Coral Reef Ecology Field Course (C1155)

30 credits, Level 6

Autumn teaching

Coral reefs are one of the most ecologically and economically important habitats on the planet. However, they are globally threatened from direct human activities and the indirect impact of climate change. There is an urgent need to improve our understanding of coral reefs, so that we can develop conservation management strategies.

With exceptional levels of biodiversity, coral reefs provide an excellent setting to learn about marine ecology. This field course will involve scuba and snorkel-based data collection at coral reefs, giving you the opportunity to learn and apply techniques from marine biology. You’ll also develop and test scientific hypotheses and gain an in-depth understanding of the unique ecosystem of coral reefs.

Teaching

25%: Lecture
7%: One-to-one (Tutorial)
68%: Practical (Fieldwork, Practical)

Assessment

100%: Coursework (Portfolio, Report)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 150 hours of contact time and about 150 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: