| The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of going to press but may be subject to change. For the most up-to-date information click on the Timetable link below. |
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| Credit: 6 points Availability: Semester 1 (See Timetable) Old unit code: 700.250
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| Outcomes: Students are able to understand the fundamental principles that underpin reasons for biodiversity and rarity of plants and animals within a landscape; appreciate timescales and their importance to processes of evolution, environmental change and vegetation succession in Australia; understand key processes that sustain ecosytem functions, such as assessment of future conservation and management priorities and options; understand the complexities of fire management in Australia. |
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| Content: Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions among organisms and their environments and incorporates the study of the distribution of plants and animals in space and time. This unit covers basic principles in ecology, including energy flow, community structure and population dynamics, evolution and biogeography, and nutrient and water cycling processes. The unit describes ecological principles that underpin reasons for biodiversity and rarity of plants and animals within a landscape (terrestrial and marine) and emphasises timescales and spatial scales and their importance to processes of evolution and environmental change in Australia. Field work and labs focus on ecological sampling techniques and applying ecological principles to conservation and management priorities and options. Case studies focus on the complexities of fire management in Australia, disturbance impacts on coral reefs and sustainable agriculture |
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Assessment: This includes field-based projects (60 per cent) and a two-hour examination (40 per cent).
Supplementary assessment is not available in this unit except in the case of a bachelor's pass degree student who has obtained a mark of 45 to 49 and is currently enrolled in this unit, and it is the only remaining unit that the student must pass in order to complete their course. |
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| Unit Co-ordinator(s): Dr Erik Veneklaas and Dr Jason Kennington |
| Location: UWA (Crawley), Albany |
| Mode: on-campus |
Unit Rules: |
| Prerequisites: BIOL1130 Core Concepts in Biology or BIOL1131 Plant and Animal Biology or SCIE1106 Molecular Biology of the Cell or EART1105 Earth and Environment: Dynamic Planet or EART1108 Earth and Environment: Geographical Perspectives |
Contact hours—lectures: 2 hrs per week; field work: compulsory weekend field trip (charges: cost of accommodation and food is borne by the student); labs: 12 x 3 hrs
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| Note: Attendance and satisfactory participation in practical and field work components are compulsory. |
Assistance with study skills, including English language skills,
is available free of charge from Student Services for all enrolled students
(see http://www.studysmarter.uwa.edu.au/).
Student Services location: Second Floor, South Wing, Guild Village; telephone: 6488 2423. |
Recommended reading
Archer, M. and Beale, R. Going Native: Hodder Headline Australia 2004
Attiwill, P. M. and Wilson, B. W., eds Ecology. An Australian Perspective: OUP 2003
Krebs, C. J. Ecology: The Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance, 5th ed.: Benjamin Cummings 2001
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Books and other material wherever listed may be subject to change.
Book lists relating to 'Preliminary Reading', 'Recommended Reading' and 'Textbooks' are, in most cases, available at the University Co-operative Bookshop (from early January) and appropriate administrative offices for students to consult. For first-year units the Bookshop will endeavour to make available photocopies of book lists for individual units. Books marked with an asterisk (*) are available in paperback. |
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