WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT - BEN205

   

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 WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT HOME STUDY COURSE

 "Learn to manage animals in their natural environment"

COURSE STRUCTURE
There are 9 lessons as follows:

1.  Introduction to Wildlife Management

  • What is Wildlife Management
  • Approaches to Wildlife Management  (Preservation, Conservation, Management)
  • Purpose of Wildlife Management
  • Goals
  • Decision Making (Who makes decisions, Making good decisions)
  • Needs of Wildlife
  • What’s a Good Habitat
  • Limiting factor
  • Carrying capacity
  • Landscape Fragmentation
  • Habitat Diversity
  • Arrangement
  • Biological Control
  • Integrated Pest Management 

2.  Wildlife Ecology

  • Ecology (Mutualism, Commensalisms, Competition, Predation, parasitism, herbivore)
  • Behavioural Ecology
  • Population Ecology
  • Community Ecology
  • Ecosystem Ecology
  • Interactions within a Community
  • Competition
  • Predation
  • Parasitism
  • Commensalism
  • Mutualism
  • The Food Web (Derital Web, Grazing Web, Trophic Levels)
  • Energy Flow
  • Imbalances

 

3.  Wildlife Habitats

  • Introduction
  • Classification of Habitats
  • Biomes, Ecosystems, Microclimates
  • Timbered Biomes (Boreal Forest/ Taiga, Temperate Forest, Tropical Forest,  Woodland)
  • Scrubland
  • Tropical Savannah
  • Temperate Grassland
  • Artic Tundra
  • Alpine
  • Semi-desert
  • Desert
  • Man Made Biomes (Urban, Agricultural)
  • Wet Biomes (Mangrove, Rivers, Benthos, Pelagic, Continental Shelf, Coral Reef,
  • Animal Use of Features in Biomes (Trees, Logs, Surface Rocks and Ground Cover, Creeks, Wetlands and Dams)
  • Case Studies
  • Changes to Habitats (Physical, Biological, Pollution)
  • Water for Wildlife
  • Site Water Points
  • Managing Trees
  • Deforestation
  • Afforestation

 

4.  Population Dynamics

  • Populations
  • Birth or Fecundity Rate
  • Death or Mortality Rate
  • Growth Rate
  • Life Tables
  • Cohort or Dynamic Life Tables (Age Specific)
  • Static or Time Specific Life Tables
  • Rodents
  • Squirrels
  • Rabbits
  • Mosquitoes
  • Grasshoppers
  • Case Studies of different animals in different countries

 

5.  Carrying Capacity

  • Introduction
  • Exponential Population Growth
  • What is Carrying Capacity
  • Fisheries stock management (stock Identification, assessment, biomass)
  • Stock Management Methods

 

6.  Wildlife Censuses

  • Introduction and census types
  • Total Counts
  • Sampling (Simple Random, Stratified Random, Systemic, Two Stage, Double sampling)
  • Accuracy vs Precision
  • Bias Errors
  • Aerial Surveys
  • Trapping
  • Transects
  • Indirect Methods
  • Mark-Recapture method
  • Roadside and Call Counts
  • Mapping
  • Sampling methods for specific types of animals (ie. Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Invertebrates, Mammals etc.)
  • Animal Ethics
  • Case Study 

7.  Wildlife Management Techniques

  • Habitat Modification
  • Fire
  • Vegetation Management
  • Predator Control
  • Habitat Features
  • Seeding
  • Population Monitoring
  • Captive Breeding and Release
  • Culling and Cropping
  • Control of pest or undesirable wildlife species
  • Control Objectives
  • Effects of Control
  • Control Techniques (Manipulating mortality, fertility, Genetic Engineering, indirect methods)

8.  Wildlife Management Law and Administration

  • Policy and Wildlife Law
  • International Environmental Law
  • Treaties
  • International Customary Laws
  • Hard vs Soft Law
  • Domestic/National Law
  • Evolving Domestic Law
  • Sources of Legislation
  • Environmental Ethics
  • Enforcement
  •  

9.  Wildlife Management Case Study Research Project

Problem Based Learning Project with following aims:

  • Identify the objectives of a management program for an endangered species.
  • Determine appropriate techniques for carrying out a census of an endangered species.
  • Identify techniques for increasing the population of the endangered species.
  • Identify pest species and their undesirable effect on the endangered species of bird.
  • Identify techniques for reducing the undesirable impacts of the pest species on the endangered bird.
  • Present a management plan in a form that is appropriate for use by wildlife worker.

     What qualification will I achieve for completing this course?

    This is an individual module course. The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study.

    If you wish to take an individual module course as a stand alone course, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it.

