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BI4522: GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY (2024-2025)

Last modified: 23 Jul 2024 11:06


Course Overview

This course considers the generation, analysis, and use of global data on biological consequences of environmental change.
You will gain familiarity with the main drivers of global change in ecological systems, and how existing insights of drivers have been ‘scaled up’ from individual studies to knowledge on global patterns. Hands-on tutorials build confidence and skill in handling large-scale datasets while gaining appreciation of their biases and limitations.
You will further critically evaluate how science becomes policy, empowering knowledge of links between data, knowledge, and practice in a changing world.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Term Second Term Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Lesley Lancaster

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)
  • One of Biology (BI) or Ecology (EK) or Environmental Sciences (EV) or Plant Science (PL) or Soil Science (SS) or Zoology (ZO)
  • Programme Level 4

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

This course aims to provide students with a critical evaluation of data and analyses in global change biology, and how this feeds into policy and action.


Course structure is as follows:
Week 1: Overview of global change biology: What are the problems and how do we know? Group discussion.
Week 2: Macroecological rules, problems with generality, and issues of scale. The state of existing data: introduction to data repositories. Promises and limitations of big data.
Week 3: Data synthesis and projection. How do we combine data? What factors do we need to take into account? Do we trust pretty maps, and forward-looking scenarios? Students gain facility with the analysis of big data and gain critical understanding of biases and limitations.
Week 4-5: Addressing novel hypotheses with big data: New technologies, the importance of linking pattern to process.


Citizen science and indigenous knowledge. How does science inform policy? Forward looking discussions.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Critical Evaluation of Global Change Biology: Group Report

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Group report [but individual sections graded individually]. Students will work in teams to critically evaluate recent scientific policy reports of their choosing (e.g., IPCC, IPBES, etc). They will create a joint report with individually defined sub-sections so that they have the opportunity to work as a team but get individual credit for individual sections under their responsibility. The reports will be discussed in the final week among the class as a whole to share insight across projects.

Assessment in week 5 of the course; feedback in week 7.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualEvaluateThe student should be able to critically evaluate the use of global data in supporting arguments around conservation, management, and policy.
ConceptualUnderstand The student should be able to understand and evaluate the major issues impacting global ecological systems and their relevance for society, as well as remaining knowledge gaps and uncertainties.
ProceduralCreateThe student should be able to responsibly discuss and debate global issues with their team and the course as a whole, gaining skills in sensitive and critical listening and debate.

Big Data Analysis Workshop: Analysis Methods and Results Data Visualisation

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Students will follow protocols to analyse and interpolate global data, with exercises geared towards learning how to discriminate among models and deal with issues of bias. They will make a figure that summarises their findings and which they will critically evaluate for data limitations. A rubric will be provided for marking and feedback will be in class during the practical as well as in writing.

Assessment in week 4 of the course; feedback in week 6.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualUnderstandThe student should be able to understand the processes by which data is compiled, and demonstrate good practice for deposition and use of existing data to answer large-scale questions.
ConceptualUnderstand The student should be able to understand and evaluate the major issues impacting global ecological systems and their relevance for society, as well as remaining knowledge gaps and uncertainties.
ProceduralCreateThe student should be able to analyse and present global data in a way that is responsible and is clearly communicated.

Handling Big Data Workshop: Report

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 20
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Students will download and compile publicly available data, and store it with metadata in an online repository, following a protocol that allows them to compare and contrast different data types and approaches. They will turn in their work as well as answers to questions about procedural and ethical issues. A rubric will be provided for marking and feedback will be in class during the practical as well as in writing.

Assessment in week 3 of the course; feedback in week5.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualUnderstandThe student should be able to understand the processes by which data is compiled, and demonstrate good practice for deposition and use of existing data to answer large-scale questions.
ProceduralApplyThe student should be able to retrieve and process existing ecological data in a responsible way.

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Resit Assessments

Resubmission of failed element(s)

Assessment Type Summative Weighting
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Elements that were passed at first attempt are carried forward in the resit grade calculation.

Handling big data workshop report: Students will use the dataset that they used for the original submission unless it was unsuitable; the requirements for the resit will be the same as those for the original report. 

Big data analysis workshop output: Students will repeat work from the original workshop to demonstrate successful achievement of the specific tasks

Critical evaluation of global change biology: Unlike the original report, the resit will be an individual report that has reduced scope.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ProceduralCreateThe student should be able to analyse and present global data in a way that is responsible and is clearly communicated.
ConceptualUnderstand The student should be able to understand and evaluate the major issues impacting global ecological systems and their relevance for society, as well as remaining knowledge gaps and uncertainties.
ConceptualUnderstandThe student should be able to understand the processes by which data is compiled, and demonstrate good practice for deposition and use of existing data to answer large-scale questions.
ProceduralApplyThe student should be able to retrieve and process existing ecological data in a responsible way.
ConceptualEvaluateThe student should be able to critically evaluate the use of global data in supporting arguments around conservation, management, and policy.
ProceduralCreateThe student should be able to responsibly discuss and debate global issues with their team and the course as a whole, gaining skills in sensitive and critical listening and debate.

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