Japanese version of this article
The course “General Theory of Invasive Alien Species Management” was held as one class for Hokkaido Summer Institute 2018. The course lasted for 5 days, and was held from August 6th to August 10th.
This class taught students about Invasive Alien Species (IAS), one of the topics most in need of attention at a world-wide level. Professors aimed to provide a framework for students who hoped to enter into the problem of Invasive Alien Species, and provide students with an upgraded version of last year’s course, “Introduction to Management of Invasive Alien Species.” While last year’s class was given as an undergraduate course, this year was intended for graduate students. Dr. Phil Cowan, a researcher from New Zealand, one of the most advanced countries on the topic of alien species, was invited to teach students about the basic knowledge and techniques needed for invasive alien species management, thus allowing students to gain a basic understanding of the problem of alien species.
Invited Lecturer Dr. Phil Cowan (Landcare Research Center/New Zealand)
Dr. Cowan’s place of research, the Landcare Research Center, is a top level facility started by the New Zealand government to investigate soil and biological diversity. Dr. Cowan has spent many years working at this facility researching how to manage and prevent the arrival of alien species in New Zealand. In this class, Dr. Cowan first taught students about a particular theme using both slides he prepared as well as his own experiences and new information coming out of New Zealand. Professor Toru Ikeda from the Hokkaido University Faculty of Letters would then lecture on how that theme is related to the situation in Japan. By learning about how the topic of invasive alien species becomes more complicated when considering different regions and countries, students were able to understand the lecture content on a deeper and more concrete level.
Students listening carefully to the lecture
Using well put-together slides for the lecture
Professor Toru Ikeda (Faculty of Letters – Regional Sciences Department) makes a comparison with the situation in Japan. Professor Ikeda is in charge of 2 HSI2018 courses.
Students providing questions and comments after each section has ended
This was a rich 5 day course, jam-packed with content concerning IAS. This was shown by the smiles and feelings of accomplishment on the students’ faces after the course had ended. Professor Cowan will be invited to lecture again next year in the continuation of this course.
- Related Course “Principles of Invasion Ecology”