Space Invaders: Invasive Species, Field skills & GIS Mapping (CONS7022)

Course overview

Invasive species are species that have moved beyond their natural distributions and diminish native biodiversity and disrupt ecological function. Such species cause problems around the world, and thus understanding why some species become invaders, which invaders cause most environmental damage, and methods of control of invasive species are critical for conservation biologists. This course will cover: relevant theory on invasiveness; examples of a broad range of invasive species, including weeds and introduced mammals and the damage they cause; and the issues surrounding methods used to control these. The course will include field work in southeast Queensland and will enhance field skills and develop capacity with Geographical Information Systems to address weed management.

Participation in the field trip for CONS7022 is compulsory. Students who do not attend the field trip will not be able to pass the course.

Course introduction

Participation in the field trips to Hidden Valeﾠand ﾠD'AguilarﾠRange for CONS7022 is compulsory. Students who do not attend the field trips will not be able to pass the course.

This course provides training in field skills and Geographical Positioning Systems (GPS) Geographic Information Systemﾠ(GIS) to better understand the science and management of invasive species, an aspect of conservation biology that is considered to be of critical importance when studying most ecosystems in the modern world. As part of your training, you will also apply acoustic techniques relevant to the surveying of vocal cryptic species, and apply the data to address complex issues within the field of invasive species.

Invasion science investigates the causes responsible for the introduction and spread of organisms to the areas outside of their native ranges. This includes the transport, establishment and spread of organisms in a new region, and the consequences of their interactions with native organisms and the costs and benefits in terms of human-wellbeing and associated values. The broad domain of invasion science therefore captures more than just aspects related to ecology, biogeography and evolution when considering best practices to manage invasions, but also engages with other disciplines such as economics, agriculture, politics and even philosophy in terms of what humans perceive as important ecosystem services. In a world where organisms are being moved around by humans as never before, and non-natives have therefore become an inherent part of many, if not most ecosystems, the field of invasion science begs the important philosophical question - is there really such a thing as a "natural" ecosystem anymore and what degree of ecosystem invasion are we willing to practically accept?ﾠ These are typical questions we will grapple with in this course.

Course aims

You will learn how to identify, review and assess the impacts of complex real-world conservation problems related to invasion science. This will be done through class based lectures that will compliment practical field activities that will take place on Hidden Vale a property near Grandchester and in D'Aguilar National Park (formerly known as Brisbane Forest Park). While in the field, you will learn and apply techniques to quantify the impacts of, and consider the sometimes ﾠcontroversial management options for, alien invasive species.

Tree dieback possibly due to the spread of a native species (bell miner) facilitated by human disturbance and the invasion of lantana will also be investigated. Acoustic surveying techniques will be used to determine population densities using of the bell miner.

Specifically, the field component of the course willﾠprovide skillsﾠfor mapping the invasion impacts of the exotic species Chinese elm (Celtis chinensis), and lantana (Lantana camara) amongst others.This will developﾠskills in GPS and GIS.

These components bring together several elements of the Masters program such as the design and implementation of ecological field survey andﾠthe development of spatial data, an intellectually critical and scientifically informed approach to problem solving, applying critical thinking and scepticism to a controversial cause and effect problem in conservation and the philosophy of conservation as applied to considering competing land users and management objectives. These skills will be applied to the real world problem of allocating resources and developing a control program for invasive species

Field studies:

While visiting D'Aguilar National Park (formerly known as Brisbane Forest Park) forﾠ1 full day, students will rotate between activities in small groups. The activity will relate to explore tree dieback due to bell miner activities and how such dieback might result in changes to the vegetation structure (specifically, the claim that Bell Miners facilitate understory invasion by Lantana). In this work we will link findings related to tree dieback with skills on how to apply acoustics surveying techniques to determine population densities using bell miner as a case study. Students will conduct a low-cost, yet simple and highly repeatable system for acoustically surveying species difficult to survey by visual count. In a tutorial discussion, we will explore the severity and impacts of the invasive weed Lantana, and discuss the practicality or otherwise of the various options for its control. To what extent is an established weed like Lantana an ecological changed state that "we just have to learn to live with?".

While visiting Hidden Valeﾠas part of aﾠ2 night, 1 day field trip, data will be collected for accurate mapping of more than ten woody invasive species,ﾠassess the risk posed byﾠthese speciesﾠas background information forﾠdeveloping a weed management plan for the property.ﾠ

Course requirements

Prerequisites

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

CONS6009 and CONS7008

Restrictions

MConsBiol, MConsSc

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

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

Aims and outcomes

You will learn how to identify, review and assess the impacts of complex real-world conservation problems related to invasion science. This will be done through class based lectures that will compliment practical field activities that will take place in D'Aguilar National Park (formerly known as Brisbane Forest Park) and at Hidden Vale (west of Brisbane). While in the field, you will learn and apply techniques to quantify the impacts of, and consider the sometimesﾠcontroversial management options for, alien invasive species.

Specifically, the field component of the course will explore (i) tree dieback possibly due to the dramatic spread of a native species (bell miner) facilitated by human disturbance (ii) link findings related to tree dieback with skills on how to apply acoustics surveying techniques to determine population densities using of the bell miner, and (iii) consider the impacts and control options for invasive weed species such as Lantana camara and the possible (controversial) link that has been proposed between Lantana and Bell Miner Associated dieback.

At Hidden Vale you will acquire field skills focussed on mapping woody weed species. You will attain skills with the AVENZA App and QGIS. You will also learn about the landscape at Hidden Vale and the issues associated with seed management. You will then apply these skills to develop a weed management plant that makes real decisions and trade-offs within a defined budget.

ﾠ

These components bring together several elements of the Masters program such as the design of ecological surveys and appropriate data analysis, an intellectually critical and scientifically informed approach to problem solving, applying critical thinking and scepticism to a controversial cause and effect problem in conservation and the philosophy of conservation as applied to considering competing land users and management objectives.

Field studies:

• While visiting

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment details

Posters

Mode

Activity/ Performance

Category

Performance

Weight

40%

Due date

29/11/2024 9:00 am

Task description

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

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.

Vegetation research report

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation

Weight

60%

Due date

13/12/2024 5:00 pm

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submission through Turnitin on Learn.UQ

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

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.

Course grading

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

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

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.

Turnitin

By submitting work through Turnitin you are deemed to have accepted the following declaration “I certify that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted, either previously or concurrently, in whole or in part, to this University or any other educational institution, for marking or assessment.”

A valid Turnitin receipt can be downloaded after submission and will be the only evidence accepted if assessments are missing. Without evidence, the assessment will receive the late penaltyﾠwill be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point any submission will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved.

In the case of a Blackboard outage, please contact the environment@enquire.uq.edu.au as soon as possible to confirm the outage with ITS.

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

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

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.