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Advanced theories, concepts and applications of marine ecology to current issues.
The compulsory Field Course will run from 26 - 29 August 2017.The course is concerned primarily with population and community ecology in marine ecosystems, including hard and soft shores, and the open ocean. These are discussed with reference to the major paradigms and models of ecology. Life histories, demographic characteristics of populations and interactions within and among species of plants, animals and micro-organisms provide the basis for understanding ecological principles. Current issues involving marine ecosystems and human usage are discussed in tutorials, lectures and field exercises.Course aimsMarine Ecosystems has two main aims: to provide students with up-to-date knowledge and understanding of key concepts, processes and factual information in marine ecology, and to enhance skills of students in laboratory and field procedures used by marine ecologists, including sampling and experimental design, analyses, interpretation and communication of ecological data.These aims are achieved through lectures, laboratories, tutorials and a three-day field trip. There are two lectures per week, which discuss concepts, hypotheses and illustrative case histories of a wide range of marine ecosystems. Field-based exercises integrate concepts and techniques from lectures and laboratories and apply them in field setting (both on soft and rocky shores). Skill development is in data acquisition, hypothesis testing, data analysis and presentation, and report writing.Course GoalsThe goals of this course are to discuss methods, fundamental principles, issues and case histories of ecological studies across a wide range of marine ecosystems. By including interactions of ecological processes with the many spatial and temporal scales of physical processes affecting them, this course will provide the necessary skills for understanding marine ecosystems and advancement in ecological disciplines.
By the end of the course, students should have achieved the following:1. Identify key marine species and ecological drivers of species diversity and community processes within a range of marine ecosystems, including hard and soft shores, and the open ocean (assessment: field trip and final exam);2. Develop advanced knowledge of the physical processes affecting marine populations (assessment: final exam);3. Understand the role of key marine species in species diversity, primary production and other community processes (assessment: field trip and final exam);4. An ability to apply ecological theory to the management of current issues in marine ecosystems(assessment: internal report and final exam; 5. Develop practical skills in experimental design, data analysis and scientific communication (assessment: field trip and estuary exercise).Transferable Skills RegisterAs a student in this course, I will develop the following skills:1. Synthesising information from background lectures and the primary literature. This skill underpins the advancement of science and the development of understanding. In lectures and lab- and field based exercises, we will discuss research in a group environment to aid your ability to understand core issues across the marine domain and use as background for assessment tasks.2. Collecting field data. Important for research and in scientific organisations. This will be developed in the field and will provide both hands-on and model-based contexts for data acquisition. 3. Analysing data. Important for research, and in some non-scientific organisations. This skill will be developed as we help you work with data collected in the field and will involve modern analytical and graphical techniques for visualising results. 4. Writing a report on findings. Communication of science is fundamental to its use and advancement. We will have discussions to provide instruction on the elements of successful reports and help you identify these elements with clear marking rubrics.
(1) BIOL270 and (2) BIOL209 or PSYC206. RP: BIOL212
BIOL374
BIOL212
Compulsory field trip – 26 - 29 August 2017You will be advised of more field trip details early in the course. Note that the field trip is compulsory and provides the source of major in-term assessment. To attend the field course you need to be capable of safely carrying out physical activities in the outdoors.
David Schiel
Mike Hickford , Islay Marsden and Mads Thomsen
Professor Stephen Hawkins (National Oceanography Centre, Southampton)
Learn Site
What do I do if I have to miss something or if my performance was impaired?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.
Domestic fee $983.00
International fee $3,848.00
* 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.
This course will not be offered if fewer than 10 people apply to enrol.
For further information see School of Biological Sciences .