This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:

• Describe theoretical concepts in conservation biology and current conservation issues in Australia and abroad
• Communicate scientific research and issues in conservation to different target audiences in verbal and written form
• Demonstrate a capacity for undertaking literature-based research into key topics in conservation biology and synthesizing the current state-of-knowledge

On the day following each lecture (excluding final lecture), a quiz will become available on iLearn (worth ~2%) that you will have 7 days to complete (see timetable). The 12 online exercises will consist of short answers and multiple-choice questions that revise the topic of each lecture (including tutorial discussions), encourage thinking and research skills, in alignment with the Austral Ark textbook chapters. The exercises may involve consulting the peer-reviewed literature, external websites, and chapters within Austral Ark. 

The schedule for the availability and due dates of each online quiz on iLearn is as follows. Note: quizzes become available before 5pm the day after each lecture (Wednesday) - and are closed 7 DAYS LATER on the following Wednesday at 5pm. The due dates and availability of quizzes are as follows:

Quiz

number

Date quiz available 

% weighting

Due date:

quiz closed

Q1

27 February

2

6 March

Q2

6 March

2

13 March

Q3

13 March

2

20 March

Q4

20 March

2

27 March

Q5

27 March

2

3 April

Q6

3 April

2

10 April

Q7

10 April

2

17 April

Q8

1 May

2

8 May

Q9

8 May

2

15 May

Q10

15 May

2

22 May

Q11

22 May

2

29 June

Q12

29 May

2

5 June

TOTAL

24%

This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:

• Communicate scientific research and issues in conservation to various target audiences in verbal and written form
• Identify how research in conservation biology influences environmental management practices and assess how effectively this is undertaken
• Demonstrate a capacity for undertaking literature-based research into key topics in conservation biology and synthesising the current state-of-knowledge

Many conservation strategies lack up-to-date insights from recent research findings due to poor communication of science outside of academia. It is just as important that scientific research to be understood by practitioners as it is to published it. 

For this assessment, you are required to choose a specific topic of conservation interest recent (in the past five years) in Australia (or New Zealand/ Oceania). The topic you choose may, e.g., be in relation to a threatened/invasive species, a threatened habitat, or threatening processes such as fire, disease spread or human disturbance. 

Your task is to give a 10-minute pre-recorded presentation (using powerpoint slides with audio only) to pitch an update on a conservation issue of interest, integrating scientific literature published in the last FIVE years around your topic.

Focus on the aspects of the scientific literature that relate to research insights related to conservation management of the topic you have chosen.The aim of your presentation is to provide a RESEARCH UPDATE AND SYNTHESIS of a specific conservation topic, supported by the peer-reviewed scientific data.

To be tractable and informative, your topic should be specific to a region, community or species. Forexample, a suitable research topic meeting these criteria might be “Recent advances in industrial technology to minimize environmental impacts caused by pollution in Australia”

Specifically, you will:

• Pitch your presentation to conservation decision-makers (e.g. land managers) who are scientifically literate, and have an interest in your chosen conservation topic. Keep it scientific, but relevant for management.
• Do a recent scientific literature search on the topic, provide brief background to your topic, collate and synthesise findings and conclusions.
• Communicate the contribution of recent research towards the understanding and management of your chosen conservation issue.
• See the marking rubric for more information on suggested structure and content

Create slides for a PowerPoint presentation and record your oral presentation during the slide show using the ‘record presentation’ function (e.g. for instructions: see here for Mac; and see here for PC). Provide a separate citation list in .pdf format listing all literature consulted for your presentation. Please save file as “surname_student#_presentation_references.pdf” and upload separately along with your presentation.

This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:

• Communicate scientific research and issues in conservation to different target audiences in verbal and written form
• Identify how research in conservation biology influences environmental management practices and assess how effectively this is undertaken
• Demonstrate a capacity for undertaking literature-based research into key topics in conservation biology and synthesising the current state-of-knowledge

Together with your Conservation Research Update Presentation (assessment task 2), submit a 400 word abstract that summarises your presentation, as if you were presenting it at a conference. Abstracts are a common way to explain your presentation in a short and interesting way and highlight the key points of your presentation and take-home messages. Abstracts should be written as a ‘mini’ article, i.e. they should generally provide a brief background statement, information of what research was done and what the main findings were, followed by a concluding statement.

This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:

• Describe theoretical concepts in conservation biology and current conservation issues in Australia and abroad
• Evaluate literature on conservation issues within peer-reviewed scientific literature and present them in the popular media
• Demonstrate a capacity for undertaking literature-based research into key topics in conservation biology and synthesising the current state-of-knowledge

Popular science articles remain an effective way to target the general public and to inform them of pertinent issues and/or exciting new discoveries. It is often difficult to translate scientific literature, that is full of specialist jargon, into material that is easily understood and captivating to read, and more importantly, accurately reflects they intended outcomes and message(s) of the research. As conservation biologists we must learn to better communicate our work to the public, the media, managers and policy makers. This task is designed to raise your awareness of these issues and ability to recognise and evaluate them by writing a popular science article on a relevant topic of your choice. 

In a report in your own words (up to 2000 word),you will write a popular science article to The Conversation (see https://theconversation.com/au).

To do this, you will choose a recently (< 1 years old) published scientific paper from a journal within conservation biology.The chosen journal article may focus on conservation issues occurring in any part of the world(i.e. not restricted to Australia or New Zealand). 

Assessment of your popular article is worth 40% and can be up to 2000 words.

Key requirements and guidelines:

• Write a popular science article (up to 2000 words) for The Conversationbased on a recent research publication on a topic of your choosing related to conservation biology. 
• Write your popular article in the style of The Conversation. See tips and guidelines at: https://prezi.com/ie6qdpipaamx/science-how-to-write-for-the-conversation-and-pitch-your-piece/and the “Author Guide The Conversation” on iLearn.
• Scientific articles should preferably be sourced from a multidisciplinary or conservation-related and high-impact journals (e.g. Conservation Biology, Current Biology, Biology Letters, Nature, Science).
• Consult the wider literature and provide additional citations to give background, support, and add to the information content of your popular article. 
• Here is a great example of a popular article with a strong conservation focus: https://theconversation.com/tigers-confirmed-as-six-subspecies-and-that-is-a-big-deal-for-conservation-105592
• Provide up to three relevant images.
• Hyperlinks that allow further reading can be used (no paywall material; The Conversationarticles encouraged; links to scientific papers discouraged; no Wikipedia)
• Reports must contain formatted citations and a reference list. 
• Your report must appeal to the right audience (intelligent, educated, curios – i.e. not dumbing things down).
• The citation for the original research upon which your article is based must be provided at the end of your article.
• Reports must be submitted with a TurnItIn report.

Specific details that should be addressed in your report are:

• What is the conservation issue that researchers are addressing in the scientific paper that you are reporting on? Why is it significant and attracting media attention, i.e. ‘so what’? Give a brief background using a broader literature search. 
• Your popular article must accurately reflect the research article it is based on.
• Obviously scientific methods cannot be described in detail within a popular article, but is excluding the methods creating a false image of what was performed, or is it adequately represented in your article? 
• Does your popular article reflect a sound conclusion, i.e. overall synthesis?

When writing your article avoid personal opinion and vague, general statements. Back up all statements with references as you will be largely assessed on scientific content and research capabilities.