Ecology

Credit Points

10

Course Coordinator

Professors David Robinson and Dr Rene van der Wal

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Overview

The course will comprise a series of interactive tutorials. Subjects to be covered will include:
· What are the current research issues in ecology?
· The use and abuse of hypotheses.
· How are new ecological ideas developed?
· How is ecological research funded?
· What ethical issues do different types of ecological research raise?
· Making the best of bad data.
· How to read, write and publish a scientific paper.
· Planning an ecological research project.
Other content will, however, be dictated to some extent by the students’ needs, which will vary from year to year. Feedback from students early in the course will guide the exact composition of later elements. This flexibility will also offer the opportunity for students to request and receive dedicated training on topics or techniques they identify in response to their experience in concurrent modules. Examples of these could include: data collection methods; statistics; taxonomy; environmental legislation. To meet this need external experts will be invited to run relevant tutorials as appropriate. In all tutorials, students will be encouraged to participate in class discussions, to assemble relevant background information and to use it to present structured arguments. This course also allows essential skills to be developed for the Project Review (ZO5501) which is an essential precursor to the Research Project itself.

Structure

Tutorials

Assessment

4,000 word Research Project Review. As well as forming the assessment for this course it will serve as a vital planning document for students' individual research projects.

Credit Points

Course Coordinator

Dr Michelle Pinard

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Overview

In the course, students will
· examine a variety of research initiatives that fall on the interface between ecology and society (e.g. ecosystem services and restoration ecology; sustainability and resilience and the links between ecological systems and social systems);
· consider current issues and their relevance for ecologists (e.g. policies for increasing public involvement in natural resource conservation and management for ecologists, promotion of traditional knowledge);
· compare the roles of quantitative, qualitative and action research and to explain how research objectives and methods are matched to method;
· consider how ecological research findings impact on policy development; become familiar with tools used in the preparation of research proposals that have an applied, social element.

Structure

The class will meet for 12-16 hours, with sessions including lectures, discussions, presentations and task-based tutorials.

Assessment

Assessment will be based on short, written critiques of research papers (40%), a concept note (40%), and participation in discussions and tutorials (20%)

Credit Points

Course Coordinator

Dr Stuart Piertney

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Overview

Aims: The aims of the course are to expose students to key laboratory-based procedures used to address fundamental issues in ecology, conservation and evolutionary biology. Focus will be on three main areas:
1) the use of stable isotope analysis in ecology:
2) how molecular genetic markers can be used to address fundamental issues in ecology, conservation biology and evolution;
3) techniques to estimate size, activity and diversity of microbioal communities.

After the course students will:
. Understand how stable isotopes can be used as an exploratory tool in ecological research.
. Have gained some hands-on experience of how stable isotopes are used in practice.
. Have an understanding of how inherent differences in the genetic make-up among individuals, populations, sexes and species can be exploited as a tool in ecology.
. Have gained hands on experience of how genetic diversity can be detected and used to inform ecological studies, through laboratory-based practicals and analysis sessions.
. Appreciate the range of techniques available to estimate the size and activity of microbial biomass in soils.
. Match appropriate research methodologies with specific research objectives and questions and discuss the issues associated with different methods.

Content:
The key aim of the course is to expose students to key laborator-based techniques currently used in ecological research, and highlight how such techniques may develop in the short and medium term futures. As such, the course will cover:

. An overview of the use of stable isotope techniques in ecology.
Specifics on the use of isotopomers, stable isotope probing and doubly-labelled water.
. Future directions for stable isotope analysis.
. How genetic diversity is defined and maintained.
. How microevolutionary forces influence the spatio-temporal distribution of genetic diversity.
. Generic and specific techniques used in the assessment of genetic diversity (PCR, gel electrophoresis, restriction fragment length polymorphism, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, single stranded conformational polymorphism, DNA sequencing, microsatellite genotyping).
. Approaches for analysis of microbial diversity, biomass, activity and function.

Structure

The class will meet for 12-16 hours per week, with sessions including lectures, discussions, tutorials and practicals.

Assessment

100% Continuous assessment

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Profs Xavier Lambin and David Robinson

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Overview

Aim: This is a course designed to introduce students to the latest ecological research and to use this as a means to develop skills in analysing and exploring complex scientific arguments.

Learning Objectives: By the end of the course you should be able to:
· prepare a reasoned scientific argument
· participate in a structured class discussion
· discuss issues relevant to the range of ecological concepts presented
Content: The course will comprise a series of seminars by professional ecologists invited from the School of Biological Sciences and from neighbouring research institutes (e.g., Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Macaulay Institute). Each invited speaker will (a) provide a list of essential reading material in advance of the seminar; (b) deliver a formal seminar describing a particular piece of current ecological research: and (c) lead a structured class discussion during which students will have the opportunity to ask in-depth questions and to explore any of the issues raised by the seminar. The emphasis is on student participation and on developing skills in preparing relevant questions, in developing scientific arguments, and gaining experience in exercising critical judgment about concepts at the frontiers of ecological research. The range of topics covered will change from year-to-year to reflect the subject’s continuing development.

