Yellowstone Wolf Reintroduction Project
Undertake a critical evaluation of an existing conservation scheme/project of your own choice. This can be anywhere in the world and involve any habitat or species that you wish, but must be tutor-agreed and there must be sufficient resources available for you to be able to undertake a sound, sensible, and scientific critical analysis of your chosen scheme/project.
The conservation scheme that you choose might be:
• In-situ conservation or management of a particular nature reserve or protected area
• Conservation of a particular plant/animal species either in-situ or ex-situ, or both
• Conservation of a group of similar plant/animal species either in-situ or ex-situ – (e.g. grassland plants in the UK, marine turtles in Mexico, big cats in Africa, antelopes from around the world in UK zoos)
• A specific reintroduction scheme (e.g. beavers in Scotland, wolves in Yellowstone National Park, vultures in France, Large Blue butterflies in the UK etc.)
• A specific project to encourage conservation in a given area (e.g. an environmental education project)
For you to do this option, you MIGHT need to address some of the following – these are pointers only:
• Need / motivation for conservation (What was the baseline situation? What threats were there? What was the history of the site?)
• The aims of the conservation scheme you are investigating (What did it set out to do? Why?)
• Project rationale (why it was set up in the way it was – be academic here and link to theory where possible)
• How the project works (What activities are undertaken? Why?)
• Any unique / unusual features of the project – how it compares/contrasts to other schemes
• How successful the project has been (be critical here)
• Any unexpected problems (e.g. by taking one action, has another species/habitat been disadvantaged).
Note: not all of the above will be appropriate for all case studies and there may well be other key points that are not listed here that you should discuss. Treat this as a rough guide only!
Your case study does not have to be a ‘good’ example of conservation. Indeed, it may be useful to examine a case study where a conservation scheme has failed or caused problems that were not expected.
Although you should maintain a clear focus on your case study, it is important to refer to theoretical concepts as necessary and also refer to other conservation projects to place your case study in context.
Your report should be written in a scientific and technical style and demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of the issues relating to your chosen area. Work will be marked according to standard Biosciences grade descriptors to assess the extent to which your submissions meet these criteria (these grade descriptors can be found in your Course Guide).
Specifically, you will be assessed on:
• The breadth and depth of your knowledge and understanding of ecology, conservation and management topics, and correct use of terminology;
• Your ability to research widely and synthesise information from a range of sources, including journal articles;
• Your appreciation of the complexity of issues relating to the relationship between man and the environment and the different perspectives of various people, governments and organisations to conservation issues;
• Your skill in writing a report that maintains focus on your specific topic while also discussing wider ecological, biological and geographical implications as appropriate;
• The overall quality of your writing and structure of your report.
Formatting of assignment
Assignments should be word processed on A4 and have consistent left and right margins, 1.5 line spacing, Arial font size 11 or 12, numbered pages and must show a word count. You may use double sided print if you wish.
