ZOOLOGY

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr L R Noble

Pre-requisites

BI 2002

Notes

(i) This course extends over 6 weeks only.
(ii) Available only to students in programme year 3 or above.

Overview

An overview of current evolutionary theory and its development, and of the principles of biodiversity. Topics include the origin of life, ecological and molecular genetics, natural selection, species and speciation, the fossil record and macroevolution, modern taxonomy and systematics, human evolution, the conservation of biodiversity, and related areas.

Structure

Thread I: 6 week course,5 lectures per week, 6 hours of tutorials/practicals/seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (50%) and continuous assessment (50%). Oral examination for borderline candidates. Resit: A resit exam, in the same format as the main exam. This may contain material from both the practical and lecture components of the course.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr D Hazlerigg

Pre-requisites

BI 20Z1, BI 25Z1.

Overview

This course covers the physiological mechanisms animals have evolved to cope with different environments. Particular topics are Hormones and the Environment; Vision and chemoreception and the environment; Thermoregulation; Osmoregulation ; Interelationships between nutrition, infection and immunity.

Structure

Thread I 6 week course 5 hours lectures and 3 hours practicals per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour writtent examination (60%) and continuous assessment (40%). Oral examination for borderline candidates. Resit: A resit exam, in the same format as the main exam. This may contain material from both the practical and lecture components of the course.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr X Lambin

Pre-requisites

BI 2001

Overview

This course deals with the basic ecological theory and mathematical modelling approaches required to study animal population dynamics, especially those populations which have importance for conservation consideration, management and exploitation. The formal tools used to describe population change in continuous and fragmented populations are explored. The complexity of reproductive strategies found in the animal kingdom as well as their implication for harvesting of species are presented.

Structure

Thread II: 6 week course- 2 two-hour lectures per week, 2 one-hour lectures per week, 4 three-hour practicals over 6 weeks.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (50%) and continuous assessment (50%). Oral examination for borderline candidates. Resit: A resit exam, in the same format as the main exam. This may contain material from both the practical and lecture components of the course.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Tara Marshall

Pre-requisites

MR 1505 or BI 2001 or BI 20Z1 or BI 25Z1 or BI 25Z2.

Notes

(i) This course extends over 6 weeks only.
(ii) Available only to students in programme year 3 or above.

Overview

The course covers the main features of ocean circulation; their links to atmospheric and terrestrial processes; the interactions between the physical and chemical environment and biological processes in the sea; the elements of the littoral and coastal ecology of the temperate shelf marine environment; the special faunas of the plankton and the deep sea environments; and the characteristic features of tropical and polar seas.

Structure

Thread I: 6 week course - 5 one-hour lectures, 1 six hour laboratory or field session per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (60%), assessment of laboratory work (40%). Oral examination of borderline candidates. Resit: A resit exam, in the same format as the main exam. This may contain material from both the practical and lecture components of the course.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr J G Ollason

Pre-requisites

BI 1003

Notes

(i) This course extends over 6 weeks only. (ii) Available only to students in programme year 3 or above.

Overview

Introduction to the study of animal behaviour: external stimuli and perception, use of stimuli in orientation and navigation, signals and communication, chemical stimuli; internal states, especially hormonal effects on behaviour; motivation and conflict; rhythmic occurrence of behaviour; functional aspects of behaviour, behavioural ecology; evolution of behaviour; social behaviour.

Structure

Thread II: 6 week course - 5 one-hour lectures, 1 one-hour tutorial and 1 three-hour laboratory per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (60%), assessment of practical reports (25%), essay (15%). Oral examination for borderline candidates. Resit: A resit exam, in the same format as the main exam. This may contain material from both the practical and lecture components of the course.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr A Douglas

Pre-requisites

MR 1008 or MR 1510 or BI 2001 or BI 20Z1 or BI 25ZI or BI 25Z3.

Notes

(i) This course extends over 6 weeks only.
(ii) Available only to students in programme year 3 or above.

