Coral Reef Ecology & Conservation (BIOL3215)

Course overview

Prior to 2022, this course was titled: Marine Ecology and Conservation

Ecology & conservation of marine and estuarine plants and animals. Emphasis on the dynamics & interactions of populations, assemblages & communities in marine environments, including an examination of theory, methods & approaches used to study these systems (including field activities). Appreciation of the threats that impact marine ecosystems and how this can affect people. Understanding the degree to which evolutionary adaptation can build resilience to the effects of climate change. Detailed exploration of cutting-edge conservation issues and practices including marine reserve design and the importance of blue carbon.

The vast majority of the global population lives within coastal areas. People derive many benefits from coastal environments while also constituting a major source of disturbance. It is vital that humankind finds a way to enjoy coastal areas sustainably; a goal made all the more challenging with the advent of climate change.

This course explores the ecology and conservation of tropical coastal habitats - coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves - as well as the threatened species that inhabit them including turtles and dugong. It takes advantage of Queensland's position both with the great proximity of Moreton Bay and the Great Barrier Reef. An optional week long coral reef field trip occurs at UQ's famous field station on the edge of the GBR at Heron Island.ﾠ ﾠ

Tropical ecosystems are highly complex and the course reveals their intricate ecology, focusing on globally significant problems such as resilience, climate change, and extinction. Importantly, the course digs into cutting edge conservation approaches both at the broader ecosystem scales, such as the use and abuse of Marine Protected Areas, and the challenges in protecting endangered fauna like dugong.

Students will develop important transferable skills, which include learning how to interpret data as an ecologist, how to write successful proposals, and how to design and undertake field research.

Our approach to delivering this course involves a flexible range of teaching methods including online materials, in class discussions, practical field experiences, lab studies, and workshops. Practical exercises will include writing research proposals, analysis and reporting of field activities, and learning how to interpret results using your ecological knowledge

Course requirements

Assumed background

Recommended prerequisite subjects:

ﾠ

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

MARS2014 or MARS2001

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

BIOL2006 or BIOL2106 and BIOL2010

Recommended companion or co-requisite courses

We recommend completing the following courses at the same time:

BIOL3023

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

MARS3011 or MARS3002

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Aims and outcomes

Marine Ecology and Conservation aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to solve complex problems arising in marine and estuarine ecosystems, due to human influences, such as coastal development and climate change. The course also highlights the core theoretical aspects of marine ecology and practical conservation issues that will give students a head-start if choosing a career in research or conservation. Specifically on completion students will be able to:

1. ﾠIdentify the factors important for the sustainable function of marine and estuarine ecosystems and important threats to these systems
2. ﾠUnderstand of the ecology of plants and animals in marine and estuarine ecosystems
3. ﾠHave a comprehensive grounding in the principles and practice of marine ecology, including experimental design, data analysis, and data interpretation.
4. ﾠUnderstand core concepts in marine conservation and the degree to which management interventions can have positive impacts.
5. Gain a strong 'real world' understanding of conservation issues.
6. Experience coral reefs in the field and implement research projects

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Written assessment of research proposal

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation

Weight

20%

Due date

12/09/2024 2:00 pm

Task description

Submission guidelines

STUDENTS NEED TO SUBMIT THIS ASSESSMENT ONLY THROUGH TURNITIN.

The Turnitin submission procedure is as follows:
1. Access the Assessment folder on the course Blackboard site
2. Upload an electronic version through Turnitin the assessment Turnitin site
3. You will be sent a receipt, retain the receipt as proof of submission.

Failure to submit by the deadline will result in the late penalty >(10% per day) being applied being applied.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Field Report

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation

Weight

30%

Due date

17/10/2024 2:00 pm

Task description

Submission guidelines

STUDENTS NEED TO SUBMIT THIS ASSESSMENT ONLY THROUGH TURNITIN.

The Turnitin submission procedure is as follows:
1. Access the Assessment folder on the course Blackboard site
2. Upload an electronic version through Turnitin the assessment Turnitin site
3. You will be sent a receipt, retain the receipt as proof of submission.

