The world is in the midst of a period of environmental change that is unprecedented in the history of human life. This course examines the causes and consequences of one of the most prominent forms of change in the modern era - loss of biological diversity and its impacts on the ecological functions performed by natural ecosystems. Unlike many Conservation Biology courses, this class will make no false assumption that biodiversity has inherent value, or is universally 'good' for society. Rather, the goals of the class are simply to (i) detail the scientific evidence for why Earth's biological resources are being depleted, (ii) outline how these changes are likely to impact ecosystems and the services they provide to humanity, (iii) describe the social and economic trade-offs we are likely to face as a result of biodiversity loss, and (iv) study the current and emerging management strategies that are used to curb changes in our planet's biological resources.