    If you successfully pass the exam and all assignments, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you. If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course.

    If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments.

    There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax.

    Other qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas etc may require examinations to be taken as part of the overall assessment process.

    You can find further information on the examinations process by clicking on the “Enrolment” link above.

    You can find further information on other courses by clicking on the “Courses” link above.

     

AIMS
On successful completion of the course you should be able to do the following:

  • Develop a concept of how man manages wildlife populations in different situations around the world.
  • Understand and discuss the principles of wildlife ecology.
  • Understand wildlife habitats and their importance to managing wildlife.
  • Explain how populations of any one species change and adapt to variations in their environment.
  • Understand carrying capacity and its importance in managing wildlife populations.
  • Explain a range of different methods used to determine the number of individuals in a wildlife population.
  • Discuss a range of different wildlife management techniques.
  • Explain potentials and limitations of legal and administrative initiatives, in the pursuance of more effective wildlife management.
  • Examine a specific wildlife management case of interest to the student. 
     
    •

WHAT THE COURSE COVERS
Here are just some of the things you will be doing:

  • Contact (either in person, email or by telephone) an organisation involved in wildlife management such as a National Park, wildlife reserve, zoo, etc to research their wildlife management program.
    In your locality, find out about one pest species of wildlife and one endangered or threatened species of native wildlife. Research what happened to make these animals pests or endangered.
  • Visit a natural area in your locality and observe the organisms in the area and their interactions with each other and the environment.
  • Explain what trophic levels are and how energy flows between them.
  • Define habitat, biome, vegetation formation and feeding radius.
  • Visit a zoo, wildlife park, game reserve, pet shop, fauna sanctuary or other place where wild animals are kept in captivity to observe the animals in their captive surroundings and compare these with their native surroundings.
  • Identify a predator-prey relationship between two species in a local ecosystem and make predictions about changes to this relationship.
  • Research the difference between r and K strategists in animals.
  • Design a wildlife survey using a suitable sampling technique. Write this survey up as a mini scientific report containing an Abstract/Project Summary, Methods and materials section, Results/Discussion and Conclusion.
  • Research the success of one wildlife program where wildlife have been bred in captivity and then released.
  • Draw up a table that lists the advantages and disadvantages of allowing hunting to proceed in game parks where the animals being hunted are native to the area.
  • Contact a wildlife management agency in your area to determine the relevant local, regional, national and international laws that apply to wildlife in your locality.
  • Prepare a report of no less than 1000 words on a population of animals surveyed during the course.

 

Duration:  100 hours

 

 

Case Study example (taken from Study Guide)


The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) and its habitat requirements in the United Kingdom


The current Barn Owl population in the UK is thought to be around 4000 pairs. The population has been significantly reduced since the late 1800s with the mechanisation of farm machinery and increase in human population size leading to more intensive land development. These factors, along with the use of pesticides such as DDTs and rodenticides have led to the significant reduction in population numbers.


The preferred prey species of the Barn Owl is the field vole (Microtus agrestis), but they also prey on shrews and field mice. The presence and quantity of these species will determine the quality of habitat for Barn Owls which is generally open habitat with a good litter layer such as rough grassland, hedgerows, woodland fringes, drainage ditches and agricultural land.


The hunting area of a pair of Barn Owls is usually around ½ mile during the breeding season and 2 miles in winter (due to the reduced amount of prey available). This will translate to an area of around 14-21 hectares in arable farming land and up to 31-47 hectares in pastoral areas.


Owl pairs will generally require 1 breeding site and 1-2 permanent roosting sites, along with other opportunistic roosting sites. They can use man-made structures such as barns, sheds and churches for nesting and roosting. Barn Owls are sedentary by nature, so once they have established a home range they are unlikely to leave it.


The need for breeding and roosting sites and hunting grounds which are rich in prey are a limiting factor to the survival of the Barn Owls. If Barn Owls have access to good habitat they are more likely to survive the less hospitable winter, lay more eggs in the spring and the survival chances of young will increase. Sadly, the reverse will occur in poor habitat.

More Information on ACS Distance Education and our courses

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Sample Course Notes

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How Long will it take to complete the course?

This obviously varies from student to student. Some students will have more time for study than others. Some students may work quicker than others, so it is an individual thing. We estimate that most students will take, for example, 4 – 6 months to complete a 100 hour individual module, but we allow up to 12 months for you to complete it.

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DISTANCE LEARNING WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

"Learn to manage animals in their natural environment"

This course will give students a broad-based introduction to wildlife management that can be applied to all types of wildlife around the globe. It can serve as a course in its own right or as part of a higher qualification in environmental or nature park management.