Units

---

Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

It is essential for graduates who wish to pursue biological careers as ecologists, environmental biologists, or as teachers, to be familiar with invertebrates, including their diversity and how they function. Because approximately 90% of all invertebrates are arthropods, this course will focus on this one dominant phyla as representative of the invertebrates as a whole. Arthropods include all the animals with jointed exoskeletons, including the insects, the prawns and crabs, spiders and millipedes.

Aims

The aim is to provide you with an overview of arthropod diversity, structure and function, as a basis for exploring the role of arthropods in natural and human-modified systems.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you should:

1. Know the distinguishing features, and important characteristics, of the arthropod classes and major orders.
2. Be able to discuss the evolutionary trends apparent amongst arthropods.
3. Understand the major physiological features of arthropods.
4. Appreciate the importance of arthropods in healthy and sustainable ecological systems.
5. Appreciate the importance of arthropods in human society through their role as sources of food, vectors of disease and pests of agriculture.

Graduate Capabilities:

This unit, through its teaching and learning, addresses the following QUT Graduate Capabilities:

1. Knowledge and skills pertinent to a particular discipline or professional area.
2. Critical, creative and analytical thinking, and effective problem-solving.
3. Effective communication in a variety of contexts and modes.
4. The capacity for life-long learning.
5. The ability to work independently and collaboratively.
6. Characteristics of self-reliance and leadership.

Content

The unit will consist of four major, interrelated components:

1. Phylogeny of the arthropods, the major classes and their key orders and the distinguishing traits of each.
2. Shared physiological, behavioural and ecological characteristics of the arthropods.
3. Ecological role of arthropods in marine, aquatic and terrestrial systems.
4. The role of arthropods in human society: including arthropods in our diet, as vectors of disease and as pests of urban and agricultural environments.

The underlying theme of the unit's content will be to stress that arthropods are the major component of the planet's biodiversity and, as such, integral to the ecological health of both natural and human-modified environments.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

General
Because the arthropods are so diverse, Arthropod Biology is a vast field of study that is impractical to try and teach exhaustively in one semester. What this course intends to do is provide you with an introduction to this fascinating group so that the next time you peel a prawn, or watch a butterfly, you'll understand more about the organism involved. For those of you majoring in environmental science, ecology and related co-majors, this course will provide a basis for further studies involving organisms within the phyla. For teaching majors, this course will provide not only the necessary knowledge to teach about arthropods, but will also give examples of how you can teach with arthropods, including general topics such as resource use, the interaction of organisms with their environment and scientific collections.

Practicals and assessment
Individual practicals are not directly assessed, however, each practical is intimately associated with one or more pieces of assessment. Detailed advice on the links between practicals and assessment will be discussed in Week 1. Failure to attend a prac will impact on your ability to satisfactorily complete assessment tasks and hence your final grade.

Assessment

Your progress with knowledge and understanding will be monitored through informal feed-back in practicals and tutorials and through formal feed-back on written assessment items.Feedback will be available on your progress.

Assessment name: Presentation (Oral or Group)
Description: (Formative and summative) - Two within-semester assignments (Structured literature review and group presentation). Designed to help you locate and critically utilise sources of information about the arthropods and then communicate that information in written and verbal forms. Each will be worth 10%, in total 20%.
Relates to objectives: 4 & 5 and graduate capabilities 2, 3, 4 & 5.
Weight: 20%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 5 & Week 9

Assessment name: Laboratory/Practical
Description: (Summative) - Arthropod Collection. The majority of practical sessions will be dedicated towards the development of an arthropod collection. The collection will consist of 50 adult arthropods from a minimum of 30 different orders and suborders. Repeats of specimens (e.g. two or more of the same insect) are not allowed.
Relates to objectives: 1 & 2 and graduate capabilities 1, 5 & 6.
Weight: 35%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 9

Assessment name: Examination (Theory)
Description: (Formative and summative) - This item will test your knowledge of all aspects of arthropods covered in the whole semester. Questions distributed in week 1 and due latest by 5.00pm, Friday of Week 11. Questions can be submitted individually during the semester (until week 9) and if so they will be marked and feedback provided. Students are strongly encouraged to answer at least one, preferably two, questions by Week 6.
Relates to objectives: 1 to 5 and graduate capabilities 1 & 6.
Weight: 45%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 11

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Supporting Material
Because there is currently no single textbook that adequately deals with this group, the lecture course will provide the core structure, as well as being a primary source of information, for the unit. Lecture outlines will be placed on the class OLT site in advance of lectures as a resource for you: these outlines are not intended to replace participation in lectures. In general, it is an expectation of this unit that lecture material will be supplemented through readings from texts, papers and the WWW. The lecture series will be accompanied by matching practicals that will reinforce and extend material covered in the lectures. Gullan and Cranston (full reference below) remains the best undergraduate entomology text and, if strongly wishing to purchase a text, this is the one recommended.

Recommended References:
1. Anderson DT (1998) Invertebrate Zoology, Oxford University Press
2. Brusca RC & Brusca GJ (2003) Invertebrates, Sinauer Associates Inc, Publishing
3. Gullan PJ & Cranston PS (2004) The Insects: an outline of entomology, 3rd edition, Blackwell Publishing

Risk assessment statement

The unit consists of classroom-based lectures, discussions and practicals, all of which are extremely low risk activities. Students are provided with a health and safety manual detailing health, safety and emergency procedures associated with laboratory activities. Students are required to read, understand and put into practice all safety guidelines.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 19-Oct-2012