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Unit Summary
Unit type
UG Coursework Unit
Credit points
12
AQF level
Level of learning
Introductory
Former School/College
Unit aim
Examines the principles and concepts of plant and animal interactions with the abiotic and biotic environment. Consideration is given to the individual, population, community and ecosystem levels of organisation. Aspects of human ecology and human impact on the environment are introduced. Field and laboratory studies will include quantitative analysis and qualitative observations of natural systems and processes, experimental design and critical comparisons of different quantitative sampling and measurement techniques.
Unit content
- The nature of ecology
- Organisms and the environment
- Life history and evolution
- Populations
- Species interactions
- Community ecology
- Ecosystems ecology
- Biogeography
- Landscape ecology
- Ecological sampling and experimentation, data collection and analysis
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | GA1 | GA2 | GA3 | GA4 | GA5 | GA6 | GA7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | understand basic ecological principles and processes operating at the individual, population, community and ecosystem level | |||||||
| 2 | demonstrate skills in qualitative and quantitative analysis and data interpretation | |||||||
| 3 | demonstrate skills in experimental design and ecological sampling methods associated with field studies and laboratory experimentation | |||||||
| 4 | demonstrate skills in the oral and written presentation of ecological concepts and data. | |||||||
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
-
understand basic ecological principles and processes operating at the individual, population, community and ecosystem level
- GA4:
-
demonstrate skills in qualitative and quantitative analysis and data interpretation
- GA1:
-
demonstrate skills in experimental design and ecological sampling methods associated with field studies and laboratory experimentation
- GA1:
- GA4:
-
demonstrate skills in the oral and written presentation of ecological concepts and data.
- GA1:
- GA4:
- GA6:
Prescribed texts
- Strongly recommended - older editions are also fine: Smith, TM & Smith, RL, 2015, Elements of Ecology, 9th Global edn, Pearson , USA. ISBN: 9781292077406.