Humphead Parrotfish - Conservation is an interdisciplinary subject

Colorado State University Global Campus Humphead Parrotfish Discussion

OPTION #1: HELPING SAVE A SPECIES

Conservation is an interdisciplinary subject where everyday actions of humans have an impact on species in foreign countries. To help solve these impacts it is important to understand how our actions affect the environment. For this Portfolio option you will choose one species that you want to ensure will be around for many generations. It can be any plant or animal naturally found in the wild (i.e., no humans, domestic cats, or domestic dogs). You will produce a paper about the threats your chosen species is facing and how we can help overcome them. You will also create a presentation that you could use to spread the word about the issues your species is facing and encourage people to help them. Your paper will address the following elements:

1. Describe your species, including where they are found, what they eat, who eats them, and how they interact with humans.
2. Discuss the IUCN Red List status of your species (is it endangered?) and research the threats to its survival. Use the IUCN Red List (Links to an external site.) as one of your sources for this section.
3. Describe the threats facing your species and how these threats affect other species as well. Are humans or organizations one of the threats?
4. Discuss solutions to the threats facing your species. What solutions have been presented by people in the field? What solutions can your think of based on what you know?
5. Initiate contact with one person knowledgeable about the species. This could be a university scientist, or perhaps a researcher at a non-profit working to protect the species. In your interview (via email or phone or in person), ask the person to share about what threats the species faces, why it is important to conserve the species, and what actions he or she would recommend to those eager to help with the conservation effort. Document your interview with a transcript or summary paragraph in an appendix page at the end of your paper.
6. Choose two ways you can help save your species. These might be the ideas suggested to you by the researcher, or could be other approaches you came up with on your own. Try them out during part or all of the last three weeks of the course and record data to show how your changes had or did not have an impact. Help an organization working to protect the species (ideally, volunteer to do something, instead of just sending money). Launch a social media campaign about the status of your species. If the species is local, educate your community in some way about the species. Make a lifestyle change that will benefit the species—just make sure it is not one of the five steps you already took in your footprint-reduction project. What else can you think of to do? Whatever actions you take, you will need to figure out a way to gauge whether or not they were effective to any degree.
   • Discuss why you chose the method to help that you did and how it went.
   • Present the data you collected from before and after the change to show the impact your change had.
   • Is this something you could continue to do? What would be the impact on the environment if you did continue to implement this change?

Requirements:

• Your written paper should be 6-8 pages, not counting the title and reference pages, which you must include.
• You need to cite at least three sources for this assignment, outside of the textbook. One of these sources must come from academic journals. The CSU Global Library (Links to an external site.) is a great place to find resources.
• Your paper must be formatted according to the CSU Global Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
• If you need assistance with your writing style, start with the links under the Research Help and Writing Help tabs on the CSU Global Library's (Links to an external site.) homepage.

OPTION #2: HELPING SAVE A NATURAL AREA

Conservation is an interdisciplinary subject where everyday actions of humans have an impact on environments around the world. To help solve these impacts it is important to understand how our actions affect the environment. For this Portfolio option your will choose a local natural area that you want to ensure will be around for many generations. It can be a park (national, state, county, municipal) or other protected land (e.g., Nature Conservancy site). You will produce a paper about the threats your natural area is facing and how we can help overcome them, as well as document two specific actions that you have taken. You will also create a presentation sharing your project with the other members of this class. Your paper will address the following elements:

1. Describe your natural area including what species live there, the climate is like, the geography, and the role of humans in your natural area.
2. Discuss the threats facing your natural area. Is climate change causing problems there? Is there a problem with habitat loss? Is pollution causing problems? What else affects your area?
3. Describe how these threats facing your area affect other natural areas as well. Are the threats strictly local ones or do other places experience them as well?
4. Discuss solutions to the threats facing your natural area. What solutions have been presented by others? What solutions can you think of based on what you know?
5. Initiate contact with one person knowledgeable about the natural area. Your best bet would me someone working for the organization currently managing the site. If it is a state park, for instance, see if you can talk to the park naturalist or perhaps even the park manager. In your interview (via email or phone or in person), ask the person to share about what threats the natural area faces, why it is important to conserve the natural area, and what actions he or she would recommend to those eager to help with the conservation effort. Document your interview with a transcript or summary paragraph in an appendix page at the end of your paper.
6. Choose two different ways you could help to protect your natural area. These could be ideas suggested during your interview in the previous step, or could be ideas you came up with on your own. Note that any activities at the natural area that involve any interventions beyond picking up litter should first be approved by agency managing the site. Try the two ways out during part or all of the last three weeks of the course, and record data to show whether or not your actions had an impact. Collect trash there. Volunteer to weed out invasive plants in the natural area, or perhaps lead community walks there to raise awareness of the dangers it faces. You might also consider lifestyle changes that might benefit the park in some way; just make sure that whatever you do does not repeat one of the five actions you took for the footprint-reduction project. What else can you think of to do? Whatever actions you take, you will need to figure out a way to gauge whether or not they were effective to any degree.
   • Discuss why you chose the method to help that you did and how it went.
   • Present the data you collected from before and after the change to show the impact your change had.
   • Is this something you could continue to do? What would be the impact on the environment if you did continue to implement this change?

Requirements:

• Your written paper should be 6-8 pages, not counting the title and reference pages, which you must include.
• You need to cite at least three sources for this assignment, outside of the textbook. One of these sources must come from academic journals. The CSU Global Library (Links to an external site.) is a great place to find resources.
• Your paper must be formatted according to the CSU Global Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
• If you need assistance with your writing style, start with the links under the Research Help and Writing Help tabs on the CSU Global Library's homepage.