Environmental Challenges: Human Impact in the Natural Environment free videos and free material uploaded by University of leeds Staff .
Understand the concept of causal relationships and how climate can determine vegetation type
Appreciate the difference between the climax concept of vegetation succession and the individualistic concept
Recognise that biodiversity is not distributed evenly over the Earth, but is clustered into centres of diversity
Understand that many individual interactions can lead to apparently chaotic fluctuations
Gain an awareness of the 1/f power function and how it can be used to transform apparently random fluctuations into a straight line
Introduction to the classic Nicholson’s blow fly experiment that demonstrates density-dependent population dynamics
Understand that climate-driven events in human history, such as those of the Greenland Vikings and Mexican Mayans, were significantly influenced by social factors
Recognise that there are established physical relationships in nature such as allometric scaling
Gain an awareness of relationships between wealth and human social structures including the Pareto wealth distribution and environmental Kuznets curve, and the problems associated with their validity
Understand the difference between ecocentric and anthropocentric positions
Appreciate the arguments for legal rights for non-human species
Gain an awareness of the practical aspects of converting natural complexity into decision making in natural resource management
Complex patterns in ecology are not always causal and predictable Populations have their own dynamics that can be independent of external environmental conditions In this course we look at the way that natural systems are organised; although living systems are complex, there are also some fairly constant patterns and relationships
This course explores three approaches to the causality and dynamics of environmental systems, and how humans are involved and affected by these systems world-wide It also includes an introduction to correlation and the limitations of statistical testing
The course is suitable for anyone with a general interest in nature and environmental decision-making; no previous knowledge or experience is required
If you are working in environmental management, or wish to learn more about it, this course is designed to support you as a professional By completing all aspects of the course you will have achieved 14 hours of CPD time
- 0 Reviews
- 0 Students
- 101 Courses
Write a public review