Failure to submit by the deadline will result in the late penalty >(10% per day) being applied being applied.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

End of semester exam

• Hurdle

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

50%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Students are required to get a grade of at least 50% in the final exam, and a grade of at least 50% overall to pass the course.

Students whoﾠachieve a mark of less than 35%ﾠon the hurdle mentioned above,ﾠwill achieve a grade of 2ﾠfor the course (regardless of their total percentage for all assessments in the course).

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply.

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.

Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes.

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment.

Additional assessment information

COURSE HURDLE

Students are required to get a grade of at least 50% in the final exam, and a grade of at least 50% overall to pass the course.

Students who achieve a mark of less than 35% on the hurdle mentioned above, will achieve a grade of 2 for the course (regardless of their total percentage for all assessments in the course).

Applications for Extensions

Information on applying for an extension can be found here - my.UQ Applying for an extension

Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.

If you are unable to provide documentation to support your application by the due date and time you must still submit your application on time and attach a Word document outlining why you cannot provide the documentation and upload the documentation to the portal within 24 hours.

Please note: While your extension request is being considered, you should work towards completing and submitting your assessment as soon as possible.

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 4 weeks in a semester, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses. You might need to consider applying for removal of course. We strongly recommend you seek advice from the Faculty that administers your program.

Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)

For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g., a medical certificate. A maximum of two applications may be submitted for any one assessment item, unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated. All extension requests must be received by the assessment due date and time.

SUPPLEMENTARY ASSESSMENTS

If you are awarded supplementary assessment then generally the supplementary assessment will be equivalent to the failed assessment piece. For example, If you failed the practical component, then you will be required to complete an additional practical report/exam. If you failed the exam component, then you will be required to complete an exam. If you failed both components, you will be required to complete both.

• A passing grade will be awarded only if you obtain at least 50% of the marks in all items of supplementary assessment that you undertake.
• The decision on the format of the supplementary assessment will be made by the course coordinator.
• For some assessment items, for example oral presentations, a different type of assessment may be substituted at the discretion of the course co-ordinator

Supplementary assessments will be designed to allow eligible students to demonstrate specific learning objectives of the course.

Information on supplementary assessment can be found on the MyUQ website.

APPLYING FOR A DEFERRAL OF AN EXAM

If you are unable to sit an exam you need to apply online through my-SiNet. Please read the information on theﾠMyUQ websiteﾠon how to apply for a deferral of your exam.

Group Work

Students may be required to work in groups and submit an assessment item as a group. In some cases, students are expected to work in a group to gather data or generate ideas, but are expected to submit individual assessment items based on the group work. This means that you can use the group-generated ideas or data but you cannot collaborate to produce the individual written submissions. If the divisions are unclear, ask for clarification

ALL group members MUST attach a signed coversheet to the group assignment and submit it by the due date. Late submission of a coversheet will result in a late submission penalty.

PLAGIARISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED: You should be aware that the University employs purpose built software to detect plagiarism. It is very important that you understand clearly the practical meaning of plagiarism.

DEFINITION OF PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting as one's own original work the ideas, interpretations, words or creative works of another. These include published and unpublished documents, designs, music, sounds, images, photographs, computer codes and ideas gained through working in a group. These ideas, interpretations, words or works may be found in print and/or electronic media.

EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM:

1. Direct copying of paragraphs, sentences, a single sentence or significant parts of a sentence;

2. Direct copying of paragraphs, sentences, a single sentence or significant parts of a sentence with an end reference but without quotation marks around the copied text;

3. Copying ideas, concepts, research results, computer codes, statistical tables, designs, images, sounds or text or any combination of these;

4. Paraphrasing, summarising or simply rearranging another person's words, ideas, etc without changing the basic structure and/or meaning of the text;

5. Offering an idea or interpretation that is not one's own without identifying whose idea or interpretation it is;

6. A 'cut and paste' of statements from multiple sources;

7. Presenting as independent, work done in collaboration with others;

8. Copying or adapting another student's original work into a submitted assessment item.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USE (AI)

The assessment tasks in this course evaluate students’ abilities, skills, and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Most of the lectures are accompanied by a list of references and often the PDFs. It is expected that students will read original scientific articles.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.