Programme/Approved Electives for 2023/24
None
Available as a Free Standing Elective
No
The fossil record shows that our planet has experienced five mass extinctions. Are we entering a sixth human-caused mass extinction event? You will define the concept of biodiversity and see how it can be measured, look at the major threats to biodiversity globally and use case studies to explore particularly threatened organisms and habitats in more depth. There are two in-course assessments that both help you to develop and evidence a range of key employability skills desirable in a post graduate market. In the first assessment you will use the IUCN Red List database to analyse `big dataż sets and explore the status of a specific taxonomic group of your choosing. The second assessment is framed around a series of journal clubs that will help to develop your communication, leadership and critical understanding of current issues.
Aims
To understand the different levels on which biodiversity operates and identify its past, present and future threats.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Define the term biodiversity and explain how it is measured: 2Critically evaluate changes in biodiversity and extinction over time: 1,2Identify and discuss the main drivers of the biodiversity crisis, and communicate to a target audience how a taxonomic group is threatened: 1,2
Active learning14 hours of live tutorials36 hours of engagement with asynchronous content (assumes ~3hours of watching videos, reading core texts and writing notes, etc., for each of the 12 topics)Independent study hours18 hours of journal club preparation12 hours of data analysis and write-up of IUCN exercise18 hours of research, reflection and write-up of journal club exercise52 hours of private study
Description of Module Assessment
1: Portfolio weighted 40%IUCN Red List `big dataż analysisStudents will query the IUCN Red List database to determine the status of a specified taxonomic group. Data will be analysed and presented in a proforma, and the key findings communicated to a lay audience as a 500-word summary.
2: Portfolio weighted 60%Evidence-based evaluation of papers in journal clubThrough the semester, students will be allocated a series of publications on the biodiversity crisis that are linked to the core curriculum content. Students are expected to contribute to a journal club during the tutorial sessions, initiate and engage in discussion of the paper (this could be online or in a group tutorial). At the end of the module students will collate reflections on discussions of three of the papers (750 words each) and submit them on a proforma.