BIOL215-17S2 (C) Semester Two 2017

Plant Diversity and Systematics

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 17 July 2017
End Date: Sunday, 19 November 2017
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 30 July 2017
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 15 October 2017

Description

An introduction to the methodology and principles of systematics and the patterns and origin of vascular plant diversity. Note - this course will be offered in odd-numbered years only.

Biodiversity: need a job?
Biodiversity is simply the variety of life. New Zealand is a particularly important and exciting centre of biodiversity because many of its organisms occur nowhere else in the world. The flowering plants are virtually unique, with 82% of species confined to New Zealand! A Government priority is to ensure that New Zealand has the research and skills to maintain its biodiversity. Did you know that professions like Forest Scientist, Agricultural Scientist, Environmental Scientist are on New Zealand’s Long Term Skill Shortage List?

Who should take this course?
Plant Diversity and Systematics is a level 2 course (15 points) designed to meet the need for knowledge and understanding of the enormous variety of plant life. It will be valuable for students who intend to seek employment in areas such as biodiversity research, ecology, taxonomy, conservation, or teaching.
It will be of interest to all students who wish to broaden their knowledge of plants. It is also suitable for members of the workforce who need to acquire a wide knowledge of plants as a foundation for plant recognition and identification.

Course outline
Systematics is the scientific discipline that encompasses the description, identification, nomenclature, and classification of organisms (Taxonomy) and the reconstruction of their macro-evolutionary history (Phylogenetics). Knowing the identity and evolutionary relationships of organisms is crucial to any biological study and Systematics is therefore an important cornerstone of Biology.
This course is an introduction to the methodology and principles of Plant Systematics and patterns and origin of seed plant diversity. The lectures have a strong focus on the methodology and applications of systematic research and evolutionary trends in seed plant diversification. The labs provide skills needed to recognize and characterize several plant families and higher taxa that are important elements of ecosystems in New Zealand and other parts of the world.

Intended learning outcomes and associated assessment
At the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
• Understand major patterns and processes in the evolution of seed plants (assessment tasks: quizzes, mid-course test, final exam)
• Recognize members of the major groups of seed plants and know their diagnostic features (assessment tasks: mid-course test, final exam)
• Have a basic understanding of the principles of phylogenetic systematics (assessment tasks: lab assignments, quizzes, mid-course test, final exam)
• Understand key methods and principles of biological classification and nomenclature (assessment tasks: lab assignments, quizzes, mid-course test, final exam)
• Have a better understanding of plant morphology terminology (assessment tasks: lab assignments, quizzes, mid-course test, final exam)
• Write short species descriptions (assessment task: lab assignment)
• Use identification keys (assessment task: lab assignment)

Skills register
The following skills are developed in this course:
• Recognition of major groups of seed plants. Essential in organismal biology, conservation, and biosecurity.
• Interpretation of phylogenetic trees and reconstructing evolutionary relationships. Important in fields of evolutionary biology such as genetics, bioinformatics, systematics, molecular ecology.
• Understanding of macro-evolutionary patterns and processes in seed plants. Relevant for evolutionary and biodiversity-related fields of botanical research and education.
• Use of biological classifications and scientific names. Essential skill in any field in biology and conservation.
• Use and interpretation of botanical terminology. Needed to be able to use botanical literature in a wide range of botanical fields such as plant ecology, biodiversity, conservation, biosecurity, physiology, and systematics.
• Plant identification. Essential in organismal biology, conservation, and biosecurity.
• Independent and self-motivated learning. A life-skill that is important in any career.
• Finding, understanding, and using information in literature and on the internet. These are very general skills that are essential in many careers.
• Written communication. Many employers require employees to have good written communication skills.

Learning Outcomes

  • An understanding of major patterns in the evolution of seed plants
  • An appreciation of seed plant diversity
  • A basic understanding of the principles of phylogenetic systematics
  • An overview of the diagnostic characters of the main lineages of seed plants
  • An understanding of the methods and principles of classification and nomenclature
  • An increased understanding of plant morphology terminology

Prerequisites

BIOL113, or
with the approval of the Head of School. RP: BIOL271

Recommended Preparation

Timetable Note

Please note that attendance of all laboratories is compulsory. Your laboratory assignments are marked after each lab and, because of practical constraints, these cannot be made up for when missed.

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

Pieter Pelser

Lab Coordinator

Reijel Gardiner

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

Simpson, Michael G; Plant systematics ; 2nd ed; Academic Press, 2010.

The 2nd edition of Plant Systematics should be used.

Additional Course Outline Information

Academic integrity

It is essential that you are aware that plagiarism is considered a very serious offence by the Academic community, the University and the School of Biological Sciences. Plagiarism is defined as taking content from another work or author and presenting it, without attribution, as if it is your own work. Content here includes text (sentences or major parts of sentences), display items (graphs and tables), and overall structure (the detailed sequence of ideas). Plagiarism includes:
• re-use of previous assignments (even if each individual sentence has been rephrased to say the same thing in different words, if the overall structure is re-used)  
• copying of another student’s work (with or without their consent)
• the unreferenced use of published material or material from the internet e.g. cutting and pasting of paragraphs or pages into an essay.
For most pieces of in-term assessment you will be given information concerning the use of direct and indirect quotes from previously published work. If you are in any doubt about appropriate use of published material, please speak with a member of academic staff. If you are still unsure what plagiarism is, then seek advice.

