Students

BIOL8750 – Contemporary Conservation in Australia

2021 – Session 1, Special circumstances, Other

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Adam Stow
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MBiotech or MBioBus or GradDipBiotech or MConsBiol or GradDipConsBiol or GradCertConsBiol or MEnv or MEnvPlan or GradDipEnv or MMarScMgt or MSusDev or GradDipSusDev or MPlan or MSc or MScInnovation or MScInnovationBioConsMgmt or BBioConsMConsBiol
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
BIOL7750
Unit description Unit description
This unit provides a current perspective of the values, threats to existence and conservation of Australian wildlife. The special characteristics of the Australian biota (plants, animals and other organisms) and the key threatening processes are discussed as well as its global and historical context. The role of biological research in informing conservation management is explored, and how conservation-based research is communicated and interpreted. An emphasis is placed on case studies in conservation biology with critical analysis of conservation successes and failures.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Describe theoretical concepts in conservation biology and current conservation issues in Australia and abroad
  • ULO2: Communicate scientific research and issues in conservation to various target audiences in verbal and written form
  • ULO3: Evaluate literature on conservation issues within peer-reviewed scientific literature and present them in the popular media
  • ULO4: Identify how research in conservation biology influences environmental management practices and assess how effectively this is undertaken
  • ULO5: Demonstrate a capacity for undertaking literature-based research into key topics in conservation biology and synthesising the current state-of-knowledge

General Assessment Information

Overdue assignments will attract a penalty at the rate of 5 % of the total mark allocated for the assignment per day past the due date. Weekend days are included in this calculation. The penalty will be capped at 75 %, which means that once your submission is more than 15 days overdue you can earn up to a maximum of 25 % of the assessment grade. The date and time of your submission will be taken as registered by TURNITIN.

 

Deadlines for assessments are not negotiable except under circumstances when you have experienced a serious and unavoidable disruption. In such instances, you should formally lodge a disruption to studies notification via ASK@MQ. University policy and procedure in regard to disruptions is given in the links below, but please note in particular:

 

  1. To be eligible for special consideration, you must notify the University of a serious and unavoidable disruption within five (5) working days of the commencement of the disruption;
  2. Such requests must be lodged for the specific assessment task for which you experienced disruption. Special consideration cannot be granted retrospectively (i.e., beyond the 5-day window of each assessment due-date);
  3. Unit staff will NOT be held responsible for assessing special consideration unless a disruption notification is formally lodged via ASK@MQ.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Weekly Online Quizzes 24% No Weekly
Research Presentation 26% No Week 6
Popular science article 40% No Week 9
Research Abstract 10% No Week 6

Weekly Online Quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 24%

On the day following each lecture (excluding final lecture), a quiz will become available on iLearn (worth ~2%) that you will have 7 days to complete. The 12 online exercises will consist of short answers and multiple-choice questions that revise the topic of each lecture (including tutorial discussions), encourage thinking and research skills, in alignment with the Austral Ark textbook chapters. The exercises may involve consulting peer-reviewed literature discussed in lectures, external websites, and chapters within Austral Ark. The schedule for the availability and due dates of each online quiz will be available on iLearn. Note: quizzes become available before 5pm the day after each lecture and will close 7 DAYS LATER at 5pm.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe theoretical concepts in conservation biology and current conservation issues in Australia and abroad
  • Communicate scientific research and issues in conservation to various target audiences in verbal and written form
  • Demonstrate a capacity for undertaking literature-based research into key topics in conservation biology and synthesising the current state-of-knowledge

Research Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 26%

Your task is to give a 10-minute pre-recorded presentation (using powerpoint slides with audio only) to provide a RESEARCH UPDATE AND SYNTHESIS on a conservation issue of interest, integrating scientific literature published in the last FIVE years around your topic. You are required to choose a topic of conservation interest in Australia or New Zealand/ Oceania. The topic you choose may, e.g., be in relation to a threatened/invasive species, a threatened habitat, or threatening processes such as fire, disease spread or human disturbance.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Communicate scientific research and issues in conservation to various target audiences in verbal and written form
  • Identify how research in conservation biology influences environmental management practices and assess how effectively this is undertaken
  • Demonstrate a capacity for undertaking literature-based research into key topics in conservation biology and synthesising the current state-of-knowledge

Popular science article

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: Week 9
Weighting: 40%

You will write a popular science article (up to 2000 word) for The Conversation (see https://theconversation.com/au). To do this, you will choose a recently (less than 1 year old) published scientific paper from a journal within conservation biology. The chosen journal article may focus on conservation issues occurring in any part of the world (i.e. not restricted to Australia or New Zealand).


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe theoretical concepts in conservation biology and current conservation issues in Australia and abroad
  • Evaluate literature on conservation issues within peer-reviewed scientific literature and present them in the popular media
  • Demonstrate a capacity for undertaking literature-based research into key topics in conservation biology and synthesising the current state-of-knowledge

Research Abstract

Assessment Type 1: Summary
Indicative Time on Task 2: 16 hours
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 10%

This abstract of no more than 400 words should summarise your presentation, as if you were presenting it at an international scientific conference.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Communicate scientific research and issues in conservation to various target audiences in verbal and written form
  • Identify how research in conservation biology influences environmental management practices and assess how effectively this is undertaken
  • Demonstrate a capacity for undertaking literature-based research into key topics in conservation biology and synthesising the current state-of-knowledge

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Attendance at weekly lectures and tutorials is highly encouraged to enable face-to-face discussions with the invited speakers, interact with other students and enhance your learning experience. The lectures in this unit are entirely comprised of invited expert researchers who are active and renown in their fields, offering an excellent opportunity to connect with a diversity of researchers and expand knowledge.

Students will need access to a computer and basic office software (e.g. Microsoft Office or OpenOffice) to complete assessment tasks. An Internet browser will also be required to search for background information, for assignments and to complete online exercises and enable online course participation. Some tutorials may require a computer, which may be provided if needed. Course content and discussion boards etc. will be available through iLearn The set, compulsory text required for this unit is: Austral Ark: The State of Wildlife in Australia and New Zealand (2015) Eds. A Stow, N Maclean, G. Holwell. Cambridge University Press. The text book is available for purchase on campus at the Co-op bookstore and an e-version is available via MQ’s library.

Other useful references: Attiwill, P. & B. Wilson, Ecology: an Australian perspective. Oxford University Press, New York. 648 pp. Burgman, M. and Lindenmayer, D. (1998): Conservation Biology for the Australian Environment. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Sydney Krebs, C.J. 1994. Ecology: the experimental analysis of distribution and abundance. 4th ed., Harper, New York. 800 pp

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
05/02/2021 SC linkage

Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook