Postgraduate Course: Marine Field Methods in Research and Practice (PGGE11202)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This field course will be focussed on coral reef and atoll island habitats around two divergent environments in a tropical marine ecosystem. This is currently planned for the Maldives, but is subject to change. We will spend a brief time on the densely populated atoll island capital to allow discussion on the pressures and contrasts between densely populated cities and more remote islands. The expedition will then commence on Dhigurah, an eco-tourism centre and Marine Protected Area, before heading to a research station at Magoodhoo.
In order to get the most out of the fieldtrip, it is important to prepare ahead of time so that you arrive in the Maldives with a good general knowledge of the setting, the main issues, and some ideas about how to design experiments to help quantify important processes. Part of this will be covered through the 'Corals in a Changing Ocean Course' and will be explored more in the pre-trip assignment. In addition, we will provide targeted lectures on October 4th, Nov 15th and Nov 22nd and access (via LEARN) to papers and other materials that give more detail on the nature of our fieldwork activities and on the techniques that we will adopt for our time on the fieldcourse.
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| Course description |
The Marine Methods in Research and Practice course has 4 main elements:
1. Pre-trip lectures and report. There will be 3 pre-trip lectures introducing the islands we will be visiting, the pressures on them (socio and environmental), and how we will be assessing these. This will include group exercises on project design, and will be complemented by a pre-trip report.
2. On site lectures and activities: There will be daily lectures or briefings by academic staff and also NGO staff on Dhigurah, followed by activities in the water (e.g. coral surveys) or on land (e.g. social surveys).
3. Research projects and presentations: Following discussions and exposure to a variety of topics and techniques, you will select a topic to do a short project on, including designing your research, undertaking it, and preparing a presentation on it.
4. Field notebooks and report: During the course, you will learn to keep a field notebook, a crucial part of any research expedition and project. This notebook will form a key part of your field notes and research, and will be assessed.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Covered by tuition for those on the MSc in Marine Systems and Policy |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
| Course Start Date |
13/01/2020 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Learning and Teaching Activities |
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessments:
1 - Pre-trip inception report (20%) ¿ S1 Week 6
2 - Group projects and presentations ¿ On site, S2 pre-Week 1
3 - Individual Field Observations Notebooks (20%) ¿ S2 Week 1
4 - Individual project report (40%) ¿ S2 Week 3
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Design surveys and experiments to assess the health of coral reefs
- Recognise the signs of anthropogenic and environmenal stressors on coral reefs
- Have a greater understanding of the socio-cultural relationship of local people with their coral reefs
- Have a greater understanding of how ecotourism can impact upon local communities and the reef
- Be able to develop and demonstrate leadership and participation in group research, discussions, and team based oral presentations.
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Reading List
These are some starter papers for the pre-trip report and background reading.
CBD NR - Maldives 2015. Maldives 5th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity.Access via: https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/mv/mv-nr-05-en.pdf
Jaleel, 2013. Ocean and Coastal Management, The status of the coral reefs and the management approaches: The case of the Maldives. Vol 82, 104-118.
Donner, S. D., & Webber, S. (2014). Obstacles to climate change adaptation decisions: a case study of sea-level rise and coastal protection measures in Kiribati. Sustainability Science, 9(3), 331-345.
Hennige S.J., Burdett H.L.,Perna G., Tudhope A.W., Kamenos N.A. (2017) The potential for coral reef establishment through free-living stabilisation. Scientific Reports. 13322
Hughes et al. 2017. Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature 543:373¿377.
Kamenos NA, Hennige SJ (2018). Reconstructing four centuries of temperature-induced coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. Front. Mar. Sci. | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2018.00283
Owen SD, Kench PS, Ford, M. 2016. Improving understanding of the spatial dimensions of biophysical change in atoll island countries and implications for island communities: A Marshall Islands¿ case study. Applied Geography 72 (2016) 55-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2016.05.004
Perry CT, Kench PS, O¿Leary MJ, Morgan KM, Januchowski-Hartley F., 2015. Linking reef ecology to island building: Parrotfish identified as major producers of island-building sediment in the Maldives. GEOLOGY. doi:10.1130/G36623.1
Perry CT et al. Loss of coral reef growth capacity to track future increases in sea level. Nature volume 558, pages396¿400 (2018)
The Republic of the Maldives STRATEGIC NATIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION 2010-2020, Available at: http://ndmc.gov.mv/assets/Uploads/Strategic-National-Action-Plan-for-Disaster-Risk-Reduction-and-Climate-Change-Adaptation-2010-2020-Provisional-Draft.pdf
Thornton, T. F., & Scheer, A. M. (2012). Collaborative engagement of local and traditional knowledge and science in marine environments: a review. Ecology and Society, 17(3), 8.
Woodruff, 2008. Global and Planetary Change, Reef-island topography and the vulnerability of atolls to sea-level rise. Vol 62, pp 77-96.
Yamamoto and Esteban, 2010. Ocean and Coastal Management, Vanishing Island States and sovereignty. Vol 53, pp 1-9.
Yamamoto L, Esteban M. (2017). Migration as an Adaptation Strategy for Atoll Island States. International Migration 1-15. doi: 10.1111/imig.12318
Zubair et al, 2011. Tourism Management. Not quite paradise: Inadequacies of environmental impact assessment in the Maldives. Vol 32 (2011) 225-234
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Students will acquire and develop the following transferable skills:
1. Assessment of typical coastal marine nearshore settings as land-sea seascape interface;
2. To participate in individual and team activities toward the completion of assignments and goals.
3. Critical thinking with regard to the evaluation of sources of information, the feasibility of management options and interpretation of outcomes.
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| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Field course locations may change for a variety of reasons, including security risks, increased costs or inability to access field locations. Any changes to the main destination of the field course will be announced as soon as possible. |
| Keywords | Quantitative ecological and reef geomorphology ecosystems and techniques,coastal marine habitats |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sebastian Hennige
Tel: (0131 6)50 5410
Email: s.hennige@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Kathryn Will
Tel: (0131 6)50 2624
Email: Kath.Will@ed.ac.uk |
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