Undergraduate - UnitBIO3091 - Ecology of Australian vegetation

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

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Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Science
Organisational Unit	School of Biological Sciences
Offered	Clayton First semester 2013 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Susanna Venn

Synopsis

This unit focuses on the factors influencing the distribution, composition and structure of Australian plant communities, and the characteristics of the component plant species. The roles of contemporary environmental and historical factors are discussed. Methods of quantifying community parameters are covered in the practical course. There is a five-day field excursion (to the Grampians) during the Easter break (fee payable).

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

Describe the major characteristics of the main Australian vegetation types;

Explain the basic ecological and historical processes influencing the characteristics of the vegetation types and their component species;

Integrate and explain the different interactions occurring within the plant environment;

Demonstrate competence in the methodological approaches that are used in plant ecology.

Assessment

Examination (2.5 hours): 50%
Practical report: 30%
Essay: 20%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Susanna Venn

Contact hours

Two 1-hour lectures, equivalent of 3 hours laboratory plus field work per week

Prerequisites

12 points from level two BIO units including BIO2011 or BIO2051, or by permission. Recommended: BIO2181 and BIO2022