BI7143 - Wildlife Research Methods

Aims

The module provides students with an overview of field techniques, biodiversity data analysis and population models in wildlife research. This includes the process of wildlife research design, grant writing, fund raising, ethics and risk assessment which are fundamental skills to facilitate graduate study. The concepts of demographic analysis, population modeling and population management are investigated and their utility in wildlife research is explored.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module students should be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of field research methods and population management in a research context.
• Critically assess the risks, ethical implications and health and safety issues associated with wildlife field research. Identify funding opportunities for wildlife research and develop research grant proposals.
• Use the ‘R’ computing environment to perform statistical analysis
• Explain and interpret statistical analyses and demonstrate ability to evaluate their outcomes in the context of wider research.
• Demonstrate an ability to create, manage and manipulate spatial data

Module content

• Planning, designing and funding field research.
• Research-led workshops
• Introduction to the ‘R’ Platform
• Basic statistical methods
• Experimental design and exploring biological data
• Introduction to spatial data and its management
• Vector and Raster Data