Ecological Solutions for Global Challenges - BIO00053I

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Module summary

Many of the most pressing issues facing the global community are ecological in nature. Understanding the ecological and environmental processes that underpin current global challenges is key to delivering sustainable outcomes for the future. This module introduces ecological theory of individuals, species and communities to explore sustainable solutions for global challenges, such as feeding the world and conserving biodiversity.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2024-25

Module aims

The module will consider key global challenges, using ecological and environmental theory to explain how those challenges arise, and underpin the solutions proposed to address them. Students will explore global change-induced pressures on microbes, plants, animals and humans through case studies, lectures and workshops. Students will develop an understanding of the diversity of ways organisms might adapt or be managed in response to global challenges, as individuals, populations, communities, and at ecosystem and global scales..

Module learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:

Explain the processes by which organisms respond to, and change, their physical and chemical environment and ecological communities.

Explain the global and local processes that have contributed to key global challenges

Use models to describe and evaluate the mechanisms that drive ecological processes

Describe and evaluate ecological solutions to global challenges

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Module feedback

Marks for all summative assessments will be made available to you and your supervisor via e:vision. Feedback will be either individual or cohort-level, depending on the assessment format. You should take the opportunity to discuss your marks and feedback with your supervisor.

For exam-style summative assessment, model answers will be provided for all questions along with cohort-level feedback indicating how students answered questions in general. Marks achieved per question will be added to your script.

For coursework assessments (eg. reports or essays) you will receive individual feedback on your work. This will usually be in the form of a feedback sheet that will include suggestions for further improvement.

During the teaching of the module you will receive formative feedback that may be at a whole class or individual level. Such feedback may include: model answers and discussion of workshop questions, summaries of performance in practicals, VLE-based quizzes, individual spoken comments during workshops, individual written comments on formative work.

Indicative reading

These are available through the VLE module site.