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PL3308: PLANT BIOGEOGRAPHY (2014-2015)

Last modified: 28 Jun 2018 10:27


Course Overview

  • Why do plant species occur in predictable places?
  • Focus is on current and historical distribution of plant species. Content includes speciation, endemism, and evolution.
  • Teaching is by lectures, computer labs, and visits to the botanical gardens and herbarium. Tutorials provide a rich and challenging part of every week.
  • You are encouraged and helped to participate in discussions. You create and edit wiki pages.
  • Assessment consists of: species profile (20%), mini-review (30%) and a 2-hour exam (50%)
  • The course creates opportunities for thinking deeply and widely about plant distributions in time and space.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Session First Sub Session Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus None. Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Martin Barker

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

None.

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

Historical advances in the study of plant biogeography; global and local distributions of plant species, including ranges, boundaries and tolerances; disjunct and endemic distributions; cladistics; the theory of island biogeography; threatened species and rarities; speciation and extinction; genetics and plant phylogeny; shifts in plant distributions in geological time, and due to climate change and habitat change. The role of management and inter-disciplinary working in plant biogeography.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt: One 2 hour written exam (50%) and Coursework (50%). Coursework is made up of a species profile (20%, A2 poster) and a mini-review of current plant biogeographical thinking (30%, maximum 2,500 words). Resit: One 2 hour written exam (50%) and resubmission of coursework (50%).

Formative Assessment

- Tutorial/workshop sessions will provide opportunity for student-student and student-tutor interaction. - Formative feedback will be provided during this interaction and during student-led discussions and tutor-led tutorials.

Feedback

Each student will receive individual feedback and a mark for each assessment task. Feedback will be provided as written and verbal comments.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.

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