Overview

The aim is to present aspects of marine and freshwater biology with a particular emphasis on matters of practical application. An understanding of freshwater ecosystems is developed through the study of their hydrology and chemistry and the biology of the fauna and flora. Conservation, pollution, fish and fisheries, whaling and aqauculture are among the topics discussed in this course, which deals with the impact of man on aquatic environments.

Structure

Thread II: 6 week course – 5 one-hour lectures and six hours of practicals/field-sessions/seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (60%) and continuous assessment (40%). Oral examination for borderline candidates. Resit: A resit exam, in the same format as the main exam. This may contain material from both the practical and lecture components of the course.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr A Bowman

Pre-requisites

BI 25Z1 or BI 2504 or BI 25A2.

Overview

The aim of this course is to provide a thorough overview of the principles of infectious diseases affecting man and animals. Lectures will cover principles of infection, epidemiology, zoonoses, control strategies, notifiable diseases and their containment, and vector borne disease. Lectures rely heavily on specific examples of the major groups of infectious organisms that, in part, reflect the interests of the team.

Structure

36 one-hour lectures; 5 six hour practicals; 1 four hour poster session.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (50%); poster presentation (15%); continuous assessment (35%). Interviews will be conducted for borderline cases. Resit: A resit exam, in the same format as the main exam. This may contain material from both the practical and lecture components of the course.

Credit Points

40

Course Coordinator

Dr J Sternberg and Dr P J Fraser

Pre-requisites

Available only to those taking one of the Zoology Honours Degrees.

Overview

An independent research project, under the supervision of a member of staff. The candidate is required to deliver a short seminar on the results of the work and to submit a thesis.

Structure

Independent work.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Evaluation of the thesis and seminar and an oral examination. Resit: No resit.

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr J Sternberg and Dr P J Fraser

Pre-requisites

Available only to those taking one of the Zoology Honours Degrees.

Overview

Lectures on preparing for thesis work, debates on current issues in biology, authoring for the internet, statistics and data analysis, careers advice, use of library facilities, abstracting skills and data interpretation, recent topics in zoology, a residential course on team work, departmental seminars, the classification of the animal kingdom, dissection techniques.

Structure

A timetable is issued at the beginning of the first semester.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (50%); Continuous Assessment (50%). Resit: No resit

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Paul Thompson

Pre-requisites

ZO 3504

Overview

This course deals with the current advances in Marine and Fisheries science, including the application of ecosystems and food web approaches, marine mammal ecology and cephalopod biology.

Structure

Thread II: 6 week course - 3 two-hour lecture sessions/week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (100%). Resit: No resit

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr J Sternberg and Dr P J Fraser

Pre-requisites

Only available to students in programme year 4 taking the Mathematics-Zoology Degree.

Overview

An independent review essay chosen from a list made available by Zoology and which will change from year to year. A member of staff will provide guidance.

Structure

12 week course - Independent work with guidance by a member of staff.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Evaluation of the essay by two examiners. Resit: No resit

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr P Billingsley and Dr A Bowman

Pre-requisites

BI 25Z1 or ZO 3807

Notes

Available only to students in programme year 4.

Overview

An introductory lecture discussion session of 1-2 hours will describe a given research topic in vector biology. Topics will range across the breadth of subjects covered by disease transmission, physiology, ecology and resistance of vectors including molecular approaches and will draw attention to 3-5 recent research articles. These same articles are given to the students for reading and are discussed the following week in tutorial format.

Structure

Thread II: 4 one-hour lectures; 2 hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (100%). Resit: No resit

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr X Lambin

Pre-requisites

ZO 3301

Overview

The course deals with the concepts and practice of wildlife population conservation and management, including methods to access population size, demographic rates and how to use this information to assess the viability of animal populations. The course will consider how to manage wildlife populations that either represent a resource (such as red deer and red grouse), a potential competitor (such as grey seals) are threatened (such as water voles, fresh water pearl mussels) or are a pest species. Other issues raised in the course include how scientists estimate the size of populations and whether they increase or decrease? Why do populations decline? Is poor breeding success or declining survival causing the decline of song trush populations? Will intensively managed sanctuaries for water voles prevent the decline of this species?

