Module Information

Module Identifier
BRM6700
Module Title
Restoration and Conservation - UMEA Exchange
Academic Year
2017/2018
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1 (Taught over 2 semesters)
Other Staff

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture 8 x 1 Hour Lectures
Lecture 3 x 2 Hour Lectures
Field Trip 1 x 4 Hour Field Trip
Field Trip 2 x 8 Hour Field Trips
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Report - Evaluation of investigation  (up to 2,500 words)  10%
Semester Assessment Report - management recommendations  (up to 2,000 words)  15%
Semester Assessment Examination - Umea course  75%
Supplementary Assessment Students must take elements of assessment that are equivalent to those that led to failure of the module  100%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Identify key issues in designing and implementing an environmental investigation within a contextual setting related to managing problems.

2. Develop and apply "best practice" solutions to assess environmental management problems within realistic constraints.

3. Evaluate data arising from an investigation in terms of its reliability and fitness for purpose.

4. Integrate information arising from an investigation to develop practical solutions to the restoration or conservation problems identified.

5. Communicate findings and levels of confidence in these outcomes.

6. Analyse different biogeochemical processes in the Arctic and Subarctic environment.

7. Investigate the coupling between the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and transport of nutrients and greenhouse gases in the Arctic and Subarctic environment.

8. Assess climate change impacts on Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems.

Brief description

Key investigative approaches and sampling techniques are explored. The module covers a range of sampling and assessment issues in coastal, estuarine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. Students will evaluate the use of "appropriate technology" to investigate environmental management issues in a variety of contextual settings, from the laboratory to the field.
Skills developed in this supervised exercise will then be further developed in a field based module in Arctic Geoecology delivered by Umea University Sweden.

Aims

The module aims to develop skills in identifying research requirements, then designing and implementing investigations to address these requirements within realistic time and resource constraints.

Content

A series of lectures will introduce generic issues of investigative design, sampling strategies, sample analysis and data management including aspects of QA/QC. The study site and its conservation management objectives will then introduced and gaps in information needed to underpin key elements of this management identified. Module field and laboratory exercises will then be implemented to provide this information. Students will consider whether this investigation was fit for purpose and make recommendations based on their findings.
Skills developed during the investigation and reporting exercise at Aberystwyth will be further developed during the course at Umea. The course examines global environmental changes and their consequences for biogeochemical processes in arctic and subarctic ecosystems. Particular focus is given to linkages between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, transport of nutrients and greenhouse gases and effects of climate change on biological and geochemical processes. The course is given by researchers at Climate Impacts Research Centre in Abisko, Lapland. Skills developed during the course include fieldworking methods and scientific reporting. The course is split between a lecture and field excursion component covering biogeochemical processes in Arctic and Subarctic environments and an extended project investigating abiotic/biotic processes in a selected arctic-subarctic ecosystem.
Due to seasonal constraints and in order to integrate with teaching at Umea, the course will be delivered in two cycles between weeks 2 and 6 in semester 1 at Aberystwyth and between weeks 7 and 15 (approx.) of semester 2 at Umea.

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number In generating report findings from primary data
Communication In producing assignment reports
Improving own Learning and Performance In developing research and reporting skills
Information Technology In using data handling and spatial information software
Personal Development and Career planning In acquiring team working and workplace skills during investigations
Problem solving In identifying the scope of the initial investigation and subsequent project
Research skills In developing the research context for report assignments
Subject Specific Skills Field work and laboratory skills. Problem identification in an environmental management context
Team work In organizing and undertaking practical investigations

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 7