ZL5005:03
Invertebrate Zoology
| Townsville | HECS Band 2 |
36 hours lectures, 27 hours practicals, 24 hours field work. Semester 1.
Available to students enrolled for the degrees of MSc (including a two-semester customised GDipResMeth), MAppSc, BAppSc or graduate diplomas.
Staff: Assoc. Professor D Blair.
An advanced treatment of the major groups of invertebrate animals. Emphasis will be placed on the evolution and physical diversity of the phyla and on their main biological and life-history features. Topics include phylogenetic relationships among the metazoans; biodiversity represented by invertebrate animals; patterns of evolution within the major phyla; reasons for the success of major invertebrate phyla. Students will be required to attend lectures, practical classes, tutorials and the field camp for ZL2005 and prepare an essay or literature review on a topic to be set by the subject coordinator.
Learning Objectives:
- an appreciation of invertebrate biodiversity, past and present;
- learning of methods for handling, examining and preparing typical invertebrates;
- an appreciation of the diversity of life histories, habitats and biology among the phyla;
- knowledge of the names and distinguishing features of all major invertebrate phyla (for some phyla, more detailed knowledge is expected of classification, anatomy and life histories);
- knowledge of the ways these phyla might be grouped in a larger phylogenetic scheme.
Assessment by a three-hour written examination (50%); on-course practical tests (10%); mid-semester theory test (10%); two essays (20%); field course assessment (10%).