This unit will develop knowledge and critical understanding of some of the contemporary issues impacting biodiversity and livelihoods in Africa. The unit will give a broad overview of the current status and trends in wildlife conservation with a particular emphasis on savannah systems. The importance of biodiversity conservation will be explored in depth. Drawing upon the primary literature, you’ll examine the scientific context underpinning some of the major challenges facing conservation biologists and wildlife managers. Using relevant case studies and empirical data, the effectiveness of a range of conservation practices, mitigation strategies and coping mechanisms will be assessed.

Course code: WMM09103

The unit will cover the most important issues in the conservation and management of populations and ecosystems. A treatment of the underlying theory and principles will be followed by examination of a range of examples in African conservation and a critical review of the factors which affect populations and ecosystems.. 

Course code: WMM09101

This unit will incorporate introductory and more advanced theory and techniques in GIS, cartography and remote sensing. The unit will cover the production of land cover maps and the quantification of land cover change using multi-temporal sequences of earth observation imagery. You’ll be guided through examples and carry out practical work involving state-of-the-art GIS and image processing software, as well as statistical tools. Skills developed will be applicable to a broad range of conservation issues affecting tropical systems.  

Course code: WMM09201

The statistics and research design unit is intended to provide you with a basic understanding and utility of modern statistical analysis and experimental design. The course covers descriptive and inferential statistics (parametric and non-parametric), use of statistical packages including R and the principles of data sampling.  

Course code: WMM09202

This unit will provide you with the practical and technical skills to conduct field-based research. A broad background will be given in areas of:  

1. Vegetation
2. Mammals
3. Birds
4. Herpetofauna
5. Invertebrate sampling techniques
6. Behavioural data collection

Techniques such as camera trapping and acoustic sampling will be introduced. The unit will guide you from the conception of a project to answer a specific question, through the data collection methods and organisation of the data collected, ready for analysis.

Course code: WMM09102

This unit will cover the planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting-on of wildlife conservation projects. You’ll explore different leadership and management approaches and tools, and be in a stronger position to manage and lead their own teams.  
Topics covered include:

1. Research proposals and grant applications
2. Project planning and dealing with change
3. Evaluation and monitoring
4. Governance, policy and legislation
5. Teambuilding and management
6. Budgeting
7. Ethics and risk assessment
8. Balancing the interests of different stakeholders
9. Communicating scientific research and findings effectively

Course code: WMM09203

This unit will allow you to undertake a novel research project appropriate to your programme of study; to practise the skills of research design, analysis and scientific communication.  

Course code: WMM09301