Urban Biodiversity & Conservation RSM

BIOL20872 Urban Biodiversity & Conservation RSM 10 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 2 Robert Nudds Unit coordinator School of Biological Sciences Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 5.0 Manchester was the first major industrial city in the world. During the 19 century, it grew from a small market town to become one of the most important cities in the country. With the decline of industries such as cotton milling during the 1980’s large areas of the region became derelict, as factories closed, leaving what is often regarded as "waste ground". In many cases, the factories left behind legacies of toxic waste. Despite this, these abandoned sites are amongst the most biodiverse and loved green spaces in the urban area. In addition, with remediation projects and legislation protecting nature, an important new "industry" has grown up, requiring trained biologists with the skills needed to carry out ecological surveys and assess the impacts of human activities on the flora and fauna. Taking place in June, just after the exam period, this course will introduce you to the story of some important sites around Manchester and provide you with hands-on training in skills needed to work in the environment industry.  Urban Biodiversity and Conservation is a non-residential field course, based in and around Manchester, which introduces you to skills that are crucial in environmental consultancy, conservation, and natural site management in the UK. In the first half of the course, you will work with the whole class and receive training in a range of survey techniques applicable to UK urban ecology, including key approaches used in the Environment industry. In the second half of the course, you will work in a small team and apply these techniques to carry out a detailed assessment of your own site.The course takes place in June, immediately after the exam period, and runs over two weeks. In Week 1, you will be taken to a site in South Manchester. We will introduce you to the history of the site, including how to research this using available records. You will be trained in techniques for assessing the biological importance of the site, including how to assess water quality, perform vegetation surveys and survey birds and bats. You will learn key skills in plant and animal identification. In the lab, you will use microscopy and chemical analyses of waters and soils to identify organisms and test for contamination.In the second week of the unit, you will carry out a group project, applying the skills you learnt in Week 1. Each group identifies a semi-natural site in the Manchester area, researches its history, and surveys the vegetation and wildlife. You will produce an herbarium of the plants and a collection of invertebrates present on your site.  Results are presented as a group poster and an individual written report, both of which form the assessment for the unit. There is no cost for this field course.  The aims of this course are: to introduce students to the theory and practice of techniques commonly used by environmental consultants and field-based biologists; to train students in the application of those techniques to assess the conservation value of natural and semi-natural sites; to provide students with an appreciation of the flora and fauna of the UK and the impacts of human activities on nature. Upon successful completion of this module students should be able to:• Carry out an assessment of the nature conservation value of a site, placing this into local, regional and national contexts.• Use appropriate biological keys and field guides to identify key species found in the local environment and assess the conservation importance of those species and prepare mounted collections of specimens suitable for archiving.• Perform an extended Phase 1 survey of a site and be aware of appropriate techniques for further analysis of urban habitats.• Present conclusions of field surveys in a range of formats, written and oral, suitable for different target audiences.  Analytical skills .Students have to analyse and interpret data collected Group/team working Group based projects. Innovation/creativity Poster presentations of surveys allow students to demonstrate innovation and creativity. Leadership Individuals within teams have the potential to show leadership. Project management Students identify their own survey site and have to plan their survey. Oral communication Students have to present and defend a poster presentation of their work. Problem solving Students have to work to overcome problems encountered. Research Students perform background research on sites surveyed. Written communication 3 written reports written in the style of a professional report. Other Dealing with the public - including communicating with local interest groups and curious passers by. Interdisciplinary working - students have to learn aspects of law and social science alongside biology. Week 1 - Field skills for Biodiversity and Conservation: During the first week of this course, students will be provided with training in key skills necessary to carry out a professional survey of a natural urban site. This will include examination of plants and animals, both living on the land and in water systems. Training will be carried out mainly at a local nature reserve in South Manchester. As a preliminary analysis, you will learn how to carry out a Phase 1 survey. This involves a -level mapping of the major habitat types using a system which is ubiquitous in environmental assessment. Building on this, we will then look in more detail at a range of different aspects of the site. Using floristic guides, we will identify the range of plant species present in different areas and use this to identify habitats in more detail. Surveys will be undertaken of invertebrates, including soil organisms. We will examine the bird and bat fauna present. Bodies of water on the site, both standing and running will be assessed for water quality and the presence of amphibians. At the end of this week, you will produce a map and short (2 page) report summarising the major conclusions and management recommendations for the site.Week 2 - Habitat survey project: in the second week, students will be required to apply the skills gained in the earlier part of the unit to undertake a survey of a site in the Greater Manchester area. Students will be required to complete a risk assessment for the work to be undertaken, conduct library searches to establish site history, where possible, and then to carry out a detailed survey, assessing the conservation value of different areas of the site, placing this into local, regional and national contexts. Findings will be presented in the form of a short oral presentation in the final session and written report, due to be submitted at the end of the course.  3 Report 50% 5 Portfolio 15% 7 Oral assessment/presentation 20% 9 Set exercise 15% The assessment for this course will be based on the following: Map and 2 page report of group based surveys (15%); Group poster presentation on biodiversity of selected site (20%);Group collection of identified plants and invertebrates (15%);Individual written report of extended Phase 1 habitat survey of selected site (50%). Report written during the first week will be returned before completion of the final report, with formative feedback being given on this. Staff available on a daily basis during course for oral feedback. BIOL10692 Introduction to Statistics for Field Courses Pre-Requisite Compulsory BIOL10692 is a pre-requisite of the Y2 field courses. Any students who have not taken this unit in Year 1 must complete it in semester 2 of Year 2.If you select a field course RSM unit and have not previously completed the BIOL10692: Introduction to Statistics for Field Course unit (zero credits) in Year 1, this unit will be added to your record as a mandatory co-requisite, to be completed in semester 2 of Year 2. BSc(Hons) Biology w/ Sci & Soc BSc(Hons) Biology w/ Sci & Soc Second Year Optional BSc (Hons) Plant Science IE/PE BSc (Hons) Plant Science IE/PE Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Biology BSc(Hons) Biology Second Year Optional BSc (Hons) Biology with IE/PE BSc (Hons) Biology with IE/PE Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Biology w Mod Lang BSc(Hons) Biology w Mod Lang Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Biology w Mod Lang BSc(Hons) Biology w ML (Asian) Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Plant Sci w Mod Lang BSc(Hons) Plant Sci w Mod Lang Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Plant Sci w Mod Lang BSc(Hons) PlantSci wML (Asian) Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Plant Science BSc(Hons) Plant Science Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Zoology BSc(Hons) Zoology Second Year Optional BSc (Hons) Zoology with IE/PE BSc (Hons) Zoology with IE/PE Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Zoology w Mod Lang BSc(Hons) Zoology w Mod Lang Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Zoology w Mod Lang BSc(Hons) Zoology w ML (Asian) Second Year Optional BSc(Hon)Biol w/Sci & Soc IE/PE BSc(Hon)Biol w/Sci & Soc IE/PE Second Year Optional MSci Biology MSci Biology Second Year Optional MSci Plant Science MSci Plant Science Second Year Optional MSci Zoology MSci Zoology Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Biol with Entrepren BSc(Hons) Biol with Entrepren Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Plant Sci W Entre BSc(Hons) Plant Sci w Entre Second Year Optional BSc(Hons) Zoology w Entre BSc(Hons) Zoology w Entre Second Year Optional N Fieldwork 40 Lectures 4 Practical classes & workshops 24 0 32 Students are strongly recommended to take a first year FC