Undergraduate - Area of study Ecology and conservation biology

Globally, loss of biodiversity and the associated ecosystem services is reaching crisis levels. Ecology is the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment, the understanding of which is of both fundamental and applied interest. The major sequence in ecology and conservation biology equips students with knowledge of core ecological principles at levels from individuals to ecosystems. Strong emphasis is placed on applying those principles to real-life management issues, particularly in the conservation field. The key goals are to describe and explain pattern and process in the natural world, understand human impacts and devise practical means to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem function.

The extended major in ecology and conservation biology provides students with a broad and comprehensive and synthetic overview of contemporary ecology, conservation, and evolutionary biology, with particular focus on techniques for the exploration and analysis of the key issues facing humanity with respect to the management and persistence of biodiversity including ecosystem functions. This extended major encompasses the basic principles of the discipline, the biological questions that can be addressed by the study of biodiversity at the main recognised levels (genes, species and ecosystems), and introduced the latest methodologies, technologies and analyses in the light of their applications. Students will be equipped with the intellectual, experimental, analytical and communication skills required to gain employment in many situations including research institutes, government departments, schools and universities, analytical laboratories, environmental management companies, or to continue onto more specialised postgraduate studies.

Learning outcomes

Graduates will be able to:

• understand ecology and conservation, exhibiting a coherent understanding of the field through articulating its methods and explaining why current ecological knowledge is contestable and testable through further inquiry. Graduates will recognise that ecological knowledge is acquired by curiosity and creativity and will apply creativity in thinking and problem-solving. They will be able to explain the principles underlying ecological and evolutionary interactions between organisms and their environment, and describe the application of those principles to conservation management. This knowledge will be complemented by an appreciation of the role and relevance of ecology in society, in particular, in connection with its significant role of biodiversity in sustaining life on our planet
• exhibit depth and breadth of ecological knowledge by demonstrating a well-developed understanding of identified core concepts, making interdisciplinary connections in science and other disciplines
• demonstrate inquiry and problem solving by: applying analytical and practical skills in the conduct of ecological studies in terrestrial, marine, or freshwater diverse environments including the identification of plants and animals, laboratory and field methods for their study, and quantitatively assessing their relationships with the physical and biotic environment; demonstrating analytical, numerical and practical management skills, including survey and inventory of biodiversity, ecological measurement, and techniques relevant to biological conservation, from genes to species to ecosystems including measurement of genetic and species diversity, adaptive management, risk analysis, and decision-making theory; critically analysing observations of ecological phenomena by creating and developing models and proposing and testing hypotheses; designing and conducting field, laboratory-based or virtual experiments, selecting and apply practical and/or theoretical techniques, and collecting, accurately recording, interpreting, analysing, and drawing conclusions from ecological data
• demonstrate, in the context of the discipline, the graduate attributes of effective communication, working in teams, quantitative literacy, information and communication literacy, inquiry and critical thinking, and ethical, social and international understanding. Graduates will effectively synthesise and communicate ecological results using a range of modes (oral, written, and visual) for a variety of purposes and audiences
• exhibit personal and professional responsibility, including being accountable for their own learning and ecological work by being independent and self-directed learners, with the ability to work effectively, responsibly and safely in individual and peer or team contexts. They will demonstrate knowledge of the regulatory frameworks and ethical principles relevant to their sub-disciplinary area within biology and apply these in practice. This will be accompanied by the capacity to undertake further study, research and employment in ecology and conservation biology or a related area of the biological sciences.