It is a School policy that courses may request you submit work electronically for subsequent analysis of originality using Turnitin. Students agree that by taking courses in BIOL, required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism.  All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.  Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site.

Assessment and grading system

A+ 90% or above
A 85 – 90
A- 80 – 84
B+ 75 – 79
B 70 – 74
B- 65 – 69
C+ 60 – 64
C 55 – 59
C- 50 – 54

A restricted pass (R) may be awarded to those who are close to a pass (i.e. an overall score of 48-49.9%) AND who have achieved at least a 40% overall score in both in-course assessment and tests/exams. If an R grade is awarded you gain credit for the course but cannot continue into papers that require this course as a pre-requisite. NB. The R grade is only available at 100 and 200 level - it cannot be awarded for third year papers.

Failing grades:   D   40-49             E  0–39

Notes

If there is a word limit on an assignment, it is usually there to stop you doing too much work and to encourage you to write succinctly.  It also makes things easier to assess.  You can be up to 10% over without too much worry, but if the length increases beyond that your mark may suffer due to failure to follow the requirements.  If you find yourself way over the word limit have a chat to the lecturer concerned about how to trim your assignment to an acceptable length.

Requests for extensions

Reports and assignments should be handed in on time. Extensions may be granted if you have a valid reason. If you require an extension, you should request one from the course co-ordinator (or the lecturer responsible for marking the work), with as much notice as possible.  Please do this BEFORE the deadline for the assignment. If you have been given an extension you should hand the work DIRECTLY to the course coordinator (do not put it in the drop box as it may not be cleared after the due date).
If an extension has not been granted:
• work must be handed in by the due date to gain full credit
• work handed in up to 7 days after the deadline will be marked, but the marks will be discounted 25% before they are recorded to the student's credit
• any work handed in more than 7 days after the deadline date will not be marked or earn credit.

What do I do if I’m sick?

If you feel that illness, injury, bereavement or other critical circumstances have prevented you from completing an item of assessment worth 10% or more of total course assessment or have affected your performance in a test or exam, you should visit a doctor within 24 hours and submit the application form to Erskine 235 within 7 days. The application form is available on-line or from the Student Health and Counselling Service. You should also notify the course co-ordinator.  For further details on aegrotat applications, please refer to the University’s website - http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/exams/aegrotats.shtml). The aegrotat provisions are intended to assist students who have covered the work of a course but have been prevented by illness or other critical circumstances from demonstrating their mastery of the material or skills at the time of assessment – they do not excuse you from doing the assessment. If the examiner cannot assess your aegrotat application because of lack of other evidence, you may be asked to sit a special assessment if you miss a final exam. You should also expect to be required to submit additional work if you miss a major assignment (e.g. a field trip for which a major write-up is required). Please note: acceptance of the grounds for an aegrotat application does not simply excuse you from completing items of assessment if you are requested to do so. You will be given reasonable time to complete any such work.

What to do if you have to miss something

In rare cases you may not be able to sit a test or exam, or attend a field trip, because of involvement in international or national representative sport or cultural groups. In such cases see the course co-ordinator, and a course of action (usually the sitting of an equivalent test or exam at a different time, or submitting an equivalent piece of written assessment) will be arranged. This should be done well in advance of the set date for a missed exam/test/assignment. Please note – holiday trips, weddings, birthday parties etc. are not given special status in the University policy, so please do not ask for special consideration in these circumstances.

What if I fail part of the course?

In BIOL, we require a satisfactory level of achievement in both the theoretical aspects of the discipline and in practical activities. This means you must attend all class activities and submit all items of assessment unless you have a very good reason not to (e.g. medical reasons). A student must attain a score of at least 40% for in-course assessment and at least 40% in the course exam/test, AND score at least 50% overall for the course, to be awarded a passing grade.

What’s the best way to give feedback?

We welcome constructive feedback at all times – help us to make this a valuable course for you.  We endeavour to remain approachable at all times.  If you would rather give feedback anonymously, please use the on-line course survey or talk to lab demonstrators, or your class rep (who will all report back to the staff-student liaison committee that includes a representative from each of the undergraduate classes). Class representatives will be selected from each class at the start of course.

What’s the best way to complain?

If you feel you have not been fairly treated during this course, please raise the issue with the lecturer or course co-ordinator in the first instance.  Other avenues include your class rep., who can raise issues anonymously, or the UCSA education coordinator.

Where to submit and collect work

All assignments should be placed in the designated collection box in the foyer of the 2nd floor of the School of Biological Sciences (near the main office), unless directed otherwise by the course co-ordinator. All assignments must be accompanied by a cover sheet signed by you stating that the submitted work is not plagiarised. Cover sheets are available on top of the collection boxes, or you can download one from the Biology website (under Undergraduate). In addition, you may also be asked to submit your work electronically (via Learn) for analysis in Turnitin. You will be given instructions on how to do this in the assignment handout.

Marked assignments can be collected from the Secretaries' Office between the hours 9.30-10.30am and 1.30-2.30pm, unless directed otherwise by the course co-ordinator. Teaching staff will endeavour to return work as soon as possible, and should contact you if there are likely to be any delays that will prevent return within the maximum 4-week timeframe.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $848.00

International fee $3,713.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see School of Biological Sciences .

All BIOL215 Occurrences

  • BIOL215-17S2 (C) Semester Two 2017