BZ2605 - Plant Diversity and Adaptations
| Credit points: | 03 |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Student Contribution Band: | Band 4 |
| Administered by: | School of Marine & Tropical Biology |
Plants are the planet's primary producers, and are the foundation of ecosystems. They provide food and shelter for animals, fungi and microorganisms. In this subject we will examine the diversity of ways in which plants function and have adapted to their environments. Students will learn to recognise taxonomic diversity, mechanisms plants use to gather energy, limiting factors to plant growth, interactions between plants and animals (including humans), and the role different plants have in communities. This subject takes a practical approach to developing skills through both field activities and laboratory practice. Skills developed in this subject are fundamental to ecological, environmental, physiological and evolutionary disciplines.
Learning Outcomes
- knowledge of the diversity of mechanisms used by plants to tolerate physical and biological environments;
- development of skills in observing plant diversity including the identification of plants using taxonomic methods and an understanding of the systematic origins of plant species;
- an understanding of the levels of integration between plants and environment in ecosystems;
- an appreciation of current understanding of the functional relationships between plant structure and plant diversity;
- development of laboratory and field skills in ecophysiological methods.
Graduate Qualities
- The ability to read complex and demanding texts accurately, critically and insightfully.
| Assumed Knowledge: | Students enrolling in this subject should have completed 12 credit points of level 1 science subjects including chemistry (CH1001, BM1000 or CH1011), fundamentals of biology (BZ1001) and introductory plant science (BT1001 or BZ1003 or AG1003), or equivalents. |
| Prerequisites: | (BT1001 OR BZ1003 OR AG1003 OR BZ2610) AND (CH1001 OR BM1000 OR CH1011) |
| Inadmissible Subject Combinations: | BT2400 BZ2470 BZ5605 |
Availabilities | |
| Townsville, Internal, Study Period 1 | |
| Census Date 24-Mar-2011 | |
| Coordinator: | Assoc. Professor Michelle Waycott |
| Lecturers: | Dr Joseph Holtum, Dr Kamaljit Kaur, Dr Kor-Jent Van Dijk, Assoc. Professor Michelle Waycott. |
| Contact hours: |
|
| Assessment: | end of semester exam (50%); laboratory reports (50%). |
| Cairns, Internal, Study Period 1 | |
| Census Date 24-Mar-2011 | |
| Coordinator: | Assoc. Professor Michelle Waycott |
| Lecturers: | Dr Susan Laurance, Assoc. Professor Michelle Waycott. |
| Contact hours: |
|
| Assessment: | end of semester exam (50%); laboratory reports (50%). |
Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.