservation, and what aspect of conservation biology might apply to this story? 

Each Monday, we will scan through all your posts from the previous week, and pick the best stories from each lab section to move forward - these are the best of the week for that lab section.   

Tuesday's lecture will start with the top story, and it will probably give mention to the runner's up as well, but whatever the format, we will let you know which section is the winning section for the week.

At the end of the course, we will see which lab has the most "top posts", and folks in that lab will get 5 extra-credit 5 points.

Great resources to use to get your "out of class talk" done!

Seattle Town Hall

College of the Environment Events Calendar

Environmental Services Directory for Washington State Events listings