The course provides knowledge of ecological principles and exploitation of natural resources by consumers, specifically by non-domestic and domestic herbivores, connected to temperate, Mediterranean, and tropical grassland and rangeland ecosystems, the latter specifically in arid and semi-arid regions. Ecological principles plant – animal interactions, grass-trees interactions, animal foraging strategies, and spatial use of resources are presented. Herbivore adaptive ecology linked to changing food resource availability in the environment is emphasised. A special focus is given to rangeland condition assessment, rangeland carrying capacity and calculation of stocking rate of domestic and non-domestic herbivores, livestock and wildlife respectively. Another special emphasis is given to open access databases on environmental conditions and their application in environmental assessments in wildlife and livestock management, i.e. production and conservation systems. Tutorials will complete selected lectures to address practical aspects of the topics. Self-study will be supported by online literature and scientific literature, as well as recorded videos, regarding aspects such as animal movement ecology and animal spatial behaviour (e.g., home range and habitat selection).
Lectures:
- Introduction to resource ecology, nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, soil-plant-animal interactions
- Soils and plants as the key resources for plants and animals
- Consumer – resource interactions: adaptive animal ecology
- Grassland ecology and management
- Habitat distribution models
- Principles of remote sensing of environmental resources
Seminars:
- Assessment of rangeland condition
- Calculation of stocking density of livestock and wildlife, both grazing and browsing herbivores
- Environmental data: open access databases and their practical applications
- Ecological modelling
- Modelling of habitat selection, animal distribution, and animal movements
- Practical applications of environmental data
