Unit name | Sensory Ecology |
---|---|
Unit code | BIOL31132 |
Credit points | 10 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Professor. Roberts |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None, but we recommend that students should have taken BIOL11000 or BIOL12000 or equivalent. Some interest in biophysics is of advantage. |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Biological Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
Aims: This unit will provide instruction on the physiology, neurophysiology, biophysics, ecology and evolution of sensory systems in animals.
Description: Emphasis will be given to: 1) developing a solid appreciation of the concepts of physical and sensory ecologies; 2) understanding the information available to animals via different sensory modalities; 3) understanding physiological, biomechanical and biomolecular mechanisms underpinning sensory mechanisms; and 4) the evolutionary adaptation of sense organs to particular ecological niches and behavioral strategies. The course will consider both vertebrates and invertebrates, in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Topics will cover the sensory modalities of vision, and audition primarily, but will also explore infrared reception, thermoreception, olfaction, mechanoreception, magnetoreception.
Lectures, directed reading, research and/or problem-solving activities; and independent study.
Summative written assessment, with one essay question to be selected from a choice of two.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. BIOL31132).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.