Ecology & Environmental Biology MRes
Assessment of Animal Well-Being BIOL5422
- Academic Session: 2024-25
- School: School of Biodiversity One Health Vet Med
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: No
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
Short Description
This course will give the student an advanced understanding on animal consciousness, the biology of pain and suffering, welfare and cognitive functions and the physiology of stress. Built on these foundations the students will then be introduced to an evidence-based understanding of the assessment of the well-being state in both wild and captive animals, including applied aspects relevant to conservation and to monitoring the health, welfare and reproductive state of individuals in captivity and the wild.
Timetable
This course is made up of lectures, tutorials, fieldwork and practical classes which take place in semester 2.
Excluded Courses
None
Assessment
Essay - 50% (tests ILOs 1 & 2), 2000 words
Written report - 50% (tests ILOs 3-7), 2000 words
Course Aims
This course will give the student an advanced understanding on the biological basis of animal consciousness, the biology of pain and suffering, and the physiology of stress that underly an animal's wellbeing. This course will also provide students with an evidence-based understanding of how the wellbeing of individuals can be assessed in both wild and captive animals, including applied aspects relevant to conservation and to monitoring the health, welfare and reproductive state of individuals.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
1. Discuss critically the anatomical and physiological basis of stress and pain states in animals.
2. Critically discuss mechanisms underlying fear, anxiety and emotional disorders, and the challenges inherent in assessing such mental states.
3. Comprehensively and critically discuss the relevance of concepts from behaviour and physiology to animal welfare assessment with reference to the primary literature.
4. Critically analyse and evaluate the principles of physiological and behavioural states of an individual with respect to welfare and ethics.
5. Critically analyse, evaluate and synthesise methods and techniques that can be used to monitor positive and negative welfare states in captive and wild animals.
6. Critically evaluate factors contributing to the wellbeing of individuals and populations.
7. Design and apply methods for evaluating animal experience and wellbeing and interpret the outcome
Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits
Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.