課程簡介

中文課程名稱：臺灣生物多樣性
英文課程名稱：Introduction to the biodiversity of Taiwan
授課教師：胡哲明
學分數：2 學分
開課單位：生態學與演化生物學研究所
建立日期：2011 年 9 月

課程概述

This course is part of the "Exploring Taiwan" series courses at NTU and aimed for the introduction to the biodiversity in Taiwan. The course is conducted in English, in order to ease the learning for international students, and to provide an opportunity for local students to learn their own culture and surroundings in English.

Taiwan is a mountainous island with various habitats nursing many kinds of organisms. Although Taiwan is known for the high density of population, natural vegetation still covers around 68% of the entire island. About a quarter of the 4000 plant species are endemic, while over 50,000 animal species are known to Taiwan. There are 114 mammal species, 543 bird species, 99 reptiles, 38 amphibians, 2800 fish, and around 20,000 named insects in Taiwan. The rich biota in Taiwan largely owes to its diverse ecosystems, but it also reflects the complicate natural history of organisms originated from various neighboring regions, including East Asian continent, Japan, and South East Asia islands.

The content includes the introduction to the natural history of Taiwan, its flora and fauna, and also the exotic species and the conservation issues in Taiwan.

課程目標

The objective of this course is to provide an overview of the biodiversity in Taiwan, including plants, insects, and animals, in order to let the students know the beauty of Taiwan's biota.

課程要求

The course does not have a pre-requisite, but we highly recommend the students took some general biology courses, for basic biological terminology throughout the lectures.

成績評量方式

1. Essays………………………………………….30%
2. Term paper………………………………..……20%
3. Group report and final presentation………30%
4. Involvement in the classroom……………...20%