MSc Wildlife Biology & Conservation

Why should we conserve biodiversity? Indeed, what is it? This module looks at levels and patterns of biodiversity and how they are measured using estimators & indices. You will use R to carry out biodiversity measurement and consider how to use such data to prioritise areas for protection. You will study aspects of conservation biology such as speciation and extinction and debate the challenges around reintroduction programmes and conservation in the face of climate change.

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The module will present 3 case studies within wildlife management and conservation. Case-studies will be introduced with a lecture that gives the background to a conservation/management issue and the techniques that could be utilised to provide new information. Each case-study will have computer practicals during which students would be presented with a dataset that is either from, similar to, or a subset from the appropriate case-study and follow a tutorial that explains how they can analyse and present these data in R. You will be expected to follow tutorials in class time and outside of class, and additionally complete a short piece of work analysing some ecological data, presenting results and interpreting those results in an applied context. Finally, in a discursive tutorial we will go through the results and interpretation, and discuss how the results might inform new management decisions.

Case-studies will cover a range of management issues, and will be based on real scenarios that can be drawn from research experience of staff or drawn from the literature. Indicative areas are: the impacts of predator removal on nest success of birds, habitat selection analyses to inform habitat management, monitoring populations using distance sampling, and camera-trap surveying.

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A series of practical sessions in the field and lab will be followed by a residential field course during which students will conduct (under supervision) sampling/monitoring in terrestrial and aquatic habitats with identification and enumeration of various taxa. Habitat and species specific methods related to terrestrial invertebrates, aquatic invertebrates, small mammals, birds and plants will be covered. Students will be tested on the key employability skills of species identification and report writing.

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Topics include ecotourism, wildlife guiding and environmental education. Aspects of urban ecology, community engagement and social research in conservation relate directly to the challenges of land management in an urban setting which forms one of the assessments. Agricultural ecology and examples of human-wildlife conflict around the world are also studied in relation to wildlife law and economics. The Yellowstone National Park reintroduction of wolves acts as a case study in protected area management.

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The module will cover the following topics: marine and freshwater protected area planning, legal and legislative frameworks for the designation of aquatic protected areas, assessing and managing water quantity and quality issues, aquatic-terrestrial linkages, landscape scale approaches and management at the catchment level, the DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-State-Impacts-Responses) framework for analysis of environmental state and management, catchment management plans, coastal zone management, marine spatial planning, the ecosystem approach to aquatic resource management, including fisheries and sustainable use of aquatic protected areas. You will also gain skills in the use and application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in the context of managing aquatic protected areas.

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Disciplines covered initially include wildlife population dynamics and wildlife meta-populations. Practical techniques covered in detail then include mammal and bird capture techniques, and sampling design in wildlife population monitoring. We then discuss the foundation of more complex analytical techniques such as information theoretic modelling and maximum likelihood estimation in wildlife studies, and use of generalised linear modelling in wildlife studies.

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In this module you will design and conduct an independent research project. This may be a field or lab based study, a data analysis project or a piece of qualitative research (e.g. questionnaires). This involves design, development and implementation of a programme of research in a particular field of study relevant to your interests. You will critically analyse data/information generated, and communicate the outcomes in a research paper, which will develop your skills in scientific writing. You are encouraged to develop a project which meets your constraints in terms of location, funding and interests. Projects can be undertaken independently (provided health and safety concerns are met) or in collaboration with organisations locally or around the world.
As a full-time (FT) student, you will have one trimester to complete the module. If you are a part-time or distance learning student (PT/DL), you will have 2 trimesters to complete. In either case, you will develop a project proposal and complete any necessary risk assessments and ethics procedures prior to getting under way. In the case of FT students this proposal should be submitted by week 3 of the trimester while PT/DL students submit by week 5. In all cases, you should submit your final research paper by the end of week 13 of the appropriate trimester.
If your project idea cannot be completed in the trimester when you are due to take this module e.g. your focal species is not active at that time of year, you should consult staff as to possible options.

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This module has three strands: philosophy and practice of science; statistical analysis and the use of R; an introduction to taxonomy and species ID. Content will include the nature of the literature and scientific method including survey and experimental strategies and the need for replication and controls. Working with people and qualitative research methods involve a different set of ethical and regulatory issues which will also be discussed. Statistical and related methods for analysing and presenting data will be covered in the first half of the module together with taxonomic theory and field and lab sessions looking at a range of taxa.

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