Program Overview

MOOC Animal Behaviour in Conservation

The MOOC Animal Behaviour in Conservation is a course offered by Wageningen University & Research. The course is designed to equip students with the skills to assess human-caused impact on diverse species and apply behavioural principles to design more effective conservation actions.

Why follow this course?

• Biodiversity in crisis: Climate change, habitat destruction, and overexploitation are threatening the survival of many species, with over 40,000 species threatened with extinction.
• Take the animal perspective: The course helps students take the 'conservation behaviour' perspective in major conservation challenges, such as environmental change, human-wildlife conflict, and wildlife reintroductions.
• Design innovative conservation interventions: The course explores key concepts from animal behaviour and applies them to practical wildlife conservation issues, such as behaviour-sensitive management.

Course Details

• Organised by: Wageningen University & Research
• Duration: 5 weeks, 4-6 hours per week
• Course leaders:
  • dr. L (Lysanne) Snijders
  • prof.dr. M (Marc) Naguib

What you will learn

• Connect key behavioural concepts to relevant conservation challenges
• Understand how animals use behaviour to mitigate anthropogenic threats
• Recognize which behavioural traits can serve as threat and management indicators
• Identify successful examples of behaviour-based conservation management
• Use relevant resources to find species-specific information on biology and conservation challenges
• Design a basic species action plan incorporating a behaviour-based conservation action

Target Audience

• Professionals working with wildlife
• Students of wildlife conservation or animal behaviour
• Anyone with a general interest in animal behaviour or conservation

Related Education

• MOOC Introduction to Animal Behaviour
• MOOC Urban rewilding: restore your local ecosystem
• MOOC Climate Action in Biodiverse Landscapes

Continuing Education at WUR

• Stay relevant in the dynamic labour market
• Join outstanding education at The Netherlands' best university
• Explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life

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