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Ecology of Environmental Change

Module description

Through this module you will get a science-based insight into the state of the Earth’s ecosystems, the pressures put on them by the continued expansion of human activities and the prospects for sustainability. The module provides you with a good preparation for future citizenship.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to provide you with a better understanding of human impacts on the global environment. You will have the opportunity to evaluate the fundamental science that allows humans to understand their environment.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Assess the scientific evidence for selected aspects of environmental change
• 2. Critically evaluate selected aspects of environmental regulation and management

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Evaluate in detail approaches to our understanding of ecology with reference to primary literature, reviews and research articles
• 4. Analyse in detail essential facts and theory in a sub-discipline of the biosciences
• 5. Analyse and evaluate independently a range of research-informed literature and synthesise research-informed examples from the literature into written work
• 6. With limited guidance, deploy established techniques of analysis and enquiry within the biosciences

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Communicate effectively arguments, evidence and conclusions using written means in a manner appropriate to the intended audience
• 8. Devise and sustain, with little guidance, a logical and reasoned argument with sound, convincing conclusions
• 9. Analyse and evaluate appropriate data with very limited guidance

Syllabus plan

Topics covered are likely to change yearly to focus on the latest developments and to reflect the expertise of visiting speakers, but coverage may include climate change, threats to biodiversity, sustainable ecosystem services, biofuels and geoengineering.

Accessibility Statement:

As part of this module’s formative assessment, students will be required to work in groups and deliver student-led presentations to the class. 

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons that are approved by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. If deferred, the format and timing of the re-assessment for each of the summative assessments is detailed in the table above ('Details of re-assessment'). The mark given for a deferred assessment will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral - if you have failed the module (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) and the module cannot be condoned, you will be required to complete a re-assessment for each of the failed components on the module. The format and timing of the re-assessment for each of the summative assessments is detailed in the table above ('Details of re-assessment'). If you pass the module following re-assessment, your module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.  (http://www.unep.org/maweb/en/index.aspx)
• IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R.K and Reisinger, A. (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland (http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/contents.html) (See also IPCC Fifth Assessment Report: Synthesis Report due to published October 2014: http://www.ipcc.ch/)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE page: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=344

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• Primary research publications and review articles.

Key words search

Earth’s ecosystems, sustainability