Many coupled human-natural systems (CNHS) provide essential goods and services to society. We rely on these systems to
always provide a predictable level of service and any service disruptions have the potential to catastrophically impact
public health and welfare. Such systems are said to be resilient when they have the resources to recover from
events that trigger such shifts in system function. This seminar
adopts a dynamical system's approach to study the resilience of coupled human-natural systems.
This study will be organized about Holling's
adaptive renewal cycle (ARC) using concrete examples drawn from conservation ecology, fishery management,
natural disaster response, and disease transmission to illustrate the various ARC phases. Guest lecturers and assigned readings will be used
to guide in-class discussions with the goal of teasing out the strengths and weaknesses of this systems approach
in measuring and managing the resilience of coupled human-natural systems.
- Pre-requisites: Calculus B (MATH 10360 or equivalent)
- Grading: 50% Forum Participation and 50% term paper.
|
