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  6. EK3901: FIELD ECOLOGY SKILLS

EK3901: FIELD ECOLOGY SKILLS (2018-2019)

Last modified: 22 May 2019 17:07


Course Overview

The field course will be non-residential, based around Aberdeen and involve day trips to local sites. Students will learn about and practice a range of approaches and techniques used by ecological consultants and those working for conservation organisations to assess vegetation quality, presence/absence of various animal species and estimates of population size. Techniques will include: Phase 1 Habitat Survey (plants), bird identification and census techniques, , surveys of mammal populations (e.g. bats, badgers, otters, red squirrels), freshwater macro-invertebrate sampling and camera trapping.

This course will take place in the third week of May after exams have been completed, dates TBC.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Session Second Sub Session Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus Old Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Clare Trinder

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

  • Either Programme Level 3 or Programme Level 4
  • One of BSc Biology (Studied) or BSc Conservation Biology (Studied) or BSc Zoology (Studied) or BSc Animal Ecology (Studied) or BSc Marine Biology (Studied) or BSc Animal Behaviour (Studied) or BSc Behavioural Biology (Studied) or MSci Biological Sciences (Studied) or BSc Biological Sciences (Honours) (Studied) or BSc Plant and Soil Sciences (Studied) or Bachelor Of Science In Environmental And Forest Management (Studied) or BSc Ecology (Studied) or BSc Forestry (Studied) or BSc Forest Sciences (Studied) or BSc Environmental Science (Studied)

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

Course Aims

  • To provide hands-on experience of identifying and surveying plants and animals;
  • To enhance observation, recording and reporting skills;
  • To develop experience with health and safety requirements for field work.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • carry out an efficient and effective basic survey of vascular plants and a range of animal species identify a diversity of plants and animals, and animal signs typical of important Scottish ecosystems;
  • keep a field notebook;
  • write a report in the style of an ecological consultancy report.The field course will comprise six days in the field. It will include a weekend and some evenings. The timetable will be finalised depending on expertise available, and may vary slightly from this breakdown of time.

Course Content

The field course will comprise six days in the field. It will include a weekend and some evenings. The timetable will be finalised depending on expertise available, and may vary slightly from this breakdown of time.

Associated Costs

TBC


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: Field notebook (10%) and 2000-word report (90%).

Resit: Similar to 1st Attempt, with pass marks carried forward and an opportunity to resubmit either the field notebook or the report or both, depending on what was failed in the first attempt.

Formative Assessment

No specific formative assessments will be included, however, feedback will be provided on the quality of the entries in the field notebooks during the first couple of days to ensure students are on track.

Feedback

Feedback will be provided on the quality of the entries in the field notebooks during the first couple of days to ensure students are on track.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.
 

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