It's Easy to Enrol

Correspondence E-Learning (5% discount) Online

£339.00 Payment plans available.

Enable Javascript to automatically update prices.

Courses can be started at any time from anywhere in the world!

Wildlife Management

Course Code	BEN205
Fee Code	S3
Duration (approx)	100 hours
Qualification	Statement of Attainment

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE

Comment from one of our students
"Great tutors, very helpful feedback. Relevant interconnected themes gave the best overall idea about the profession." Wildlife Management Certificate student, UK.

Get a head start on your career in Wildlife Management...

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.

Lesson Structure

There are 9 lessons in this course:

Introduction to Wildlife Management
Wildlife Habitats
Wildlife Ecology
Population Dynamics
Carrying Capacity
Wildlife Censuses
Wildlife Management Techniques
Wildlife Management Law and Administration
Wildlife Management Case Study Research Project

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

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.
To understand the 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 You Will Do

Network with individuals and organisations involved in wildlife management (over the internet, by phone, mail or in person -There's lots of flexibility in how you do this!)
Research pest species of wildlife and endangered or threatened species of wildlife.
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.
Telephone or 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.

Extracts from the Course

Reasons for managing wildlife may (amongst other things) include:

The population of an animal may be increasing too much and is impacting (or may impact) on other species (plant and animal).
Inadvertent introduction of a non indigenous species to an area may have changed the balance of nature.
Climate change, abnormal events (eg. Natural disaster) or development activity, may have changed or caused instability in the balance of nature.
Control of disease carried by animals (Diseases that affect domestic animals, livestock, other wildlife and even humans).
Conserving threatened species.
Studying different species.
Sustaining a harvestable resource (eg. Fish populations in the oceans).
Protecting individual animals from unnecessary or unethical harm.

Goals of Wildlife Management

The goals of wildlife management vary considerably with the situation. Goals of wildlife management include:

to maintain a desirable population at a certain level.
to reduce the population of an undesirable species.
to allow for sustainable removal of animals from a population – for example, for hunting purposes.
to increase numbers of an endangered species.

Location and Characteristics of Biomes and Common Wildlife

Habitat	Location	Characteristics	Wildlife
Boreal Forest/ Taiga	Throughout the high northern latitudes	Cold climate with average temperature below 10ºC for up to 11 months per year. Nutrient poor soil, with coniferous forests and moss or lichen ground cover.	Large herbivorous mammals, small rodents, birds.
Temperate Forest	In temperate climates across the world	Variable - includes deciduous forests, evergreen forests and rainforests in temperate zones.	Large and small mammals, insectivorous bird species.
Tropical Forest	Where daily temperatures are warm and consistent and seasons are determined by rainfall rather than temperature.	Diverse both in animals and plants; lots of humus, highly fertile soils, high rainfall.	High diversity of animal species, including primates, mammals, birds and insects.
Woodland	Can be in tropical or temperate areas.	Lower density of tree cover than forest. Woodlands often an extension of forests in less fertile or drier areas.	Ungulate species including cattle
Shrubland	Varied, including Mediterranean, southern Australia, South Africa.	Dry hot summers and cool wet winters. Sometimes only low shrubs and bushes or sparse scattering of trees. Plants have adaptations to prevent water loss.	Some species of small mammals and birds that are adapted to summer drought.
Tropical Savannah	In semi-arid to semi-humid climates of subtropical and tropical latitudes.	Grassland with sparse to dense scattered trees. Temperature relatively constant with seasonal rainfall. Grasses mostly perennial and will commonly burn each dry season.	Mammal species or macropod herbivores, small carnivorous marsupials, large rodents or birds.
Temperate Grassland	Occur in dry climates in the centre of North America and Asia.	Grassland with scattered, often sparse trees. Seasonal in precipitation and temperature.	Often support large herds of grazing animals, carnivores and birds.
Artic tundra	Stretches across far north hemisphere.	Temperatures at or just above 0ºC for much of the year, with growing season only over 4 months for a range of grasses, sedges, dwarf shrubs, mosses and lichens. Large expanses of vegetation. Poor precipitation and drainage. Frozen permafrost means only surface layer of soil can be used to nourish plants.	Some large and small mammals, abundance of insects and birds.

Habitat	Location	Characteristics	Wildlife
Alpine	Occurs on high mountains across all latitudes, even in tropics.	Similar vegetation to tundra, but in smaller scattered patches. Exist in areas of high precipitation and good drainage with high degree of fragmentation.	Mammal and bird species, species found depends on locality.
Semi-desert	Often surrounds desert areas.	Scattered hardy plants (bushes, succulents, herbs). Low rainfall, relatively sparse vegetation cover, plants have adaptations to deal with lack of water.	Some animals such as small mammals have adaptations to deal with lack of water. Ground feeding birds also found.
Desert	Tend to occupy mid-latitudes. Extend from west to middle of continents.	Little to no vegetation depending on rainfall, with xeric adaptations typical. Seeds lay dormant for years, before germinating, flowering and again setting seed after rainfall.	Some large mammals which are adapted to the environment. Small mammals and lizards.
Urban	Found across the world in environments inhabited by humans.	Area with a high density of human created structures. Only fragmented habitats exist, so less animal diversity is present.	Wildlife numbers reduced in these areas due to fragmentation and destruction of habitat. Pest species are often found in urban areas.
Agricultural	Areas across the world involved in the production of food, feed, fibre and livestock.	Habitats largely cleared to allow land for agriculture, so again habitats are fragmented reducing animal numbers and diversity.	Livestock are bred for milk or meat production, can also find pests attracted to food crops, including insects, birds and small mammals.
Pelagic	These are the open oceans away from land, Surface layers of the pelagic oceans receive light; but deep pelagic zone receives no light.	In surface layers, light allows phytoplankton & algae to grow, supporting other species. Deep zone animals survive on sinking material from surface layers.	Large fish, crustaceans, molluscs, worms and small fish in upper levels. Crustaceans, protozoans and fish in deep zone.
Mangrove	Found across the world within tropical climates	Plant community occupying waterlogged saline soils. Able to withstand regular inundation by tides.	Nursery for fish. Also supports crustaceans, insects and spiders.
Rivers	Located around the world	Includes the land adjoining the water. Changes in character along it's course. The land adjoining can vary between woodlands, to grasslands and wetlands.	Habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife.
Benthos	Deep ocean environments.	Cold, dark and pressured.	Supports a diversity of animals in bottom mud.
Continental Shelf	Extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain.	Richest in nutrients, plankton and animal life. Also a high density of marine invertebrates.	Marine invertebrates, fish, large mammals.
Coral Reef	Form a rim around oceanic islands.	Similar ecological characteristics to continental shelf, high level of biodiversity.	Marine invertebrates, fish, large mammals.

What Next?

Enrol in
the Course Click here to enrol online, or call us to enrol over the phone.

In UK: 0800 328 4723
Int: +44 1384 442752

Talk to
an Expert Our tutors are highly qualified, with years of industry experience.

Click here to get personalised advice.

View Sample
Course Notes What do our courses look like?

Click here to view sample course notes.

Send Details
to a Friend Is this course perfect for someone you know?

Click here to send them this information.

The information given is for general information and should not be regarded as advice in any matter. ACS Distance Education disclaims all and any liability in relation to any act or omission which is done in reliance to the information provided in this web site. While every effort is made to ensure that we display correct information on our website, errors can occur. ACS Distance Education disclaims liability or responsibility for orders or complaints arising from such errors, including (but not limited to): pricing, fees and course requirements. ACS Distance Education reserves the right to decline orders arising from such errors.