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An overview of the indigenous flora and fauna of New Zealand, including their biogeographic origins, the unique and unusual aspects of native organisms, the makeup of native communities, and their interactions with introduced organisms. Emphasis will be placed on the role of biological invaders in modifying New Zealand ecosystems.
The objectives of the course are:• to develop a broad understanding of the origins of the New Zealand flora and fauna• to understand the current and past threats to biodiversity in New Zealand• to understand how to resolve present current issues, and prevent future threats to biodiversity• to obtain a general introduction to basic field skills in the study of biodiversity
As a Student in this Course, I will develop the ability:to describe the processes that lead to the evolution and development of the New Zealand flora and fauna (assessment task: final exam);to understand the effects of human activities on the past and current states of New Zealand’s biodiversity, and on its future (assessment task: final exam);to understand the factors that have led to the decline in biodiversity and the importance of biosecurity in maintaining the remaining biodiversity (assessment task: final exam);to be able to identify key components of the local flora and fauna in the field (assessment task: field trip and lab reports);to be able to access the primary scientific literature reviewing the current state of knowledge on any species of plant or animal in New Zealand (assessment task: case study review).Transferable Skills RegisterAs a Student in this Course, you will develop the following skills:The ability to undertake and write a review of the primary scientific literature on an invasive plant or animal and its impact on the native New Zealand biota. (To gather the information needed for this assignment you will have to learn how to conduct a literature search, read through and extract the appropriate information for your topic from the scientific literature, and summarise the results of your literature search in an essay using scientific prose, including appropriate referencing and citing of material.)A knowledge of the basics of plant and animal identification in the field, as well as simple practical skills in the survey of biodiversity. (During a field trip, practical skills in the identification of plants, birds, aquatic organisms and fossils will be developed. You will also learn some basic techniques for surveying biodiversity.)An understanding of the diversity of the New Zealand flora and fauna, how it arose, and the current threats to its survival. (Lectures will detail the key features of the plants and animals of New Zealand, the high level of endemicity and how it arose, the threats to the continued survival of these species, and how these threats can be reversed to ensure no future extinctions occur.)
BIOL112 or BIOL113
BIOL114
Jim Briskie
Helen Warburton and Pieter Pelser
Library portalLearn Site
Feedback from 2015 Course Survey (scores out of 5)1. This was a well organised course: 4.572. The course helped to stimulate my interest in the subject area: 4.293. The course workload was appropriate to my achieving the course aims: 4.43 (note that a score of 4 is “agree” and 5 is “strongly agree”)4. The course provided effective opportunities for active student participation in learning activities: 4.435. I received helpful and timely feedback on my progress: 4.146. The assessments in this course measured my learning effectively: 4.147. Overall, this was a good quality course: 4.57The following issues were raised in written feedback by students at the end of the course. The responses were collated by the course coordinator and common responses scored. Action taken in response to feedback is indicated in CAPITAL LETTERS.Helpful features of the course• This definitely made me more certain that biology is what I want to do in the future. I learnt so much about New Zealand’s biota; it’s been fascinating!• The field trip offered a good chance to reinforce what we had learned in the lectures.• I liked the structure of the course.• Everything was returned promptly, with good feedback. • I found the lectures, field trip and background reading helpful.• The field trip made many concepts from lectures make a lot more sense.What to change? (Action/response indicated in CAPITAL LETTERS)• I found there was a lot of content moved through quite quickly. It was manageable nevertheless. I’M SURE AT TIMES THE SUBJECTS COVERED BY THE LECTURERS MIGHT BE PRESENTED A LITTLE FAST, ESPECIALLY IF IT IS A TOPIC THAT IS COMPLETELY NEW TO YOU. HOWEVER, STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ASK QUESTIONS IF THERE IS MATERIAL THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND (EITHER IN CLASS OR BY APPROACHING THE LECTURER INDEPENDENTLY). ALL LECTURE MATERIAL, INCLUDING POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS AND AUDIO RECORDINGS OF THE LECTURE ARE NOW MADE AVAILABLE ON LEARN AND THUS STUDENTS CAN “SIT THROUGH” A LECTURE AGAIN IF THEY MISSED SOME MATERIAL.