Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2024-2025
Module BIOL2461: ECOLOGY
Department: Biosciences
BIOL2461: ECOLOGY
| Type | Open | Level | 2 | Credits | 20 | Availability | Available in 2024/2025 | Module Cap | Location | Durham |
|---|
Prerequisites
- Level 1 Organisms and Environment BIOL1161.
Corequisites
- • At least one other level 2 Biological Sciences module.
Excluded Combination of Modules
- None.
Aims
- To study the interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms.
- To develop concepts of evolutionary history for understanding distributions and abundance of organisms.
Content
- Ecological niches and life-history attributes.
- Models of population dynamics.
- Population estimation techniques.
- Community ecology and biodiversity.
- Metapopulations and biogeography.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge:
- Knowledge of how the life histories of organisms and their ecological niches are inter-related.
- Knowledge of the theoretical bases for models of population dynamics.
- Knowledge of how theories of population dynamics are extended to incorporate species interactions, and thus biodiversity.
Subject-specific Skills:
- To be able to relate theoretical concepts in ecology to an applied context, for example population harvesting and conservation biology.
- To be able to apply problem-solving skills to quantitative problems in data collection and data analysis, population estimation and ecological modelling at an intermediate level.
Key Skills:
- Numeracy, in data analysis, and calculations involved in data handling problems.
- IT skills, in use of statistics software packages.
- Communication skills and graphics.
- Team work.
- Self-motivation, in self-guided learning.
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Lectures deliver subject-specific knowledge.
- Workshops reinforce subject-specific knowledge and understanding gained from lectures and the development of key and subject-specific skills.
- Practical Exercises allow students to utilise subject-specific knowledge gained from lectures, and support the development of key and subject-specific skills.
- Tutorials give enhancement of the student learning experience, supporting attainment of all learning outcomes.
- Self-guided learning contributes to subject-specific knowledge and self-motivation.
- Analytical exercise (data handling and interpretation) demonstrates subject-specific skills in data handling and key skills in data analysis and interpretation applied to Ecology.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total/Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 24 | Block | Block | 24 | |
| Practical Exercises | 3 | Block | Block | 6 | ■ |
| Workshops | 6 | 3 per term | 1-2 hours | 8 | ■ |
| Tutorials | 2 | 1 per term | 1 hour | 2 | ■ |
| Preparation & Reading | 160 | ||||
| Total | 200 |
Summative Assessment
| Component: Continuous Assessment | Component Weighting: 100% | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Element | Length / duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
| Practical skills and data analysis | 50% | Yes | |
| Oral presentation | 50% | Yes | |
Formative Assessment:
Formative assessments will be provided to develop the skills for each summative assessment as appropriate.
■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University