Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 20 x 1 Hour Lectures |
| Practical | 2 x 1 Hour Practicals |
| Field Trip | 5 x 9 Hour Field Trips |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Field course report (2,500 words) | 60% |
| Semester Exam | 1.5 Hours | 40% |
| Supplementary Exam | 1.5 Hours Students must take elements of assessment equivalent to those that led to failure of the module. | 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Students must take elements of assessment equivalent to those that led to failure of the module. | 60% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. appreciate current thinking about the nature of plant communities within landscapes
2. employ the terms used in plant and community identification and be confident in the field identification of a range of plants and animals.
3. appreciate the need for biological recording schemes and devise appropriate sampling strategies and recommend sampling techniques for a range of species, habitats and circumstances.
4. undertake a community survey, present and analyze their data. Summarizing results to appropriate scientific standards.
Brief description
Students will learn how to identify species and surveying skills in a range of contrasting Welsh habitats. Students will engage in five days of surveying skills during the Easter vacation. There will be no additional costs incurred but participants must organise their own accommodation.
Aims
This modules aim to provide students with a thorough understanding on the theory and supportive practical evidence on how plants, communities and landscapes are formed and how they operate. It also explores the movement of animals within and between habitats. Through field work the students gain knowledge and skills in identifying plant, species, communities and habitats.
Content
Changes in communities over time are considered. Communities are not static, but change, often in apparently predictable ways. They may be directed by the sequence of species present (autogenic), or driven by environmental conditions that change over time (allogenic). The main processes that have contributed to a breakdown of lowland systems are considered including: Perforation; Dissection; Fragmentation; Shrinkage and Attrition. Communities also change naturally over time via succession into "climax" vegetation and here we consider the theories of succession from its first description by Clements to the three theories including facilitation, tolerance and inhibition.
Easter holidays:
Five day field course to gain expertise in plant species and community identification and in a range of contrasting Welsh habitats.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | Collection of data, analysis and interpretation of survey data for field assessments. |
| Communication | Assessed via group presentations during field course. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Learning targeted in such a way as to improve performance over time. Examples of exam questions provided throughout module. Marks feedback and progress provided during field course. |
| Information Technology | Use of on-line resources. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Provides practical skills and insight into surveying. Essential skills for any student interested in an Environmental career / Conservation. |
| Problem solving | Analysis of samples and data. Synthesis and assessments in practicals. |
| Research skills | Additional reading to support lecture content and researching for field assessments. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Identification of plants and animals. |
| Team work | Group learning activities during the surveying days to develop team skills. Group collection of data for field assessment. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5