The Department of Life Sciences

Course Description

This course provides an overview of characteristics, biodiversity and ecology of freshwater systems, e.g. rivers, lakes, wetlands, and other low salinity inland aquatic environments. The course will cover the characteristics and variety of freshwater systems; the diversity, biology and ecology of living organisms found associated with these systems; the structure and function of freshwater communities and ecosystems; threats to freshwater systems and management strategies to provide sustainable benefits for ecosystems and human wellbeing. Students are expected to have a basic foundation in ecology and biodiversity. In addition to providing a foundation of theoretical knowledge, this course will emphasise practical skills and expose students to field and laboratory approaches for studying freshwater systems. It is an interactive ‘hands-on’ course where students are expected to prepare, participate and perform in an active way to engage with the content in a variety of ways. Assessment is designed to encourage students to work continuously with the course materials, explore and critically analyse research in this rapidly developing field.

Assessment