Undergraduate - UnitBIO3021 - Marine biology

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 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

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Science
Organisational Unit	School of Biological Sciences
Offered	Clayton First semester 2014 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Professor John Beardall

Synopsis

This unit investigates the organisms and the processes that drive marine ecosystems. We deal with the trophic structure of marine ecosystems, including primary and secondary production, microbial loops, food webs and their importance for marine fisheries. The implications of the characteristic life cycles of marine organisms to their geographical distribution are also considered. These topics are placed in the context of specific marine ecosystems including coastal habitats, coral reefs, open oceans, the deep sea and polar ecosystems. The practical component comprises a field trip (fee payable) either to Heron Island in December or the Queenscliff Marine Station in February where students work in small groups on specific aspects of marine biology.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

Describe the diversity and ecological importance of marine life;

Explain the fundamental physiochemical and physiological processes underlying the productivity of marine environments;

Explain the ecological dynamics of marine ecosystems;

Discuss the impact of human activity on the sustainability of marine ecosystems;

Demonstrate advanced scientific skills in project design, data collection, analysis and writing.

Assessment

Examination (2.5 hours): 50%
Practical work/field work/project work: 40%
Miniquizzes: 10%

Attendance at one of the two field trips offered for this unit is a mandatory hurdle for this unit.

Chief examiner(s)

Professor John Beardall

Workload requirements

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

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Developmental biology
Ecology and conservation biology
Marine and freshwater biology
Plant sciences
Zoology

Prerequisites

12 points from level two BIO units including either BIO2181 or BIO2231