Diversity of life, evolution, patterns in community structure, global biomes, geographic patterns of life and island biogeography, ecological energy flow and biological production, match between organism and its environment, niche theory and how species co-exist, population dynamics and diversity, intra and interspecific competition, predation, parasitism, herbivory, community development and succession.

Habitat selection, dispersion, population dynamics and regulation, status and origin of Irish vertebrate fauna, sustainable wildlife management, conservation and management of scarce or endangered species, biosecurity and the role of invasive species, restoring damaged ecosystems, the role of reintroductions in biodiversity conservation, wildlife survey and census techniques.

Overview of major Irish habitat types: Woodland, Grassland, Forests, Hedgerows, Boglands. Habitat management and conservation, legislation and governance surrounding habitat and wildlife conservation and management (eg. EU Habitats Directive). Introduction to field techniques used for the study of terrestrial ecosystems and sampling methods for enumerating and classifying fauna.

Experimentation and data analyses on topics relating to species diversity, population density and abundance, fecundity, population growth models, habitat selection, population variability, conduct habitat surveys, introduction to animal and plant sampling techniques, habitat mapping, comparison of species diversity, field visits to a range of habitats types such as; wetland, hedgerow, grassland, and sand dunes will be carried out throughout the practical sessions. In addition, a day long field trip will be organised which will introduce the students to a range of flora and fauna and their identification in the field.