Wildlife Toxicology

Campus scenes- Reitz Union pond, Rhimes Hall

Conservationists in the modern world face numerous challenges, including the complexities associated with pervasive environmental contamination by an array of chemicals originating from agricultural, industrial, municipal, and residential sources. Toxins may contribute to stress, poor health, reproductive or behavioral changes, and death in exposed wildlife.  Population health & biodiversity are also affected by environmental contaminants. In addition to the indirect impacts, wildlife can be victims of intentional toxicities, which warrant further investigation in order to differentiate whether the death(s) are due to natural or unintentional causes.

This course provides a global assessment of toxicological stressors, including pesticides, environmental contaminants, and other emerging chemical threats, and reviews the impact on wildlife, through an ecohealth perspective. Case studies will be used to highlight emerging issues in global wildlife and ecotoxicology, and to examine the impacts of how such cases have brought about policy and regulatory decisions related to environmental protection.

Course Objectives

  • Identify and describe the global effects of environmental contaminants on wildlife
  • Contextualize wildlife toxicology within the ecohealth perspective
  • Discuss case studies illustrating the above objectives, including the impacts of toxins on wildlife populations, endangered species, and ecosystems

Instructor

Hayley R. Adams, DVM, PhD, DACVPM, DACVM

From Dr. Adams: “I have over 20 years of experience in wildlife veterinary medicine, conservation, and issues related to One Health in Africa, and have had the pleasure of working with a variety of domestic and wild animals over the years. I created a charitable organization, Silent Heroes Foundation, in 2010 as a way of contributing to conservation & One Health efforts in Africa. I am a veterinarian, and have a PhD in wildlife epidemiology and virology. I am a board certified Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and the American College of Veterinary Microbiology. I currently teach conservation medicine and related courses at the University of Florida. I am a Certified Meditation Instructor & Compassion Fatigue Therapist in order to better assist those in my profession who may be suffering in silence. I am an author with my first book, Conscious Conservation: Less Doing, More Being, available now.”

Register

Registration is online – It’s fast, safe and convenient. To register with your Visa, MasterCard, or American Express, please visit our secure, online registration website.

  • If the course is not listed on the registration page, then enrollment in the course is currently closed.

Registration Fee: $95

Credits: 12 CE Hours – 1.2 CEUs

Getting Started

Outline and Schedule

  • This CE is entirely self-paced and consists of a series of video lectures along with suggested readings and podcasts.

Delivery

  • This course is taught entirely online as a self-paced independent study. The course will be delivered using the UF centrally supported learning management system, eLearning. Students can access eLearning by visiting https://elearning.ufl.edu/, clicking the blue “Log In to Continuing Education Button”, and logging in with the information used to enroll in the course. 

Grading

  • This course provides you with approximately 12 hours of CE content and is the equivalent of 1.2 CEUs. Your CE will be awarded by a certificate of completion that you will receive once you submit a satisfactory final assignment. Multiple attempts are allowed.

Assignments

  • In order to receive CE credit and your Certificate of Completion you will submit a short essay (1-2 paragraphs, single spaced, 12 point font)  describing which case study or aspect of wildlife toxicology you found to be most interesting, and why. If you have any questions about this assignment please email me at hayley@drhayleyadams.com.

Contact

If you have issues with the course content, please reach out to your instructor – Dr. Hayley Adams. Please allow 48 hours for a response.

  • Email: hayley@drhayleyadams.com

For any additional questions, please contact the Maples Center Administrative Team.