Undergraduate Course: Plant Science Field Course (PLSC10002)
Course Outline
| School | School of Biological Sciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This field course provides an opportunity to study plants in their natural habitat. The field course involves visits to different habitats and a research project. |
| Course description |
Why do plants grow where they do? How do they interact with their environment and other organisms, and what adaptations do these interactions produce? What factors influence biodiversity?
To gain a broad appreciation and understanding of these topics, it is necessary to see plants in their natural habitats and biological communities. The Plant Science field course involves a series of visits to high quality habitats, such as bogs, fens, grasslands, woodlands, saltmarsh, dunes and shingle. We will see how some species are very specific to certain environments while others have boarder ranges, and also a variety of plant life strategies. Within-species variation, natural mutants and hybrids will be observed in situ.
Skills we aim to develop on this course include plant identification, plus observation, hypothesis formation and testing, as noted above. In addition, students will see how concepts learned on other courses will apply in the wild.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Notepads, Marker Pens. Field course costs typically around £300 per students. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2021/22, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Block 5 (Sem 2) and beyond |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Fieldwork Hours 77,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
21 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The items of ICA. Two will be completed during the field course with the final report being submitted during Semester 1. |
| Feedback |
Written feedback will be provided for all three assessments. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Witness functioning ecosystems.
- Witness and examine abiotic factors affecting habitats.
- Patterns of local distribution.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Observation, deduction, hypothesis testing, research project design, project write-up and plant identification. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Runs in the summer before Semester One. |
| Keywords | PLSCPlField |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Richard Milne
Tel: (0131 6)50 5322
Email: R.Milne@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Karen Sutherland
Tel: (0131 6)51 3404
Email: Karen.Sutherland@ed.ac.uk |
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