This is a discussion post. It is my initial
post. Please allow the post to be 250 words. Also, please cite all sources. There
are two videos below as well. Thanks in advance.
Establishing criteria for prioritizing efforts
in biodiversity conservation has been a debated issue especially when
contrasting hotspots (areas with a large number of endemic plant species but
that have lost most of the habitat) and coldspots (areas that do not usually
have high species richness, but that may provide important ecosystem services
and/or include rare species).
In this discussion, you will be arguing in
favor of one of these two approaches for biodiversity conservation and you will
assess the pros and cons of each approach.
This activity aligns with Module Outcome 3.
Let’s begin with a scenario in this
discussion:
Finally, the big day! You are invited to interview for your
dream job – conservation biologist at one of the most reputable and influential
NGOs. You will be making decisions on how to spend money for protecting biodiversity.
You have very strong opinions as to why funding should be spent on either
preserving biodiversity in hotspots or in coldspots. You know that you will
have to be articulate and convincing presenting your point of view to the
interviewer if you are to have a chance of getting your dream job.
The
interviewer asks you to present how you would spend the agencies’ money,
funding coldspot or hotspot conservation projects? In your initial post of this
discussion, include your answer to this question with arguments and concrete
examples as to why you consider it is better to focus attention on conserving
one type of biodiversity area versus the other one.
Select
at least two other posts and in your reply to each, play the part of the
employer (while also being a devil’s advocate). Debate with the ‘candidates’
(your peers) as to why the alternative approach would be better.
Prepare your posts for this discussion by
first reviewing the following materials for this topic:
·Biodiversity coldspots (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
(Video, 1:19 mins)
·Biodiversity hotspots (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
(Video, 1:14 mins)
