Students

BIOL7750 – Contemporary Conservation in Australia

2024 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Adam Stow
adam.stow@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MRes
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
BIOL8750
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

Requirements to pass this Unit: 

Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%

Late Penalties

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration. 

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted 

  • Commentary Article and Scientific Report – YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 
  • Seminar and Problem Tests - NO, unless Special Consideration is Granted 

Special Consideration

 

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Weekly Online Quizzes 24% No weekly
Research Presentation 26% No 19/4/2024
Popular science article 40% No 17/5/2024
Research Abstract 10% No 12/4/2024

Weekly Online Quizzes

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

 

iLearn quizzes will be available for completion following the delivery of lecture content. The online exercises will consist of short answers and multiple-choice questions that revise the topic of each lecture (including workshop discussions). The quizzes 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

 
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: 19/4/2024
Weighting: 26%

 

Your task is to give a 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: 17/5/2024
Weighting: 40%

 

You will write a popular science article 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: 12/4/2024
Weighting: 10%

 

A short abstract to 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

Lectures will be mostly given live online (via zoom) with recordings available via ECHO. Tutorials will be face-to-face and online. Resources will be made available via ilearn.

Week 1 Lectures commence

Tutorials commence week 2

COVID Information

 

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.

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 connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

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

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

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 from Previous Offering

We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.

 

Student feedback from the previous offering of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from teaching staff. As such, no change to the delivery of the unit is planned, however we will continue to strive to improve the level of support and the level of student engagement.

Unit information based on version 2024.03 of the Handbook