• I liked the challenge of the case study assignment, however, I really would have appreciated some feedback, rather than a grade out of 100. Up until after the mid-term break, it was hard to know our progress as we had only been assessed on the course from the online quizzes. THE LECTURERS PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE ESSAYS, ESPECIALLY IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS SO THAT THE STUDENT IS AWARE OF WHY THEY RECEIVED A LOWER MARK THAN PERHAPS THEY FELT THEY DESERVED, AND ALSO SO THAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNT TO IMPROVE FUTURE WORK. IN THE CASE DESCRIBED HERE, IT IS POSSIBLE THE ASSIGNMENT HAD FEW PROBLEMS AND SO THERE WAS LITTLE TO COMMENT UPON. HOWEVER, IF A STUDENT IS CONCERNED ABOUT LACK OF FEEDBACK, OR RECEIVED FEEDBACK THAT THEY WISH TO DISCUSS FURTHER, WE ENCOURAGE THEM TO TALK TO THE LECTURER ABOUT THEIR ASSIGNMENT AS THEY ARE ENTITLED TO KNOW WHY THEY RECEIVED A PARTICULAR GRADE. IN TERMS OF HAVING A BETTER FEEL FOR YOUR PROGRESS BY THE MID-TERM BREAK, WE UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM BUT UNFORTUNATELY CANNOT SEE HOW TO ALLEVIATE THIS SITUATION AS IT WOULD INVOLVE SETTING THE DUE DATE FOR THE CASE STUDY MUCH EARLIER IN THE YEAR. WE FEEL THIS WOULD NOT PROVIDE ENOUGH TIME FOR STUDENTS TO CARRY OUT THE WORK TO THE STANDARD WE EXPECT.• With time-limits as to whether online quizzes are to be taken, it is possible to miss them and subsequently receive a lower grade than that which would have been achieved. TIME LIMITS NEED TO BE SET ON THE QUIZZES, BOTH ON THE DATES IN WHICH YOU CAN WRITE THEM, AND ON THE TIME TAKEN TO WRITE THEM, AS THEY ARE USED TO TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COURSE MATERIAL. PROMPT FEEDBACK ON YOUR PROGRESS IN THE COURSE CANNOT BE GIVEN IF TIME LIMITS ARE NOT SET ON WHEN A PARTICULAR QUIZ CLOSES. STUDENTS NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THEY WRITE THE QUIZ AND THEY DO SO IN THE TIME ALLOCATED. AS 3 DAYS ARE GIVEN TO LOG ONTO THE LEARN WEBSITE AND WRITE THE QUIZ (AT A TIME OF THEIR CONVENIENCE), MOST STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIT THIS INTO THEIR SCHEDULE. STUDENTS ARE ALSO ALERTED TO THE UPCOMING QUIZ IN THE LECTURE AND VIA THE LEARN WEBSITE. IF A STUDENT HAS A PARTICULAR DIFFICULTLY IN MEETING A DEADLINE FOR A QUIZ (E.G., SERIOUS ILLNESS), THEY SHOULD APPROACH THE LECTURER.
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.
A+ 90% or aboveA 85 – 90A- 80 – 84B+ 75 – 79B 70 – 74B- 65 – 69C+ 60 – 64C 55 – 59C- 50 – 54A 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
What if I have written more than the word or page limit?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.
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.
If you feel that illness, injury, bereavement or other extenuating circumstances beyond your control have prevented you from completing an item of assessment worth 10% or more of total course assessment or if these circumstances affected your performance in such assessments, you should apply for Special Consideration. Applications for Special Consideration should be submitted via the Examinations Office website http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/regulations/general/general_regs_aegrotat.shtml and notify the course co-ordinator within five days of the assessment or its due date. If this is for medical reasons you should visit a doctor within 24 hours of the assessment (application form available on-line or from the Student Health Centre). The Special Consideration 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 within a reasonable time agreed with the course co-ordinator. You should 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).In rare cases you may not be able to complete an assessment or attend a field trip, because of involvement in international or national representative sport or cultural groups. In such cases you should also apply for Special Consideration. Please review the Special Considerations policy because very few kinds of activities will be eligible for consideration (e.g. holiday trips, birthday parties etc. are not given special status in the University policy).Students prevented by extenuating circumstances from completing the course after the final date for withdrawing, may apply for Special Consideration for late discontinuation of the course. Applications must be submitted to the Examinations Office within five days of the end of the main examination period for the semester.For further details on Special Consideration applications, please refer to the Examinations Office website http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/regulations/general/general_regs_aegrotat.shtml.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
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 .