James Cook University Subject Handbook - 2001

MB3190:03

Coral Reef Ecology

Townsville

Prerequisites: MB2060

26 lectures, 20 hours practicals, 32 hours field work. Second semester.

Available to level 3 students with suitable background (invertebrate biology, statistics, computers). A quota of 50 places will apply on the basis of marks in MB2060.

Staff: Assoc. Professor T Hughes.

A treatment of the major aspects of coral reef biology, including population dynamics, life histories, community structure and diversity, effects of disturbance, competition and predation, and reef management.

Learning Objectives:

  1. to be able to detect patterns in nature, and devise means for explaining them;
  2. to evaluate scientific evidence critically.

Assessment by a three hour examination (60%); field report (15%); laboratory notebook (25%).