The course has a theoretical-practical nature and is organized in two parts:
Part 1 (32 hours) - lectures on theoretical aspects. This part will give the student a base knowledge on genetic diversity, how to measure it, what induces its changes and which are the main threats,
Part 2 (16 hours) – practicals including lab work and statistical training on genetic data. Through this practical experiences the student will acquire the capacity to obtain genetic data in the lab and to perform calculations and statistical tests on them in order to assess the genetic status of a population.
Students will be also asked to prepare a short project, dealing with an animal species, a threat and a possible evaluation of its impact on the genetic diversity of the species. The project will be presented to the class at the end of the course. This activity is aimed to develop critical and communication skills in the student, by training him/her to gather information on a specific issue, to define autonomously an investigation approach, to come out with a possible management solution, and to publicly expose it.