- UCAS course code
- C100
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Science (BSc)
BSc Biology
Duration: 3 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: C100 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
Field trips
Accredited course
- Typical A-level offer: AAA-AAB including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: AAB-ABC including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ABB-ABC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 36-35 points overall with 6,6,6 to 6,6,5 at HL, including specific requirements
Course unit details:
Ecology and Conservation
| Unit code | EART25001 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 10 |
| Unit level | Level 5 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
With increased population, human activities and other natural impacts e.g. climate change transforming the environment, it is important to understand the factors (biotic and abiotic) that determine the abundance and distribution of species and their interactions in their environment.
Ecology and conservation (EART25001) serves as a core component of environmental sciences and organismal biology that is essential to the development of environmental biology and provides core training in ecology to students of environmental sciences, as well as biology, zoology and plant sciences, complementing and providing a conceptual framework to teaching in field modules. This course covers a range of topics in ecology and introduces case studies, which employ ecological principles to address global challenges such as biodiversity loss and, water pollution. Furthermore, the course 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 course will examine how individuals adapt to their local environment and to recognise the fundamental trade-offs that restrain individual’s ability to thrive in all possible environments. 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 given ecosystems. 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.
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
i) Develop students’ understanding of ecology as a core component of environmental science and organismal biology.
ii) To provide students with an overview of key ecological processes that underlie biodiversity patterns and dynamics at local, regional and global scales.
iii) To explore the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning and the delivery of ecosystem services and consider why it should be preserved.
iv) Identify current threats to biodiversity and how ecological principles can guide conservation strategies.
Learning outcomes
| Category of outcome | On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to: | |
| Knowledge and understanding | ILO 1 | Describe the ecological features of diverse ecosystems in view of conservation |
| ILO 2 | Identify and explain the components of the ecosystems and the approaches to use to assess and predict the components on key ecosystems | |
Explain the interactions that shape community structure (resource competition, predation and herbivory, parasitism, mutualism/commensalism) that determine distribution and abundance of organisms in view of conservation. Describe the methods and approaches used in the assessment and prediction (modelling) of population and community interactions and ecosystem change. Examine key concepts from in-depth understanding of real-life context using case studies. | ||
| Intellectual skills | ILO 3 | Identify the major threats to ecological conservation |
| ILO 4 | Propose potential conservation and management strategies to the threats identified. | |
| Justify the importance of descriptive, functional and evolutionary approaches in understanding how organisms interact with the biotic and abiotic environments. | ||
| Transferable skills and personal qualities | Work independently. Develop analytical and problem-solving skills through eLearning tests on Canva. Communication (oral/written): Students are encouraged to ask and answer questions during lectures and, provide written answers during exams. | |
Teaching and learning methods
22-hour new lectures and case studies– 22 hours
New material outside lectures- 3 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
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Written exam | 80% |
| Set exercise | 20% |
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 | Real time, during lectures, discussion | 1-4 |
| Online test | 20% | Elearning questions will be available after the last lecture. It consists of a single online MCQ/multiple answer tests
| 1 hour - test open for a month. | Each question will have a written feedback (for both correct and incorrect answers) and this will be made available after the deadline. | 1-4 |
| Closed book, in person exam | 80% | The assessment will take place in the January period. | Written examination consisting of multiple choice and essay type questions. | Feedback will be provided on students’ submissions. | 1-4 |
Recommended reading
Begon, M., Howarth, R. W & Townsend, C. R. (2014) Essentials of Ecology Wiley, Publishers, 4th Edition EBOOK ISBN: 9781118802373 ; PRINT ISBN9780470909133 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
Sigee, D (2004), 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
Bardgett, R.D. (2005) The Biology of Soil: A Community and Ecosystem Approach. Oxford University Press
Cox CB, Moore PD, Ladle R. (2016) Biogeography: an ecological and evolutionary approach. John Wiley & Sons. http://lib.myilibrary.com/
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 25 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 75 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Cecilia Medupin | Unit coordinator |
Additional notes
Contact hours | 22 x 1 hour lectures – 22 hours
|
Other Scheduled teaching and learning activities* | Online learning activities, self-directed learning and formative assessment |