BB844: Field Course in Terrestrial or Marine Biology

Comment

This course contains a 5-day field trip in week 39 to SDU research stations in either Svanninge Bjerge (Terrestrial Biology) or Kerteminde (Marine Biology). A course contribution of 500 kr per student is needed to cover additional food and accommodation expenses. A link to payment will be provided two weeks before the field trip.

Entry requirements

None

Academic preconditions

Students taking the course are expected to:

Have knowledge of the curriculum in biology or similar
Be able to handle basic software (Word, Excel, Power point)

The course builds upon the knowledge acquired in the mandatory courses of the bachelor's program in biology.

Course introduction

The participants will gain insights to the different stages of the research process in general, and to principle of and methods in biological fieldwork in particular.

The participants plan, carry out, and analyze the results of a biological field project. The written report must be prepared as a draft manuscript aimed for submission to an international peer-reviewed journal.The process includes the search for relevant scientific literature, testable hypotheses should be established and the evaluation of results obtained in relation to the existing knowledge in the field. Specific research topics are chosen among pertinent biological issues in the natural environments that surround the field stations of the Institute of Biology, where the practical part of the course takes place.

Expected learning outcome

The learning objectives of the course are that the student demonstrates the ability to:

Search and critically select scientific literature pertaining to a particular biological topic.
Use scientific articles and other sources to formulate working hypotheses for biological field projects.
Design biological field investigations to test the hypotheses established.
Carry out biological investigations and experiments in the field.
Analyze the results gathered, and structure and describe these in a scientific style.
Discuss own results in relation to previous investigations.
Define directions for interesting research in the future.

Content

The following main topics are contained in the course:

Theory and planning: A research topic is selected and working hypotheses and a detailed research plan are elaborated based on a screening of relevant literature and discussions of the theory behind the topic.
Field course: The practical part is carried out as a combination of field laboratory work studies at either the Biological Institute’s field station Svanninge Bjerge or the Research Center for Marine Biology in Kerteminde. Accommodation at the field stations is mandatory. The results are analyzed and summarized in a report written in the style of a scientific paper.

Literature

See itslearning for syllabus lists and additional literature references.

Examination regulations

Prerequisites for participating in the exam a)

Timing

Fall

Tests

Deltagelse

EKA

N110019112

Assessment

Second examiner: None

Grading

Pass/Fail

Identification

Full name and SDU username

Language

Normally, the same as teaching language

Examination aids

To be announced during the course

ECTS value

Additional information

Satisfactory participation in the theoretical (min. 80%) and practical (min. 90%) parts of the course. The prerequisite examination is a prerequisite for participation in exam element a).

Exam element a)

Timing

Autumn

Prerequisites

Type	Prerequisite name	Prerequisite course
Examination part	Prerequisites for participating in the exam a)	N110019101, BB844: Field Course in Terrestrial or Marine Biology

Tests

Report and individual oral presentation

EKA

N110019102

Assessment

Second examiner: Internal

Grading

7-point grading scale

Identification

Full name and SDU username

Language

Normally, the same as teaching language

Examination aids

To be announced during the course.

ECTS value

Additional information

The report can be written in groups of max 5 students. The final grade is based on report and individual oral presentation. Further information will be announced at itslearning.

Indicative number of lessons

51 hours per semester

Teaching Method

Planned lessons:

Total number of planned lessons: 51 hours

Hereof:

Team lessons in classroom: 16 hours

Team lessons in the field/excursion: 35 hours

The course includes both lectures at SDU and fieldwork at either Svanninge Bjerge or the Marine Research Center in Kerteminde.

There is a terrestrial and a marine version of the course. The field course on the marine part is in week 39 at the Marine Biological Research Centre in Kerteminde. The terrestrial version of the field course takes place in the field station in the Svanninge Mountains during the same period.

On registration of the course, the students inform the institute of which part they prefer by sending an email to: piam@sdu.dk If there are too many students for one part, we may have to redistribute. Students who have not announced which part they prefer, will be placed in vacant seats.

A course fee of kr. 500 kr is required to contribute towards food and accommodation expenses for the field stay in Svanninge Bjerge or Kerteminde.

Other planned teaching activities:

Writing the research report.

Teacher responsible

Name	E-mail	Department
Karl Michael Attard	karl.attard@biology.sdu.dk	Nordcee
Thomas Bjørneboe Berg	thomasbb@biology.sdu.dk	Biologisk Institut

Timetable

Odense

Show full time table

Administrative Unit

Biologisk Institut

Team at Registration

NAT

Offered in

Odense

Recommended course of study

Profile	Education	Semester	Offer period

Transition rules

Transitional arrangements describe how a course replaces another course when changes are made to the course of study.

If a transitional arrangement has been made for a course, it will be stated in the list.

See transitional arrangements for all courses at the Faculty of Science.