Overview

On the MSc Wildlife Conservation, you may participate in a field course to Danum Valley Field Centre, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and in the neighbouring oil palm plantations. Sabah’s rainforest represents an area of outstanding natural beauty and biodiversity. Currently under threat from expanding oil palm plantations, the tropical forests of Danum Valley represent urgent targets for biodiversity conservation and will provide a wide range of opportunities to learn about the drivers of biodiversity loss in the area, and the conservation interventions being implemented to address those threats. The teaching on this field course will reflect, and contribute to, local expertise. Teaching will therefore be delivered by staff from Bangor University in collaboration with researchers from partner institutions in Malaysia. Bangor students will also study alongside post-docs and PhD students from the UK and from a wide range of other countries, including Malaysia. Most of the teaching will take place in the field in small groups, but the field excursions will be supplemented by classroom sessions, tutorials, seminars, and evening discussions. Students will learn about the history of the area, with an emphasis on land use history, socio-economic context and conservation designation, ecology and key species at the site, local threats. Sampling and surveying techniques will build on the module Practical Methods in Wildlife Conservation, which includes camera trapping and distance sampling, plant phenology and forest structure, invertebrate sampling, primate behaviour, social research methods (pitfalls and practicalities), human wildlife conflict and current protected area management. The students will also have a series of introductory sessions during which they will select a general research topic to work on in the field with a small group and a research guide.

In the MSc Wildlife Conservation, you may participate in a field course to Danum Valley Field Centre, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo and in the neighbouring oil palm plantations. The teaching on this field course will reflect, and contribute to, local expertise. Teaching will therefore be delivered by staff from Bangor University in collaboration with researchers from partner institutions in Malaysia. Bangor students will also study alongside post-docs and PhD students from the UK and from a wide range of other countries, including Malaysia. Most of the teaching will take place in the field in small groups, but the field excursions will be supplemented by classroom sessions, tutorials, seminars, and evening discussions. Students will learn about the history of the area, with an emphasis on land use history, socio-economic context and conservation designation, ecology and key species at the site, local threats.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold (C, mark range 50-59%) -A threshold student should have a basic knowledge of the essential facts and key concepts presented in the module. Oral work should demonstrate a basic ability to synthesise and interpret data from lectures and readings in a structured and logical manner, and all assessments should demonstrate the general capacity to organise acquired knowledge.

-good (B, mark range 60-69%) - A good student should have thorough factual knowledge across all aspects of the module and be able to cite examples and case studies where appropriate. Oral work should demonstrate an ability to think about the subject and to synthesise lecture material and some information from background reading into coherent arguments.

-excellent (A, mark range 70-100%) -An excellent student should have a high level of detailed factual knowledge across all aspects of the module and be able to detail examples and case studies where appropriate. Oral work should demonstrate an ability to think critically about the subject and to synthesise lecture material and information from extensive background reading in support of detailed, developed arguments.

Learning Outcomes

• Critically evaluate the literature pertaining to tropical conservation issues and synthesise expert knowledge, evidencing the relevance and effectiveness of various practical approaches to the conservation of tropical rainforests.

• Effectively carry out field-based practical skills underpinning detailed knowledge of the ecology and conservation issues relating to the sites visited and apply this knowledge critically in novel situations.

• Effectively communicate complex rainforest conservation issues to a public audience