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Disease Ecology

WEC33306

About this course

The overarching aim of the course is to offer a current and comprehensive view of the causes and consequences of infectious disease at the levels of individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems. Primary objectives are that students understand 1) the host-parasite relationship as a key ecological interaction (i.e., analogous to the predator-prey relationship) and 2) the general approaches and specific techniques essential to the study disease ecology.

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:

  • Summarize the key features and describe the impact/relevance of different infectious diseases affecting free-living organisms
  • Evaluate behavioral and ecological factors that affect spatio-temporal variation in disease outbreaks
  • Make and justify predictions relating to ecological variation and host immune defenses
  • Assess methods for studying diseases and host defenses of wild populations
  • Design and implement an ecological study to answer a question related to diseases and host defenses
  • Develop and analyze compartmental models and other SIR models, including through the use of programming software (e.g., R)
  • Appraise the strengths and limitations of modelling diseases and outbreaks in wild populations
  • Compare and contrast scenarios that would and would not result in a disease outbreak
  • Evaluate potential interventions for their capacity to control an outbreak

Prior knowledge

Mandatory Knowledge:
ZSS06100 Laboratory Safety
ZSS06200 Fieldwork Safety
Assumed Knowledge:
Ecological interactions, basic physiology, basic microbiology, e.g.,
MBI: CBI20306 Cell Biology and Health, HAP21806 Behavioural Endocrinology, NEM20806 Basics of Infectious Diseases.
MFN: WEC20803 Applied Animal Ecology, WEC30306 Animal Ecology.
MAS: QVE20306 Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics, QVE30306 Quantitative Veterinary Epidemiology, QVE30806 Management of Infections and Diseases in Animal Populations.

Resources

Additional information

  • Credits
    ECTS 6
  • Level
    bachelor
If anything remains unclear, please check the FAQ of Wageningen University.

Offering(s)

  • Start date

    12 May 2025

    • Ends
      4 July 2025
    • Term *
      Period 6
    • Location
      Wageningen
    • Instruction language
      English
    • Register between
      1 Jun, 00:00 - 6 Apr 2025
    Enrolment open
These offerings are valid for students of Utrecht University