Structure

12 one-hour seminars and 12 two-hour tutorials/discussions during the course

Assessment

1 three-hur written examination (80%) and in-course assessment (20%)

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Professor P Smith (or TBA)

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Notes

Overview

Course Aim: To provide students with a grounding in the concepts, development, evaluation and application of ecological models, and to provide an understanding of modelling methods appropriate to the ecological sciences.

Main Learning Outcomes:
Knowledge and understanding of ecological modelling methodologies
Knowledge and understanding of ecological modelling evalution methods
Knowledge and understanding of ecological modelling applications
Knowledge and understanding of ecological modelling at different scales and levels of complexity
Practical skills in the use of models
Practical skills in identifying relationships between individual components of an environmental system, and in determining the nature of these relationships.

Content: This course aims to provide students with an understanding of ecological modelling methods. At the end of the course students will be able to identify the most appropriate model to use, develop simple models and be able to evaluate model performance. Students will also have examined different approraches to ecological modelling at different scales. They will study compiled models in decision support systems, simple models developed in spreadhseets and individual based models (IBMs). They should have a reasonable understanding of statistical skills and an awareness of the capabilities of computer programming, and be familiar with the concepts of data handling and interpretation.

Structure

2 one hour lectures
3 hour computer class each week
1 hour tutorial per week for three weeks.

Assessment

100% continuous assessment

Credit Points

7.5

Course Coordinator

Dr Justin Travis

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

The course aims to introduce basic concepts in ecological modelling, illustrating how different forms of modelling can be used to provide both general insights into the functioning of ecological systems and also to provide robust management recommendations.

The main learning outcomes are as follows:

- Familiarity with modelling concepts
- Understanding the different roles of a model
- Ability to critically evaluate a model and the results that it produces
- Development of oral presentation skills.

Content will consist of three main parts:

1. Formal lectures introducing key concepts and methodologies
2. Case studies and discussion sessions
3. Active learning where each student will be responsible for presenting a short research-style talk on one recent paper.

Structure

3 two-hour sessions a week. Additionally, one longer session in the final week where students each present a talk. The length of this session will be determined by the number of participants.

Assessment

Continuous assessment (write up of a model application (50%); critical appraisal (2000 words; 50%).

Credit Points

7.5

Course Coordinator

Dr Sarah Woodin

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

This course will use ongoing field experiments as case studies to illustrate how key ecological issues can be addressed in practice. The pros and cons of possible experimental designs, environmental manipulations (e.g., warming treatments, nutrient inputs) and measurements (e.g., CO2 fluxes, nutrient budgets, carbon modelling) will be introduced and will form the basis of class discussions. Actual data sets will be used to develop students’ skills in analysing and interpreting the results of complex experiments. Consideration of the multiple drivers of climate change (e.g., land use, pollution) will be explored via climate envelope modelling, an approach that is becoming prominent in aiding in the prediction of sustainable options under different climate scenarios. Aspects of the policy framework in which climate change scientists increasingly have to operate will also be included.

Structure

Assessment

Credit Points

7.5

Course Coordinator

Dr Justin Travis

Pre-requisites

N/A

Overview

The course aims to teach students how to construct and implement their own models. The course introduces simulation techniques and programming in either R or C++.

The main learning outcomes are:

- Increased ability for abstraction
- Ability to develop a model
- Ability to critically evaluate a model and the results that it produces
- Programming skills
- Development of oral presentation skills.

The course will comprise three practical sessions per week, where the students will be guided through the various steps involved in designing, implementing and analysing a model. The final session of the third week will provide the students with the opportunity to present their findings to the rest of the group.

Structure

3 three-hour sessions a week. Additionally, one longer session in the final week where students each present a talk. The length of this session will be determined by the number of participants.

Assessment

Continuous assessment (write up of a model application (50%); critical appraisal (2000 words; 50%).

Credit Points

5

Course Coordinator

Prof David Robinson

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Overview

This is a 10-day residential course based at the University’s field station at Bettyhill in Sutherland. Various nearby habitats are visited, including mires, coastal grassland and upland and heaths to allow you to carry out quantitative survey and analysis techniques, such as National Vegetation Classification, in class exercises. You will also receive training in basic plant taxonomy, a skill that you could well find useful during your main Research Project. You will also, in small groups, devise and execute a research project to test specific ecological hypotheses, before presenting your results to the class on the last day. The project is also an excellent opportunity to try out techniques or approaches that you are considering for your Individual Research Project which starts as soon as we return from Bettyhill. The course is assessed by a written group report which is prepared before the end of the course.

Structure

Assessment