| CODE | BIO2510 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Field Biology - Terrestrial Habitats | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Biology | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit is designed to equip students with the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge on techniques and procedures used in terrestrial ecological surveys, including sampling, examination and study of specimens and environmental samples in the laboratory, data analyses, and reporting. Topics covered include: - Sampling fauna - Vegetation sampling in a uniform habitat; - Vegetation sampling along abiotic gradients; - Sampling phanerophytes; - Flora and fauna sampling-design field exercise; - Overview of the non-marine fauna of the Maltese Islands; - Overview of the terrestrial flora of the Maltese Islands. Students are informed that regular attendance to lectures, practical classes and visits is obligatory. Students will be allowed to sit for the examination and a grade may be awarded to a particular study-unit only if attendance to lectures, practical sessions and/or field/site visits has been regular and if they have submitted all assignments and report as required. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit is mainly aimed at training students on undertaking surveys and sampling in terrestrial habitats, more specifically: - Field techniques for sampling terrestrial invertebrates; - Field techniques for sampling terrestrial plants in uniform habitats and along abiotic gradients; - Methods for sampling phanerophytes. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify procedures for designing a sampling strategy for a given invertebrate group; - Identify procedures for designing appropriate sampling strategies for vegetation in different habitats; - Carry out critical evaluation of terrestrial sampling designs encountered in literature. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Use field and laboratory equipment for terrestrial field surveys; - Use of statistical techniques for exploration and analysis of biological data collected from terrestrial habitats; - Use identification keys for terrestrial flora and fauna. Main Text/s: - Kent, M. (2012). Vegetation description and data analysis: A practical approach. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell - Wildi, O. (2013). Data Analysis in Vegetation Ecology. John Wiley & Sons. Supplementary readings: - Krebs, C.J. (1998). Ecological Methodology. Second Edition. Benjamin Cummings - Weber, H.C. & Kendzior, B. (2006). Flora of the Maltese Islands : a field guide. Margraf Publishers. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Study-unit: BSc Hons Biology 1st year study-units | ||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Fieldwork and Independent Study | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Patrick J. Schembri |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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