Animal Health and Behavior

This course is an introduction to the requirements for training and caring for animals in captive and wild settings. Issues covered include habitat maintenance, sanitation, and best care practices. Students will additionally be introduced to and explore the various practices and techniques associated with animal training, with a particular emphasis placed on the skills necessary to train domestic and wild animals for husbandry, handling, and healthcare needs. Best practices related to detailed observation, notation, and data collection will be underscored as students explore the basic principles of animal training and care.

This course is focused on the basic concepts of and science behind animal nutrition, including digestion, absorption, dietary requirements, consumption needs from their environment, and formation of regular feedings. will introduce the student to the science of animal nutrition. Discussions will be focused on the role nutrition plays in the development of animal disease. A comparative approach will yield insight into the varying nutritional spectrums across animal groups commonly handled by wildlife and veterinary professionals.

This course provides an in-depth look at the design, implementation, and optimization of breeding animals, with a particular focus on conservation of genetic diversity. Students will explore the principles of genetic and breeding productivity, inheritance patterns and genetic drift, as well as the basics of quantitative and molecular genetics. Methods covered will help students learn how to create, maintain, and improve the genetics of populations in a variety of controlled environments.

This course involves detailed study of the different structural systems found in the global array spectrum of animals, including the underlying evolutionary relationships among the groups. Anatomical structures ranging from the cellular to tissue, organ, and organismal levels will be covered. Functional interpretations of anatomy are stressed, as well as their broader connection to the physiology and health of animals.

The course is a systematic study of the function of internal animal systems, from the cellular to the organ-system level. Particular emphasis will be placed on processes supporting organismal homeostasis, with examples from animals commonly found in wild and captive veterinary care. Throughout the term, you will investigate how environmental differences dictate the physiological strategies and responses of animals, including consequences to their health and well-being. Additional work will be focused on processes to collect physiological data, including analysis and interpretation for use in care of their health.

Maintenance of health is critical for the care of animals. In this course, students will learn about the most prevalent health issues and how to prevent them. Concepts covered will include disease transmission vectors and pathways, zoonotic diseases, and preventative measures. Particular emphasis will be placed on both the diagnostic processes used to assess animal health, as well as the role animal diseases play in the health of ecological populations, communities, and ecosystems.

This course will engage students in the principles of designing, displaying, and enriching the environments of captive animals. Topics covered will include creating basic and complex habitats in a wide variety of settings, from zoos and aquariums to wildlife preserves, as well as forming environments which promote the enrichment, engagement, and promotion of health outcomes which reflect the animals’ natural behaviors while in captivity. Particular emphasis will be placed on promoting animal welfare and creating productive environments for animal husbandry and veterinary care.

In this course, students learn and apply various clinical and laboratory techniques used in the animal care and veterinary medical fields. Emphasis is placed on acquiring new skills and putting the skills to practice to improve abilities. Skills will be focused on those used in both clinic (e.g., drawing blood samples) and lab (e.g., molecular techniques, software applications for analysis) settings, and include reference to those used in wildlife and game preserves (e.g., chemical immobilization).