Environmental Biology
Duration
- One Semester or equivalent
Contact hours
- 36 hours Face to Face + Blended
On-campus unit delivery combines face-to-face and digital learning.
Prerequisites
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Aims and objectives
This unit aims to introduce the students to various regional and global concerns regarding the environment, including the natural challenges, various types of environmental pollutants and their effects, the changing environment, and the developments of diverse technologies to detect, study and address these concerns. The subject aims to introduce specific examples and cases, and explain how chemical, biological and molecular sciences can applied to identify and address issues of environmental concerns.
Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO)
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
1. Consider the significance of native biodiversity and need for its conservation, including describing diversity of life forms and their interactions in ecosystems.
2. Explore Indigenous knowledges of caring for Country and apply learnings to contemporary environmental biology studies.
3. Investigate and appreciate diverse types of environmental pollutants and their impacts on health and the environment, including the impact of human activities.
4. Reflect on any scientific, ethical and social issues associated with some applications of new technologies to address environmental concerns.
5. Via literature searches, expound environmental issues and appraise potential solutions to these identified issues.
Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO)
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
1. Consider the significance of native biodiversity and need for its conservation, including describing diversity of life forms and their interactions in ecosystems.
2. Explore Indigenous knowledges of caring for Country and apply learnings to contemporary environmental biology studies.
3. Investigate and appreciate diverse types of environmental pollutants and their impacts on health and the environment, including the impact of human activities.
4. Reflect on any scientific, ethical and social issues associated with some applications of new technologies to address environmental concerns.
5. Via literature searches, expound environmental issues and appraise potential solutions to these identified issues.
Unit information in detail
- Teaching methods, assessment and content.
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
Type | Hours per week | Number of Weeks | Total |
Live Online Lecture | 3 | 12 | 36 |
| Online Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning | 1.5 | 12 | 18 |
| Unspecified Activities Independent Learning | 8 | 12 | 96 |
TOTAL | 150 hours |
Assessment
| Types | Individual or Group task | Weighting | Assesses attainment of these ULOs |
| Assignment | Individual | 20-35% | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Online Quiz | Individual | 10-15% | 1,3,4 |
| Online Test(s) | Individual | 45-60% | 1,3,4 |
Content
- Life forms and their interactions, biodiversity and ecosystems.
- Contemporary studies of organisms and ecosystems and exploring their potential convergence with aspects of Indigenous knowledge
- Issues of environmental concerns, e.g., diverse types of pollutants from industrial, mining or agricultural activities and/or health care practices; case studies
- The effects of pollutants on living organisms; case studies
- Environmental stress factors and their impacts on plant life, sustainability and biodiversity; case studies
- Natural sources of new drugs, chemicals, industrially useful organisms, applications
- Emerging or developing areas such as biopolymers, biodegradable materials, biofuels, environmental modelling studies
- Applications of biology, chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology and/or biotechnology in environmental sciences
- Ethical, scientific and/or social considerations of the various issues
Study resources
- Reading materials.
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required texts will be made available in the Unit Outline.