BVB204 Ecology

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Gardens Point, Internal

Overview

Ecology is the study of the living and non-living factors that influence the distribution and abundance of organisms. It is a key discipline of biological and environmental science, and is central to managing and conserving species and ecosystems. This unit examines the fundamental concepts of ecology such as population ecology, interactions between trophic levels in food webs, attributes of ecosystems such as biodiversity and nutrient cycling; and develops the conceptual foundation for later subjects in the biological and environmental science majors and minors.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Describe the basic theory and major concepts that underpin the science of ecology.
2. Work individually or in groups to use standard methods of quantifying basic ecological parameters and complete fundamental computations and analyses commonly used in ecology.
3. Retrieve and appraise appropriate scientific literature and provide a written review of this material.
4. Conduct experiments in the field to answer research questions in ecology applying appropriate cultural, regulatory, ethical and safe practices.

Content

Learning Approaches

The unit will consist of a mixture of face-to-face lectures, workshops and a field trip.  Lectures provide the broad theoretical background while interactive workshops, computer labs and the field trip focus on the derivation and determination of key ecological parameters, and reinforce the quantitative aspects associated with ecological concepts. Short field exercises may also form a component of the practical work undertaken in workshops. A field trip scientific report will encourage independent research, data analyses and reinforce written communication skills.

The field trip will be a three-day two-night trip. Options for the field trip will be provided with student numbers limited on each trip.  The field trip may require a small financial student contribution of $50 to $200 AUD (depending on the location). Alternative opportunities for those who cannot attend will be provided. Further details will be available on Canvas.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Summative and formative feedback will be provided by written and oral feedback in the form of written comments on the first assessment piece that will assist with the second assessment piece and scaffolding of complex tasks to assist with learning and achievement in lectures, workshops and in the field.

Assessment

Overview

There are three assessment items, an annotated bibliography early in the semester to prepare students for the field trip research being conducted, a scientific report on the field trip research towards the end of semester and a practical examination (open notebook) during exam week.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Annotated bibliography and field research hypotheses

This assessment item will involve retrieving, reading and writing about the scientific literature to produce an annotated bibliography that includes a literature citation, a short summary of the scholarly article or book chapter and how it relates to the scientific report, and a literature informed overall hypotheses for the field work research questions.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions

Assessment: Scientific Report

This scientific report is intended to familiarise you with the literature on theoretical and practical aspects of ecology and develop your ability to locate, evaluate and synthesise scientific information. The scientific report will be a concise and critical account of the different ecosystems studied on the field trip, and the analyses and evaluation of data to be collected on the field trip in the context of the primary literature. The scientific report will be assessed on the basis of your ability to synthesise and present a clear and concise account of the current knowledge on how the abiotic (nonliving) and biotic (living) characteristics across different ecosystems differ and how the data you collect contributes to understanding this knowledge. Assessment will also be based on active and appropriate participation in collecting the class data-set on the field trip of a student's choice.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Laboratory/Practical exam

The practical examination will test your ability to correctly understand a range of quantitative ecological problems and their context, make fundamental calculations associated with the problems, and interpret results appropriately. The examination will cover material dealt with in lectures, workshops and the concepts surrounding the field trip. You will be able to use resources compiled during semester (e.g. a log book of worked examples, test and analyses that you compile throughout the course of the semester) in the exam.

If campus access is restricted at the time of the central examination period, an alternative, which may be a timed online assessment, will be offered. Individual students whose circumstances prevent their attendance on campus will be provided with an alternative assessment approach.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

The unit consists of classroom-based lectures, practicals, and short field exercises, all of which are extremely low risk activities. Risk assessments for field trips identify several low impact risks, including: travel; slips and trips; animal bites, and animal and plant stings. Students are provided with a health and safety manual detailing health, safety and emergency procedures associated with workshop and field activities. Students are required to read, understand and put into practice all safety guidelines. Safety considerations associated with field trips will be discussed in pre-trip briefings with printed notes related to safety issues being distributed where appropriate.