Course unit details:
Ecology and Conservation
| Unit code | EART25001 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 10 |
| Unit level | Level 5 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Offered by | Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
This unit will explore major ecological theories that underlie our understanding of the living world at different scales in space and time, and how ecological knowledge is used to make informed decisions on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service management. The unit will examine how individuals adapt to their local environment and what are the fundamental trade-offs that restrain individual’s ability to thrive in all possible environments. The course will adopt a lecture/ seminar based approach to key ecosystems and conservation with case studies. Students will discover how communities and ecosystems are formed and change over time and how species interactions within and across trophic levels determine the levels of biodiversity in a given ecosystem. The importance of landscape features and history for the maintenance of biodiversity at larger spatial and temporal scales will be explored and discussed in the context of conservation. Students will learn how biodiversity patterns vary at global scale; explain how this knowledge can be used in prioritising global conservation efforts. Students will gain a broad understanding of the value of biodiversity for ecosystem service provision, main approaches to conservation at population, species and ecosystem level, and current international conservation initiatives and policies.
This course unit detail provides the framework for delivery in 20/21 and may be subject to change due to any additional Covid-19 impact. Please see Blackboard / course unit related emails for any further updates
Pre/co-requisites
| Unit title | Unit code | Requirement type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity | BIOL10511 | Pre-Requisite | Optional |
| Introduction to Ecology | EART10602 | Pre-Requisite | Optional |
| Understanding the Earth | EART11100 | Pre-Requisite | Optional |
| The Natural Scientist's Toolkit | EART11200 | Pre-Requisite | Optional |
|
Either of these courses: 1st year Understanding the Earth EART 11100/11200 1st year BIOL10511 Biodiversity 1st year EART 10602 Introduction to Ecology |
Aims
- To provide students with an overview of key ecological and evolutionary processes that underlie biodiversity patterns and dynamics at local, regional and global scales;
- To explore in detail the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning and the delivery of ecosystem services, and consider why it should be preserved;
- Identify current threats to biodiversity and how ecological principles can guide conservation strategies.
Learning outcomes
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On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to: |
Programme ILO(s) |
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ILO 1 |
Describe the ecological features of diverse ecosystems in view of conservation |
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ILO 2 |
Identify and explain the components of the ecosystems and the approaches to use to assess and predict the components on key ecosystems
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ILO 3 |
Identify the major threats to ecological conservation |
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ILO 4 |
Propose potential conservation and management strategies to the threats identified. |
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Teaching and learning methods
20 x 1 hour new lectures and case studies– 20 hours
New material outside lectures- 5 hours
Directed reading/consolidated learning e.g. a scientific paper related to taught content, through referral to online materials on Blackboard -50 hours
Formative assessment– 20hours
Scheduled activity
Lectures and summative assessment – 25 hours
Independent studies – 75 hours
Feedback methods
| Assessment type | % Weighting within unit | Hand out and hand in dates | Length
| How, when and what feedback is provided | ILO tested |
| Formative | NA | NA | N/A | During lectures, discussion | 1-4 |
| Online test | 20% | Questions available for a week after final lecture in week 12.
Completion within 1 week.
| One week | Each question will have a written feedback (for both correct and incorrect answers) and this will be made available after the deadline. | 1-4 |
| Open Book Assessment | 80% | January Exam period | Short answer questions (2 hours) | Extensive feedback will be provided on students’ scripts and they are offered an opportunity to view that feedback. The assessment will take place in the January period and feedback will be provided after. | 1-4 |
Recommended reading
Begon M, Townsend CR, Harper JL. (2006) Ecology: from individuals to ecosystems.
Begon M, Howarth, R.W.,Townsend CR (2014) Essentials of Ecology Wiley, Publishers, 4th Edition EBOOK ISBN: 9781118802373 ; PRINT ISBN
9780470909133 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/manchester/detail.action?docID=5202197
Cardinale, B., Murdoch, J and Primack, R, B (2019). Conservation Biology Publisher Sinauer Associates; Print ISBN: 9781605357140, 1605357146; eText ISBN: 9781605358826, 1605358827
Freshwater Environments: the influence of physico-chemical conditions on microbial communities Aquatic Microbiology. Wiley, ISBN 0-471-48529-2 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/manchester/detail.action?docID=239461&query=sigee
Cox CB, Moore PD, Ladle R. (2016) Biogeography: an ecological and evolutionary approach. John Wiley & Sons. http://lib.myilibrary.com/
Thomas PA and Packham JR (2007), Ecology of Woodlands and Forests. Available online via MyLibraryhttp://lib.myilibrary.com/Open.aspx?id=104039&src=0
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 20 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 80 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Giles Johnson | Unit coordinator |
| Catherine Walton | Unit coordinator |
| Cecilia Medupin | Unit coordinator |
| William Sellers | Unit coordinator |
Additional notes
| Contact hours | 20 x 1 hour lectures – 20 hours
|
| Other Scheduled teaching and learning activities* | Online learning activities, self-directed learning and formative assessment |