National Eligibility Test Syllabus WII-NET & Ph.D Entrance wii.gov.in : Wildlife Institute of India

Organisation : Wildlife Institute of India
Entrance Test : National Eligibility Test WII-NET & Ph.D. Entrance Test
Announcement : Syllabus

Syllabus : https://www.entrance.net.in/uploads/4833-wii_net_2015.pdf
Home Page : http://www.wii.gov.in/

WII NET/Ph.D Entrance Test Syllabus

WII–NET Paper would contain only ‘Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)’ carrying equal marks. These questions shall be objective in nature and each will have four answers, out of which the candidate has to mark the correct answer. There will be negative marking for wrong answer to the extent of one-forth (1/4) of the marks allotted to the question. The duration of the WII-NET is three hours.

Pattern

Subject-wise components are given below for reference:
Component | Subject | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks (100) :
Component 1 English Language 15 15
Component 2 Computer Awareness 15 15
Component 3 General Aptitude (GA) 10 10
Component 4 Research Methodology 20 20
Component 5 Subject Knowledge 40 40

English Language

Reading Comprehension (Answers of MCQs on the basis of comprehension of a passage),
Vocabulary (Synonyms, Antonyms, One word for a phrase, Phrase for one word), Basic Grammar
(Structure of Language), Improvement of the sentences.

Computer Awareness

Computer Fundamentals, MS Office Tools

General Aptitude

Critical reasoning and verbal deduction, Numerical computation, numerical estimation, numerical reasoning and data interpretation.

Research Methodology

Problems and research questions; research and statistical hypotheses; approach and designing research projects; rapid assessment techniques and questionnaire survey. Random and systematic sampling design; experimental design and hypothesis testing. Stratified sampling design; Use of Remote Sensing and GIS Technology.

Recognition of data types: continuous, rank and nominal data. Exploratory analysis; Central tendency, Statistical variance and Population variance; Sub-sampling techniques; Boot-strap and Jack-knife estimator; Probability distributions: normal, binomial, Poisson, t-distributions and Chisquare distributions. Concept of derivatives and slope of a function; Permutations and combinations; Basic probability (probability of random events; sequences of events, etc); Frequency distributions and their descriptive statistics (mean, variance, coefficient of variation, correlation, etc). Statistical hypothesis testing: Concept of p-value; Type I and Type II error, test statistics like t-test and Chi-square test; Basics of linear regression and ANOVA. Bayesian concept and analysis. Correlation and regression analysis; Test of homogeneity and analysis of variance.

Subject Knowledge (Wildlife Science)

i. Vegetation Science:
Relationship between environmental factors and vegetation types; structural and physiognomic classification of vegetation; Forest Types of India: Champion & Seth’s classification; theories and stages of plant succession. Alien invasive plants; aquatic vegetation and its classification; Vegetation quantification and mapping; Biomass estimation. Plant-animal interaction, Economic Botany, Major plant products and Non-timber forest products in India. Plant adaptations to different climatic conditions.

ii. Animal Systematics:
Major classes of vertebrates and invertebrates: Characteristic features and examples; Economic importance of invertebrates, their adaptation and role as indicators for biodiversity monitoring; Origin and radiation in Birds and Mammals. Zoo-geography, distribution of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals; biology of rare, threatened and endangered mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish species of India. Bird migration.

iii. Ecology:
Population ecology; meta-population dynamics; growth rates; density independent growth; density dependent growth; niche concept; Species interactions: Plant-animal interactions; mutualism, commensalism, competition and predation; trophic interactions; functional ecology; eco-physiology; behavioural ecology.

iv. Community ecology:
Community assembly, organization and evolution; biodiversity: species richness, evenness and diversity indices; endemism; species-area relationships; Ecosystem structure, function and services; nutrient cycles; biomes; habitat ecology; primary and secondary productivity; invasive species; global and climate change; applied ecology.

v. Evolution:
Origin, evolution and diversification of life; natural selection; levels of selection. Types of selection (stabilizing, directional etc.); sexual selection; genetic drift; gene flow; adaptation; convergence; species concepts; Life history strategies; adaptive radiation; biogeography and evolutionary ecology; Origin of genetic variation; Mendelian genetics; polygenic traits, linkage and recombination; epistasis, gene-environment interaction; heritability; population genetics; Molecular evolution; molecular clocks; systems of classification: cladistics and phenetics; molecular systematics; gene expression and evolution.

vi. Behavioral Ecology:
Classical ethology; neuroethology; evolutionary ethology; chemical, acoustic and visual signaling; Mating systems; sexual dimorphism; mate choice; parenting behaviour Competition; aggression; foraging behaviour; predator–prey interactions; Sociobiology: kin selection, altruism, costs and benefits of group-living.

vii. Conservation Laws, Policies and Management: National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves, Community Reserves, Biosphere Reserves in India: National Wildlife Conservation Policy and Action Plans. Forest (Conservation) Act; Wildlife (Protection) Act; Environment (Protection) Act; Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act; National Conservation Authorities (National Biodiversity Authority and National Tiger Conservation Authority), and International Conventions viz., RAMSAR Convention, Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on Migratory Species. Eco-sensitive Zones, Wetlands of National Importance, Project Elephant, Project Snow Leopard, Important Bird Areas, Coastal and Marine Biodiversity, Forestry and Forest Management in India.

viii. Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conservation, Conservation Strategies/ Approaches:
Community Participation, Traditional Resource Dependence, Socio-economic Situation, Sustainable Livelihood, Vulnerability, Community Forests, Protected Area-People Interface, Micro-planning, Eco-development and Eco-development Committees, Biodiversity Management Committees, Participatory Rural Appraisal, Livestock-Wildlife Interaction, Human-Wildlife Conflicts and Mitigation.