Module BIOL3161: Fieldcourse

Department: Biological and Biomedical Sciences

BIOL3161: Fieldcourse

Tied To

• C100: Biology
• C101: Biology with Industrial Placement
• C184: Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour
• C185: Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour with Industrial Placement
• C300: Zoology
• C301: Zoology with Industrial Placement

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• To allow students to undertake a series of practical exercises to investigate the influence of the environment on the distribution, adaptations and behaviour of plants and animals.

Content

• Field investigations of the impacts of a range of environmental parameters upon the distribution, adaptations and behaviour of plants and animals in their natural environment.
• Training in application of data field-based techniques underpinning the above.
• Field-application of organism identification and classification.
• Analysis and interpretation of data collected in the field.
• Training in health and safety aspects of fieldwork.
• Project design and execution in a field environment.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this module each student should: Have an appreciation of the application of a variety of fieldwork methods to investigate ecology and behaviour of plants and animals.
• Have an appreciation of the role of the environment in determining the patterns of distribution of plants and animals, including organismal interactions and community structure.
• Understand the key issues related to the role of the environment in the adaptions and behaviour exhibited by plants and animals.

• Be able to undertake supervised field-based research and appreciate the importance of safe working practice in field environments.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching and learning in this component is primarily through the means of fieldwork: Fieldwork dissertation (to include report, extended essay, seminar, and practical work achieved during the fieldcourse period), handed-in following the fieldcourse.
• Test in the field of the identification of key animal or plant taxomomic groups, plus questions related to organisms and their environment.
• These modes of assessment are designed to assess both the extent of students' knowledge and understanding, and their ability to apply this in a field environment.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Oral presentation of aspects of work undertaken during each day of the field course period, plus oral presentation of the findings of the group project undertaken.