Animal Science: Wildlife Hlth & Consrvation

Explores wildlife health in the context of conservation. How is health defined? How does it relate to conservation at the population/species level? What are major threats to wildlife health? What tools can be used to understand, detect, and manage it? What ethical issues arise? What might a career in this field look like? Prerequisites: BCOR 1400 and BCOR 1450; or BIOL 1400 and BIOL 1450; or BCOR 1425.

Prerequisites enforced by the system; BCOR 1400 & BCOR 1450 OR BIOL 1400 & BIOL 1450 OR BCOR 1425; Open to Degree and PACE students

The conservation of wildlife is dependent upon many things, including wildlife health and disease. Until recently this area of conservation has been overlooked and understudied. Implications of disease in wildlife are far-reaching and include extinction of species, transmission of disease to domestic animals and even humans. During this course we will consider how we define health and disease, what some of the major threats to wildlife health are and how we can manage health issues in wildlife. Furthermore, we will explore the interconnectedness of animals, people and the environment. There will be a major emphasis on how wildlife health impacts conservation, but additionally, we will investigate certain diseases and animal species in detail. Class sessions will include traditional lectures, guest speakers, discussions, demonstrations and debates.

Students are expected to attend all lectures. Students should expect to spend 6-8 hours a week on coursework outside of class, with additional time for the semester-long project.

Evaluation will consist of content checks, an assignment, a debate and three exams.