MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CONSERVATION BEHAVIOUR

This one-year MSc degree focuses on how animal behaviour can be applied to wildlife conservation. This is an exciting new area of study, known as Conservation Behaviour, and is suitable for those interested in careers in animal behaviour and/or conservation.

You will study the behaviour of a wide range of species from marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats, and you will learn how an understanding of animal behaviour can contribute to the conservation and management of those species.

You will acquire a range of applied skills, such as camera trap surveying for terrestrial mammals, visual and acoustic monitoring of marine mammals, abundance estimation of marine mammals using mark-recapture and DISTANCE, geographic information systems (GIS), and data analysis using R and RStudio.

Course Highlights

1. Teaching by research-active staff working in the field of Conservation Behaviour, with particular interests in marine and freshwater species.
2. A week-long residential field course in the west of Ireland, where the behaviour of a number of species will be studied in a natural setting.
3. A major research thesis on a real conservation problem, in collaboration with a supervisor from GMIT and a supervisor from an external organisation.