The Applied Biodiversity Science Program welcomes participation from undergraduate students in all disciplines interested in learning about conservation. There are several opportunities for students to get involved in the program including an introductory course, the Amazon Field School, seminars, film series, research experiences, and the ABS journal club. You can learn more about each activity by following the links below.
- Course: Introduction to Biodiversity Conservation Research
- Amazon Field School
- ABS Seminar Series
- Ecological Integration Symposium
- ABS Journal Club
Additionally, the Applied Biodiversity Science Program offers funding for undergraduates to attend study abroad courses taught by ABS faculty members or to gain research experiences with ABS graduate students and faculty. Please visit our funding page to learn more!
Introduction to Biodiversity Conservation Research
The Applied Biodiversity Science Program is pleased to announce its first course for undergraduate students, WFSC 489: “Introduction to Biodiversity Conservation Research”, which will be taught for the first time in spring 2013.
Course objectives are to discuss biodiversity conservation as an interdisciplinary field that can be approached from a variety of angles and perspectives. The course will introduce students to the complexity of biodiversity conservation research and how research can be applied to conservation goals. Each student will be given the opportunity to explore which avenue of conservation research interests them through exposure to various disciplines by lectures, guest speakers, writing, reading, and peer review. Learning will be supplemented and enhanced by exposure to graduate level seminars and capitalizing on activities of the existing Applied Biodiversity Science Program.
At the end of this course students will:
- better understand the breadth and interdisciplinary nature of the conservation sciences;
- be more familiar with the opportunities in biodiversity conservation research at Texas A&M University;
- better understand how biodiversity conservation research can be applied;
- be able to identify important, contemporary research topics and questions in the conservation sciences;
- better understand how to identify a research mentor and initiate an independent-research project.
Amazon Field School
(website)
The course introduces students to the social and ecological complexities of biodiversity conservation in tropical ecosystems. Students engage in a variety of field methods from the biological and social sciences to evaluate the causes, consequences, and solutions to biodiversity loss through the lenses of ecology, culture, and governance. All Texas A&M graduate and upper division undergraduate students who have a strong interest in the social and ecological dimensions of biodiversity conservation are eligible.
ABS Seminar Series
(website)
The ABS Program sponsors a speaker series each semester that features practitioners and scholars in the field of conservation science from Texas A&M or invited from other institutions. As part of the series, we also organize Cross-Pollination Workshops that provide an open forum for ABS faculty and students to showcase their research and receive feedback from multidisciplinary perspectives.
Ecological Integration Symposium
(website)
In this free annual event a diverse array of renowned scientists come together to speak about ecology, evolutionary biology, and conservation. We also host a student symposium, where undergraduate and graduate students present their research.
The Ecological Integration Symposium at Texas A&M University has hosted brilliant scholars from an array of disciplines, making this event truly about integration. Since its inception in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences 13 years ago, EIS has remained student-organized and student-driven, featuring student presentations and posters from a variety of disciplines related to ecology, environmental science, and conservation. As the culmination of Student Research Week, EIS draws more than 500 people annually from the local and regional communities of academics, practitioners and the public.
ABS Journal Club
(website)
The Applied Biodiversity Science Journal Club provides faculty and students the opportunity to read and discuss the most recent and relevant journal articles in the field of conservation science. Meetings are held every Wednesday from 12-1pm in 213 Nagle Hall. ABS Journal Club is open to all: students, post-docs, and faculty. Our goal is to discuss articles in a multi-disciplinary group to broaden everyone’s knowledge in various aspects and viewpoints of conservation.
