Sciences and Teaching of Natural Systems

1 Scientific method in wildlife management and conservation: how to structure scientific research. Objectives. Basics of experimental design. Accuracy, precision, bias. Type i and type ii errors. How to publish scientific research. 2 Distribution and habitat: distribution and spatial parameters of animal populations: geographic range, area of occupancy, home range, dispersal. Factors limiting distribution. The concept of habitat and species-habitat relationships. Succession and habitat. Habitat management. Study of habitat selection. Area of habitat, species distribution models, and their validation. 3 Populations and extinction risk: demographic parameters and population structure. Population growth models. Factors limiting and regulating populations. Life tables, leslie matrices, pva. Spatially structured populations. Mechanisms of population decline: the declining population paradigm and the small population paradigm. Founder effect, bottlenecks, inbreeding depression, and genetic drift. Demographic and environmental stochasticity. IUCN Red List categories and criteria. 4 Wildlife conservation: status, threats, scenarios: levels and dimensions of biodiversity. Concordance between biodiversity indicators. Species concept. Key, umbrella, flagship, and edge species. Linnean and wallacean shortfalls. Past and recent speciation and extinction processes and rates. Determinants of species richness. Island biogeography. State of biodiversity in italy and globally. Red list index. Living planet index. Habitat degradation, fragmentation, and destruction. Overexploitation of resources. Invasive alien species. Species vulnerability to climate change. Global change scenarios. Ipbes nature futures. 5 Wildlife conservation: objectives, priorities, actions: main regulatory elements and national and international conventions for biodiversity conservation: ipcc, ipbes. Sustainable development goals, global biodiversity framework, eu biodiversity strategy. Conservation objectives. Favourable reference values. Key biodiversity areas. Gap analysis. Systematic conservation planning. Complementarity and irreplaceability. Conservation actions. Zoning and management of protected areas. IUCN protected area management categories. 6 GIS exercises: area of ​​habitat, species distribution models, systematic conservation planning.

Basic knowledge of animal ecology and zoogeography

4 lectures per week, 2 hours each

The oral examination focuses on the ability to connect the topics studied and to apply knowledge to the solution of complex real-world problems.

Class with lectures and excercises, additional field excercises during the multidisciplnary excursion.