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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2019/2020

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Biological Sciences : Postgraduate

Postgraduate Course: Plant Geography (PGBI11012)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Biological Sciences CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryBiologists have sought to understand patterns of species distribution, richness and endemism across the globe for over two centuries, a field of enquiry called biogeography. This field is vital for planning effective conservation strategies and being able to predict how organisms will react to anthropogenic environmental change. Surprisingly, however, we still lack data to understand plant species diversity across many areas of the world. Models are now being used to predict patterns where data is lacking, but because of the complex interplay of contemporary ecology, earth history, organismal extinction and evolution, universal biogeographic explanations are still elusive. This course provides a background to the discipline of plant geography, including an account of its history, overview of basic concepts, as well as explanations of the most modern biogeographic tools used. This theoretical material is interspersed with examples based upon areas that are under active research at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and University of Edinburgh. Teaching will involve several group discussion tutorials, where students will be encouraged to read, interpret, and criticise recently published research articles in the field. Assessment is through written course work in the form of a research proposal.
Course description Not entered
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2019/20, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 22, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 5, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 71 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 100% in-course assessment, in the form of a research grant project proposal.
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand basic concepts relating to speciation, plate tectonics, paleoclimates, molecular dating, species diversity, species diversity gradients, and biomes
  2. Understand basic theory and research methods relating to historical, ecological and conservation geography
  3. Understand current limitations of digitally available global data on plant diversity and distribution
  4. Apply the learnt concepts, theory, and methods to formulate a research project proposal relevant to plant geography
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Keywordsplant geography,biogeography,vegetation history,plant environments
Contacts
Course organiserDr Louis Ronse De Craene
Tel: (0131) 248 2804
Email: l.ronsedecraene@rbge.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Claire Black
Tel: (0131 6)50 8637
Email: Claire.Black@ed.ac.uk
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