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Biodiversity & Ecology (C1811)

15 credits, Level 4

Spring teaching

This module introduces you to biodiversity and ecology. You’ll develop core principles in phylogeny, with examples from taxonomic groups of organisms to illustrate the scientific classification of living organisms.

Fundamental aspects of ecology covered include:

• population ecology (population growth and regulation, species interactions)
• community ecology (trophic structures and food webs, ecosystem services)
• macro-ecology, where we discuss local and global patterns of biodiversity, factors controlling species distribution, abundance and biogeography.

Laboratory practicals help to develop your identification skills. You’ll also apply identification skills and data collection experiences in field practicals.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 32 hours of contact time and about 118 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.