Dr. Aman Dev Moudgil, Ph.D Scholar of Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, participated in the International symposium and training course entitled ‘The 6th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology’ and ‘International Training Course on Frontiers in Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology’, respectively, being organised by Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences from at Beijing, China. He was granted with society monetary scholarship by the organizers to cover the local cost including registration fee, hotel accommodation and per diem during the symposium and training program in Beijing. The scholar is presently carrying out research on ‘Parasitic diseases of wild animals in captivity’ under the supervision of Dr. L. D. Singla, Professor-cum-Head, Department of Veterinary Parasitology, GADVASU. He is a recipient of INSPIRE fellowship, being provided by Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India. The Symposium comprised of plenary lectures on Integrative Zoology, introduction of Alien species (animals and plants) in different parts of world, Biodiversity and Evolution and Zoology in General. He demonstrated his work targeting zoonotic parasitic diseases of wild animals with special emphasis on prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in captive wild felids, which was very well appreciated considering the adverse effect on the health of the wild carnivores and zoonotic potential of the parasite in question. The symposium proved beneficial for enrichment of his knowledge about interaction amongst different animal species in wild and introduction of alien species to new areas which are further rendering the animals more vulnerable to infections especially due to parasites. The training course included the lectures of the conservation biologists and ecologists regarding ecological adaptations and evolutionary biology of the animals, methods to study climate and its effects on animals using special models, data analysis and statistical models, camera trapping of wild animals and molecular ecology etc. The techniques discussed in the training program will prove as vital tools in assessment of the distribution of the wild animal population and epidemiological studies of the parasitic diseases associated with them. There were more than 100 participants in the symposium and training program representing different countries throughout the globe and Dr. Aman Dev Moudgil was the sole representative of North India in the conference and training program.
