About This Course

This course focuses on understanding how animal behavior can address biodiversity crises such as climate change, habitat destruction, and overexploitation through a conservation behavior perspective. Developed by the team behind the influential MOOC 'Introduction to Animal Behaviour', this new course dives deeper into designing innovative wildlife conservation interventions. By studying behavior-sensitive management, students will learn from successful case studies, including the development of technologies and strategies to reduce wildlife mortality and human-wildlife conflicts effectively.

What Students Will Learn

• Connection of key behavioral concepts with urgent conservation challenges.
• Deep understanding of how animal behaviors help mitigate anthropogenic threats.
• Identification of behavioral traits as indicators for threat and management assessment.
• Recognition and analysis of successful examples in behavior-based conservation management.
• Skills to develop and apply a basic species action plan involving behavioral-based conservation strategies.

Prerequisites

Students need to have an undergraduate degree in biology or a related field, or at least one year of academic or professional experience in wildlife conservation to fully benefit from this course.

Course Content

• Exploration of the role of animal behavior in addressing conservation issues.
• Development and application of behavior-sensitive management strategies.
• Use of case studies and practical assignments to understand the real-world applications.
• Design of innovative conservation interventions based on animal behavior studies.

Who Should Enroll?

This course is designed for wildlife conservation professionals, students of wildlife conservation or animal behavior, and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of how animal behavior can aid in conservation efforts.

Real-World Application

Learners can apply the skills and knowledge from this course in various aspects of wildlife conservation and management roles. These include designing conservation programs, advising on wildlife policy, implementing sustainable development projects, and conducting related research in academic or field settings.

Syllabus

• Module 1: Introduction to Conservation Behaviour
• Module 2: Human-Induced Rapid Environmental Change (HIREC)
• Module 3: Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC)
• Module 4: Reintroductions and Translocations
• Module 5: Advanced Topics & Closure