Gwybodaeth Modiwlau

Addressing management problems and developing strategies suitable for managing the environment requires knowledge of the different sampling strategies, data collection techniques and analysis available for a particular habitat. This module will introduce students to the management of temperate coastal, estuarine and wetland ecosystems through the development of existing skills applied in a management context. The course will comprise a series of five workshops based on visits to a range of freshwater and marine areas including the Ynys-Hir RSPB wetland reserve and both industrial and conversation areas within the catchment of the Milford Haven waterway and the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC. There will also be a fisheries workshop with involvement by the Ceredigion Sea Fisheries Association.

Emphasis will be placed on management strategies (e.g. stakeholder concepts and no-take zones) and practical skills will be developed to sample/monitor effectively these different habitats. Students will learn the appropiate sampling methodology to address and answer different biological and ecological questions needed to manage effectively marine environments. Students will learn to consider the effectiveness of current monitoring strategies in the light of current European legislation. The integrated nature of different ecosystems will be stressed throughout as will the need for mulitple demands by a range of user groups.

The module will consider sampling strategies in marine and freshwater ecosystems where appropriate. Students will be trained in common sampling techniques and strategies with the emphasis on how these tools can be used to develop, implement and monitor management strategies (e.g. Special Areas of Conservation and reserve management/development). These will include the use of traditional survey techniques along with advances in technology including digital mapping and GIS techniques.

The coursework will encourage students to apply skills developed in the statistics and law modules to analyse and interpret the data that will be generated from sampling in the aquatic environment. Students will be shown how this information is used to formulate management plans and monitor aquatic communities, including assessing the impacts of habitat loss, pollution and climatic change. Throughout the course attention will be drawn to the multiple demands placed on different aquatic ecosystems by different fisheries, conservation and recreational groups, leading to the complex development of regional, national and global management plans. Students will have the opportunity to work alongside relevant consultants, industrial contracts and staff from conservation agencies to foster an understanding of the importance of liaison between such groups in the planning of new developments as well as the monitoring of current developments e.g. the petrochemical industry in Milford Haven.