Structure

Thread I: 6 week course - 2 two-hour lectures/seminars per week and 3 three-hour practicals.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (100%). Resit: No resit

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Professor P A Racey

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

Principles of Conservation Biology and how they are reflected in policy and practice. Different approaches to establishing priorities for conservation by governments (with reference to WSSC) and NGOs (comparing WWF's Ecoregions with CI's hotspots and WCS's landscape approaches). Assessment of Diamond's Evil Quartet and counter measures with particular relevance to the Bushmeat trade and invasive species. The use of molecular genetic techniques in conservation biology. Community-based approaches to conservation. Case studies will be presented by University and Research Institute staff.

Structure

Thread II: 2 two-hour lectures per week, 3 hours of guest lecturers per week, 2 hours of student presentations per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written exam. Resit: No resit

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr J M Sternberg

Pre-requisites

ZO 3807

Overview

This course will address modern aspects of parasitology, primarily in the context of human parasitic disease.Tropical parasitisms will be discussed in depth along with current control programmes such as that of the WHO. The course will then consider recent developments and future prospects in parasite diagnosis, chemotherapy and vaccine design.

Structure

Thread I: 6 week course - 4 two-hour lectures per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (100%). Resit: No resit

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr P J Fraser

Pre-requisites

Notes

Marine Biology background preferred. This course is open to Level 4 students who have, in the opinion of their adviser, the necessary background.

Overview

Introduces current research on bioluminescence, seal and dolphin behavioural ecology with emphasis on diving, disease, feeding and lactation, and low and high hydrostatic pressure effects on marine animals.

Structure

Thread II: 6 week course - 4 one-hour lectures per week. 2 one-hour Tutorials per week. 3 hour literature searches expected by students to expand lecture material per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (100%). Resit: No resit

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Professor A J Mordue

Pre-requisites

Notes

Available to level 4 students.

Overview

This course will introduce ethical thinking into the pursuit of science, particularly relating to biological issues. The nature of science, its role in culture and society, ethics and ethical debate will be considered. The view will be taken that scientists cannot distance themselves from the wider implications of their work. Lectures, discussions, case studies, posters will be used to debate current ethical topics, such as the ethics of animal research, xenotransplantion, genetic screening, etc.

Structure

Thread I: 6 week course - 2 two-hour lectures; 1 three-hour seminar/tutorial/practical per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (100%). Resit: No resit

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

C S Jones & L R Noble

Pre-requisites

BI 2002, ZO 3009

Notes

Only available to students in Level 4 of Zoology, Biology & other Biological Sciences.

Overview

Molecular ecology can be broadly defined as the application of molecular genetic markers to problems in ecology and evolution, encompassing studies on the genetic relationships among individuals, populations and species. As such the field covers population and evolutionary genetics, behavioural ecology, conservation biology, genetic exchange within the natural environment, and ecological aspects of environmental release of recombinant organisms. The course will introduce the genetic markers, the techniques and analysis commonly used in this field. Emphasis will be placed uopn molecular data acquisition and statistical analysis to address questions related to population structure, genetic diversity, speciation, and historical factors that have shaped the distribution and abundance of organisms. Additional topics covered will include the neutral theory and molecular clocks, the significance of the use of mitochondrial DNA for polyogenetic and phylogeographic studies, inbreeding depression, and applications to behavioural ecology (paternity and relatedness), and the release of genetically modified organisms. Case studies will be given that employ either neutral markers for inference about ecological and evolutionary processes in natural or introduced populations, or examine ecologically important genes and their products directly. An intuitive grasp of the relevant theory, applications and analytical approaches will be obtained through lectures, discussions, and case studies via poster presentations, and primary journal article readings.

Structure

Thread II

Assessment

1st Attempt: 3 hour written exam (100%). Resit: No resit.