Undergraduate - UnitBIO3111 - Ecological applications

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)	Dr Rohan Clarke

Synopsis

Ecological knowledge needs to be incorporated in many areas of application, including natural resource management, invasive species responses, and biodiversity and conservation. The unit will focus on teaching core skills in applied ecology that should inform any management process. There is less emphasis on policy and legislative issues, except where they directly affect management decisions. The unit will focus on a range of issues that are of current importance in both academic research areas and also in important new policy developments in Victoria and in Australia generally. The practical component will consist of three projects that directly relate to the three lecture units within the unit.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

Explain the principles of landscape ecology;

Apply the adaptive management process in natural resource management;

Understand the need to cater for genetic variation and evolutionary potential;

Describe the links between natural resource management and the ecological theory on which it is based;

Evaluate management techniques, be familiar with the management options available to managers and decision-makers and be aware that management is conducted within a socio-economic framework;

Express informed opinions on the economic, ethical and political considerations of resource management.

Assessment

Examination (2 hours): 60%
Practical reports (three, 10% each): 30%
Feedback assignments (five, 2% each): 10%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Rohan Clarke

Workload requirements

Two 1-hour lectures and 3 hours laboratory work per week

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

Ecology and conservation biology
Marine and freshwater biology
Plant sciences
Zoology

Prerequisites

BIO2040 or BIO2042, and BIO2011, or permission