engleski

Teaching outside the classroom – field and laboratory experiences in large carnivores research

The aim of this work was to share experiences and research results related to the training of veterinary, biology and other students to use some specific methodologies of field and laboratory work. Department of veterinary biology and Department of physiology and radiobiology of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Zagreb (FVM) are collaborating in research involving biology, health and physiological status, as well as management of large carnivores (bear, wolf and lynx) in Croatia. The entire research is done with Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FVM) students and students from different mobility programs (Erasmus programs) where they have the opportunity to learn about large carnivore’s behaviour, biology and physiology. Regarding field work, students are learning how to recognize signs of large carnivore’s presence, how to deal with telemetry equipment, how to collect different samples by invasive and non- invasive methods and how to behave in the different habitats. Regarding laboratory work, students have the opportunity to learn how to prepare samples for the biochemistry and how to interpret the results of biochemical and haematological analyses. Furthermore, they learn how to prepare samples for the analysis of fatty acid composition by the gas chromatography method. This collaboration resulted in several (three) published papers and conference presentations (eleven) where students were involved as co-authors and gathered the experience in preparing research results for dissemination. Research results also gave rise to several student master thesis and one PhD. As for conclusion, involvement of students in research, implementation of different project activities, field and laboratory work introduce them to the scientific field, where they could make an impact for the future knowledge.

teaching outside classroom, large carnivores, students, filed work, laboratory work

nije evidentirano