BIOL129 - Foundations of Ecology

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

Ecology is the study of the biological and physical interactions shaping the distribution and abundance of living organisms. This unit aims to introduce basic concepts in ecology, with a focus on students gaining practical skills in design, implementation, and communication of ecological experiments. Students will explore theoretical and practical aspects of ecology through a combination of classroom and field-based activities. On completion of this course you should: (i) possess a basic understanding of physical, chemical, climatic and biological determinants of species distributions and abundance; (ii) know how to collect ecological data to examine simple ecological questions relating to distribution and abundance of organisms; and (iii) be able to communicate the results of simple ecological studies in accepted scientific formats.