MB5055 - Biological Oceanography
Credit points: |
3 |
Year: |
2021 |
Student Contribution Band: |
Band
2
|
Administered by: |
College of Science and Engineering |
Available to Graduate Diploma of Research Methods, Graduate Certificate of Research
Methods, Graduate Diploma of Science, Master of Applied Science and Master of Science
students.
This subject examines plankton and their interactions with the physical and chemical
environment. Thematically we explore the following: structures in the ocean, sampling
equipment and oceanography; nutrients, productivity, phytoplankton and upwelling;
planktonic consumers in the sea as well as their distributions, behaviour and life
cycles, jellyfish fisheries, the survival of larval fish to recruitment and relevance
to fisheries; impacts and manipulation of plankton, global climate change, pollution
and applications for aquaculture.
Learning Outcomes
- give a sense of the complex structure of the planktonic community over the full scale
of variation across space, time and body size;
- give the student a new conceptual understanding of the ocean as a fabric of living
organisms, rather than as a mere water mass;
- impress upon the student the fundamental significance of the plankton as the foundation
of the economy of the sea and the nursery for most of its species;
- provide a practical familiarity with the techniques of plankton sampling, identification
and analysis.
Subject Assessment
- Written > Examination (centrally administered) - (50%) -
Assumed Knowledge:
|
Students enrolling in this subject should have an undergraduate degree in a relevant
discipline (eg biology or environmental science) or have acquired equivalent knowledge
through other study. They should have a good understanding of basic biological principles
and marine systems and have completed a statistics subject (SC5202 or equivalent).
|
Inadmissible Subject Combinations:
|
MB3050 MB3059 |
Availabilities
|
Townsville,
Internal,
Study Period 1
|
Census Date 25-Mar-2021 |
Coordinator: |
Professor Michael Kingsford |
Lecturers:
|
Professor Michael Kingsford, Professor Garry Russ, Dr Orpha Bellwood. |
Workload expectations: |
The student workload for this
3
credit point subject is approximately
130 hours.
- 27 hours practicals
- 6 hours workshops
- 26 hours online interactive lectures
- 3 hours fieldwork
- assessment and self-directed study
|
|
|
Note:
Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process,
and in case
of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest
official information.