Field Activities

The aim of this field activity is to introduce the student to the study and monitoring of biodiversity and various ecological aspects related to wild animal species, through direct field experiences. The campaigns will take place in environments that will tend to cover gradients of anthropic pressures (e.g. urbanization, agricultural practices). Data will be collected on the faunal compositions of certain animal groups, both vertebrates and invertebrates, and on the ecology and behavior of particularly abundant target species. In parallel, environmental data of different nature (climate, landscape) will be collected. The field work could be followed by laboratory work, depending on the campaign carried out, and in all cases by the statistical analysis of the data collected.

The field activity aims to develop in the student: a) cultural skills in the practical study of biodiversity and animal ecology, as a function of environmental variations; b) interdisciplinary methodological skills relating to sampling techniques, direct observation in the field, behavioral analysis; c) ability to transfer and exploit the skills acquired in different application fields.