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European Wildlife Conservation Field Course in the Pyrenees

Module description

The European Wildlife Conservation field course provides hands-on experience in biodiversity monitoring and Conservation Action Planning. You will explore the Pyrenees, a mountain range renowned for its rich biodiversity, varied habitat and long history of pastoralism and traditional land use. You will explore the impact of these cultural traditions on the landscape, how they contribute to human-wildlife interactions and the impacts of these on resident and migrant species. During the course you will be exposed to endemic, rare and endangered species, explore the causes of recent extinctions and de-extinctions, and analyse approaches that have yielded major conservation successes and failures. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to develop knowledge of wildlife conservation, mountain biology and to develop practical and planning skills required to design and evidence Conservation Action Plans. We will cover:

• Biodiversity monitoring with a special focus on marine and terrestrial migratory wildlife.
• The impact of humans on wildlife and landscapes, including traditional hunting and farming practices.
• The factors shaping habitat and species diversity in high mountains and the role of these regions as refugia for wildlife.
• Conservation successes and failures and how to carry out Conservation Action Planning.

The skills you gain from fieldwork in wilderness environments will stand you in good stead for careers in the environmental sector. Transferable skills to other sectors include:

• problem solving (linking theory to practice, responding to novel and unfamiliar problems, data handling),
• time management (managing time effectively on your own and as part of a group),
• collaboration (taking initiative and leading others, supporting others in their work),
• self and peer review (taking responsibility for own learning, using feedback from multiple sources),
• presentation skills and audience awareness (presenting ideas effectively in multiple formats).

Teaching will be provided by CEC staff, drawing on many years of research experience in the Pyrenees. Additional contributions will come from local conservation NGOs and researchers. As this is a field-based unit in mountainous environments students with a fear of heights and wishing to choose this module should first read the accessibility statement on the module's ELE page, and if they have concern seek advice from the module co-ordinator.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Design and execute biodiversity monitoring; present and analyse your findings.
• 2. Plan and evidence Conservation Action Plans.
• 3. Outline how environmental factors, topology and land use determine variation in habitats and biodiversity

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Describe in detail and analyse essential facts and theory across a sub-discipline of biosciences
• 5. Analyse and evaluate independently a range of research-informed literature and synthesise research-informed examples from the literature into written work
• 6. Identify and implement, with limited guidance, appropriate methodologies and theories for solving a range of complex problems in biosciences
• 7. With minimal guidance, deploy established techniques of analysis, practical investigation, and enquiry within biosciences
• 8. Describe and evaluate in detail approaches to our understanding of biosciences with reference to primary literature, reviews and research articles

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 9. Devise and sustain, with little guidance, a logical and reasoned argument with sound, convincing conclusions
• 10. Communicate effectively arguments, evidence and conclusions using a variety of formats in a manner appropriate to the intended audience
• 11. Analyse and evaluate appropriate data and complete a range of research-like tasks with limited guidance
• 12. Work in a team and deal proficiently with the issues that teamwork requires (i.e. communication, motivation, decision-making, awareness, responsibility, and management skills, including setting and working to deadlines)

Syllabus plan

The course will take place in early to mid-September when you will depart on the ferry from Plymouth to Santander. During the first days you will carry out monitoring exercises of marine and aerial wildlife in the Bay of Biscay and at a major migration bottleneck in the Pyrenees. You will explore different monitoring methods, learn about the importance of biodiversity monitoring for conservation and explore the threats posed to animal migrants. You will then divide your time between a high mountain refuge, a national park and a biological station in a small village in the heart of the Pyrenees. During these days you will focus on conservation case studies with guidance from NGO staff, conservation researchers and course leaders, all with extensive experience of research in the Pyrenees. You will leverage this learning to create your own Conservation Action Plan as part of a group exercise. You will end your course back in Santander with a final exploration prehistoric cave art and the influence of humans on natural systems since the palaeolithic. Throughout the module you will contribute to discussions based on pre-field course factsheets and participate in practical exercises. There is no summative assessment on the module itself with assessments taking place pre-field course (factsheet) and on returning to the UK when you will write up your Conservation Action Plan and present a poster on the same topic. Accommodation will be in shared dorms with transport in people carriers driven by staff from the Centre for Ecology and Conservation (CEC). 

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further Conservation Action Plan assessment and/or re-submit the poster, and/or factsheet as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Catalan (2017). High mountain conservation in a changing world. Springer Nature.
• State of the World's Migratory Species Report (2024). Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.
• Sutherland (2022) Transforming conservation: A practical guide to evidence and decision making. Open Book Publishers.
• Sutherland (2006) Ecological Census Techniques

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• Conservation Evidence website: https://www.conservationevidence.com/
• ELE

Key words search

Conservation Biology, Animal Migration, Ecology, Human-Wildlife Interactions, Biodiversity, Mountain Ecology, Biodiversity Monitoring, Conservation Actions Planning, Conservation NGOs