ENV BIOL 2520 - Animal Identification (Wildlife Conservation) II
North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2022
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General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code ENV BIOL 2520 Course Animal Identification (Wildlife Conservation) II Coordinating Unit School of Biological Sciences Term Semester 1 Level Undergraduate Location/s North Terrace Campus Units 3 Contact 34 hours in week 1; 40 hours in week 2; 2 hours in each of weeks 8, 9,10 &11 Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N Assumed Knowledge BIOLOGY 1101 or BIOLOGY 1401 or equivalent, BIOLOGY 1202 or BIOLOGY 1001 Restrictions BSc (Wildlife Conservation Biology) Assessment Quizzes, field identification skills, data management, project report Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Dr Steven Delean
Course Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course students should be able to:
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Understand the role of ethical compliance and research permits needed to study vertebrate animals.
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Demonstrate the core practical skills needed by conservation biologists to identify a range of vertebrate taxa, including use of dichotomous keys and the integration of morphological, genetic, behavioural and remotely-sensed evidence.
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Construct and curate databases that detail the fauna collected in line with government and ethical reporting obligations
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Extract, synthesise and report in written or oral forms on the taxonomic and geographic range, conservation status and basic ecology of Australian vertebrate fauna.
University Graduate Attributes
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:
University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s) Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth
Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.
1,2,4 Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving
Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.
2,4 Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills
Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.
2,3,4 Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness
Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.
1,2,3,4 Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency
Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.
1,2,4 Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.
1,2,3,4 -
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Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
A series of lectures will introduce students to the major vertebrate groups, and how various species are classified and identified using morphological, behavioural and molecular evidence. These lectures will include information on ethics, permits and the reporting required for compliance when studying vertebrates. Practical sessions will allow students to workshop, practise and develop identification skills with face-to-face interactions with trained staff will support the lectures. A 5-day intensive field camp will apply the skills learn to a field situation. The field camp delivers strong experiential (hands-on) learning for students by allowing them to engage in some of the monitoring that forms part of a long-running conservation program. Students will work in small groups to collect a diversity of field data that forms part of an existing long-term research program in the conservation and restoration of arid ecosystems. Each student will also produce a written profile of an individual species.
Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
A student enrolled in a 3 unit course, such as this, should expect to spend, on average 12 hours per week on the studies required. As this is an intensive course run predominantly over 2 weeks, students are expected to spend 48h per week during the mid-semester break, and ca 8 h per week for the latter half of the semester. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g., lectures and practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading and revision).Learning Activities Summary
The first week of this two week intensive course will introduce students to the classification of terrestrial vertebrates and how morphological, behavioural and molecular techniques are used to identify animals. The course will cover amphibians and reptiles, birds and mammals. Lectures will highlight the anatomical and behavioural features that can be used to identify different species within the different taxonomic groups and where molecular studies can enhance the precision of those identifications, particularly were several species are difficult to separate by other means. Methods used to age and sex some of the vertebrate groups will also be taught. Lectures will be supported with tutorials, workshops, and practicals where students will learn to use keys and practice identifying animals using images, recordings and preserved specimens or components (bones, feathers, etc). These initial lectures will also cover ethical areas and compliance requirements for studying vertebrate animals.
The second week of the course will consist of a 5 day field trip to Arid Recovery near Roxby Downs. Arid Recovery is a joint initiative between the University of Adelaide, BHP Billiton and the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. A key component of Arid Recovery is a large fenced reserve (123 km2) where rabbits, foxes and cats have been removed and native mammals (bettongs, bilbies, bandicoots) reintroduced. During this field trip the class will execute a component of some of Arid Recovery’s long-term monitoring programs for mammals, reptiles, and birds. The field camp will involve setting traps and pitfall lines to trap small mammals and reptiles at sites inside and outside a fenced reserve. Students under guidance will then check traps, extract, handle, identify, measure and tag the animals that are caught before releasing them. Other components of the field camp will include similar field assessments of bird populations inside and outside the reserve plus training in the use of remote recording (camera traps, using anabat recorders) and indirect methods (track counts) to assess the presence and relative abundances of different species of animals. For the field camp, students will work in small groups and switch activities each day.
Specific Course Requirements
The course has a 5-day field trip to Arid Recovery in the second week of the mid-semester break of semester 1. -
Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
- Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
- Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
- Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
- Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary
Assessment Task Task Type Weighting Hurdle Yes or No Learning Outcome Approximate timing of assessment Practical quizzes Formative and Summative 25%
No 1,2 Week 1 Field skills Formative 15% No 2 Week 2 Field data processing Formative & Summative 10% No 1,3 Week 8 Project Formative & Summative 50% No 4 Week 13 Assessment Detail
Quizzes (total of 25%)
Students will complete a total of 5 quizzes (each of 15 min duration and each worth 5%) during the first week. Quizzes are designed to refresh knowledge of topics covered in lectures and practicals and indicate the major features that are used to identify different taxonomic groups and ethical issues (learning outcomes 1 & 2) Quizzes will be held at the end of the practical sessions on each day. They will consist of multiple choice and short answer questions.
Field skills (total of 15%)
This formative assessment will score the field skills, approach and aptitude of students to field work during the 5 day field trip to Arid Recovery. Each student will be scored on a series of competencies from setting traps, checking traps, handling and processing animals, collecting mensural and observational data. This will be on-going assessment throughout the 5 day camp with an open discussion between the students and supervisors of the different field programs each evening. This will allow self –reflection. The intention is to have all students reach at least a minimum standard with all field tasks.
Data base construction and management (10%)
Each group will be required to establish and propagate a suitable database for the data they have collected during the field trip. The database must conform with the expected requirements of permits for scientific research, meet the needs of Arid Recovery, and be easily read and interpreted by others. This assesses learning outcome 3 and reinforces learning outcome 1. This will be done as a small group exercise and assessed as a small group.
Individual species report (~ 3000 words; 50%)
The task involves students searching the literature and various accessible data bases, and extracting, compiling and synthesising information. It builds on the field skills around animal identification developed in the course but also exposes students to a suite of other tools and information needed to fully appreciate and study wildlife populations. The task is often required in government employment situations and would be required as a pre-cursor to conducting research on a species. This task assesses learning outcome 4.
Submission
If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that the assignment is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days late or more without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the marks available for that assignment.
Course Grading
Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:
M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme) Grade Mark Description FNS Fail No Submission F 1-49 Fail P 50-64 Pass C 65-74 Credit D 75-84 Distinction HD 85-100 High Distinction CN Continuing NFE No Formal Examination RP Result Pending Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.
Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.
Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.
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Student Feedback
The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.
SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
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Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
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