VET SC 7213RW - Wildlife and Conservation Practice

Roseworthy Campus - Semester 1 - 2019

The course will provide students with the opportunity to learn and apply the principles of evaluating case history, clinical presentations, diagnosis and treatment or management of medical and surgical conditions in wildlife practice, zoo animal practice, avian practice, aquarium fish practice and exotic pet practice. In addition it will provide students with the opportunity to learn and apply the principles of wildlife disease ecology, conservation medicine and ecohealth and conservation practice.

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Course Details

Course Code	VET SC 7213RW
Course	Wildlife and Conservation Practice
Coordinating Unit	School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
Term	Semester 1
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	Roseworthy Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 6 hours per week plus 1 field trip
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	N
Prerequisites	VET SC 7002RW, VET SC 7006RW, VET SC 7009RW, VET SC 7010RW, & VET SC 7001RW
Restrictions	Available to Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students only
Assessment	Final exam, conservation medicine assignment, tutorial exams, pathology assignments

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Wayne Boardman

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

1	Explain how to diagnose and manage the common clinical conditions associated with native mammals, birds and herpetofauna
2	Discuss the fundamentals of zoo practice including preventative medicine programs, husbandry, welfare, biosecurity, breeding management and medical management of common clinical conditions
3	Describe the nutritional and environmental management of aquarium fish, exotic pets and laboratory animals and how to diagnose and manage common clinical conditions
4	Recognise wildlife disease is a threat to conservation and how climate change and other factors may affect the emergence of disease and describe the significant emerging infectious diseases of wildlife
5	Describe the principles of conservation medicine/ecohealth, one health and conservation biology and ecology as it applies to wildlife health and the describe relevant field procedures and the principles of vertebrate pest management
6	Explain the basic principles of disease ecology and modelling
7	Review a health program for designated species/taxa and present to an audience
8	Critically appraise a topic relevant to conservation medicine and present to an audience

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,3,4,5,6
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1,2,4,5,6,8
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	7,8
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1,2,3,4
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	7,8

Learning Resources

Recommended Resources

Roseworthy Library Resources
Online resources
Access to various animal holding facilities, including the Companion Animal Health Centre at Roseworthy, Adelaide & Monarto Zoos
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

Lectures, tutorials, practicals, case studies, field trip

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

A student enrolled in a 3 unit course, such as this, should expect to spend, on average 12 hours per week on the studies required. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g.,
lectures and practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading and revision).

Learning Activities Summary

The course is divided into three modules:
1.    Wildlife, Avian and Zoo Practice
2.    Aquarium Fish and Exotic Pet
3.    Conservation Practice

Dependent on the availability of specimens and material, the topics below will be covered in a combination of lectures, practicals and tutorials. The Wildlife, Avian & Zoo Practice and Aquarium fish & exotic pet practice modules will be more practical-based, whereas the Conservation practice module will be more lecture & tutorial-based. The field trip will concentrate on aspects of the Zoo & Sanctuary component.

1. WILDLIFE, AVIAN AND ZOO PRACTICE

AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE
Topics covered will include the radiology, anaesthesia, common diagnostic and medical procedures management, nutrition and common health problems of native wildlife.

ZOOS AND SANCTUARIES
Topics covered will include the role of the veterinarian in zoos and conservation programs, preventative medicine programs, anaesthetic principles, the principles of zoo animal management as it pertains to the veterinarian and common health problems of selected taxa

2. AQUARIUM FISH AND EXOTIC PET PRACTICE
Topics covered will include the management, husbandry, anaesthesia, common diagnostic and medical procedures and common health problems in rabbits, small rodents, and aquarium fish.

3. ONE HEALTH and CONSERVATION PRACTICE
Topics covered will include the principles of conservation Medicine/ecohealth and One Health and the principles of conservation biology and disease ecology as they pertain to veterinarians researching and managing wildlife health and disease problems and the effects of anthropogenic changes including climate change on the emergence and re emergence of infectious wildlife disease.

Specific Course Requirements

Field Trip provides training in anaesthetic procedures of zoo and wildlife and provides understanding of endangered species conservation programs, zoo management and preventative health management in zoos at Monarto Zoo.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Hurdle	Learning Outcome
Pathology Assignment	Formative & Summative	Week 7	6%	No	2,4
Conservation Medicine Presentation	Formative & Summative	Week 12	18%	No	6,8
Wildlife Health Program Group Presentation	Formative & Summative	Weeks 1 or 3 or 5 or 7 or 9 or 11	6%	No	1,2,7
Tutorial Quizzes	Formative & Summative	Weeks 1,2,3,4,6,7,8, 10	20%	No	1,6
Final Exam	Formative & Summative	Exam week	50%	Yes	1,6

Assessment Related Requirements

HURDLE REQUIREMENTS

Assessment Item	Requirement for hurdle	Is additional assessment available if student does not meet hurdle requirement?	Details of additional assessment, if known
Final Exam	Attain a score of 50% for the Final Exam	Yes	Students that do not attain this minimum requirement must attain a cumulative minimum of 45% to be eligible for an additional assessment, which will take the form of an oral examination.

Assessment Detail

Pathology Assignment (6% of final grade). Students will complete a pathology assignment within 2 weeks of the practical.

Conservation Medicine Presentation (18% of final grade). Students in small groups will critically review a topic relevant to a conservation practice/medicine topic and present as a power point presentation to lecturers and fellow students. Students will receive a group mark.

Wildlife Health Program Group Presentation. (6% of final grade). Students in groups will research a health program for species/taxa and present as a power point presentation to lecturers and fellow students during the Monarto Zoo Field Trip. Students will receive a group mark.

Tutorial Quizzes (20% of final grade). Students will undertake 8 mini examinations during each set of tutorial. These will test the students understanding and knowledge of topics covered during the previous week. These exams will assist with formative learning.

Final Examination (50% of final grade). Students will undertake a 3 hour theory examination that will consist of a variety of question types.

Submission

Late Submission

If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A mark of zero will be allocated to late submitted assessment.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator