Course Title: Animal Diversity

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Animal Diversity

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

BIOL2151

City Campus

Undergraduate

135H Applied Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 1 2006,
Sem 1 2007,
Sem 1 2008,
Sem 1 2009,
Sem 1 2010,
Sem 1 2011,
Sem 1 2012,
Sem 1 2013,
Sem 1 2014,
Sem 1 2015,
Sem 1 2016

BIOL2151

City Campus

Undergraduate

171H School of Science

Face-to-Face

 Sem 1 2017,
Sem 1 2018,
Sem 1 2019,
Sem 1 2020,
Sem 1 2021,
Sem 1 2022,
Sem 1 2023,
Sem 1 2024

BIOL2345

Open Learning Australia

Non Award

171H School of Science

Distance / Correspondence

 OUASP4UG20,
OUASP4UG21,
OUASP3UG22,
OUASP3UG23

Course Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Nathan Bott

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925

Course Coordinator Email: nathan.bott@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Bundoora campus

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment, by email


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Required Prior Study

You should have satisfactorily completed following course/s before you commence this course.

Alternatively, you may be able to demonstrate the required skills and knowledge before you start this course.

Contact your course coordinator if you think you may be eligible for recognition of prior learning.


Course Description

This course provides an overview of the invertebrate and vertebrate animals, including sponges, cnidarians, flatworms, nematodes, annelids, molluscs, arthropods, echinoderms, minor protostome and deuterostome groups, invertebrate chordates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Topics include animal classification and phylogeny, diversity of taxonomic groups, structure and function, and roles in the environment. Laboratory practical work (which may be on campus or online) emphasises observation and investigation of living and preserved specimens, including some dissections. Field excursions (which may be in the environment or virtually online) will allow you to observe animals in their natural environments. 


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

The course provides the biologist with some of the skills necessary for:

  • environmental survey (animal identification)
  • identification of agricultural pests and biological control
  • an understanding of physiology and trophic level interactions for different groups of organisms (necessary for toxicological studies, eg. filter feeders & predators are important bioconcentrators of pollutants)
  • an understanding of evolutionary relatedness (useful for identifying likely classes of organisms for pharmacologically-active substances in biotechnology, etc.)
  • recognition of organisms important in human health and commerce (eg. parasites and modes of transmission, toxin producers, food sources, aquaculture prospects, etc)
  • an understanding of comparative anatomy & internal structure (necessary for obtaining cell cultures for biotechnology, understanding physiology, pathology and disease states, etc.).

This course contributes to the following Program Learning Outcomes (PLO);

2 Scientific Knowledge

  • 2.1 You will exhibit depth and breadth of biological knowledge by demonstrating well developed understanding of biological sciences.

3 Inquiry and problem solving

  • 3.1 You will be able to critically analyses and solve problems in biological sciences by gathering, synthesizing and critically evaluating information from a range of sources.
  • 3.4 You will be able to critically analyse and solve problems in biological sciences by collecting, accurately recording, interpreting and drawing conclusions from scientific data.

4 Communication

  • 4.1 You will be an effective communicator of biological sciences by effectively communicating scientific results, information, or arguments using a range of modes (oral, written, visual) for a variety of purposes and audiences.


On completion of this course you should be able to:  

  1. Distinguish the fundamental differences among animal body plans and relate them to function, taxonomic classification, animal diversity and evolutionary relationships among phyla. 
    2. Distinguish key issues concerning these animals in nature, e.g. their roles in ecosystems, their use by humans as resources, and the environmental threats faced by them. 
    3. Identify animal specimens to phylum, class, order, or lower levels of classification. 
    4. Observe live and preserved animals, identifying their distinguishing features of form and function. 
    5. Identify anatomical structures from prepared tissues. 
    6. Observe living animals in the environment and relate observations to theory from the course.  


Overview of Learning Activities

The learning activities expected in this course are:  

  • attendance and participation at scheduled activities; 
  • completion of practical exercises and quizzes, which will provide feedback on student progress and understanding; 
  • private study, working through the course learning materials and assignments.


Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through myRMIT Studies Course. 

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.


Overview of Assessment

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task 1: Online Quizzes
Weighting 20% (both on-campus and OUA)
This assessment task supports CLOs 1 & 2

Assessment Task 2: Practical Activities 
Weighting 35% (both on-campus and OUA)
The breakdown in the Course Guides Part B differ:
On-Campus: this task includes practical worksheets and two excursion reports.
OUA: this task includes practical worksheets, one excursion report, and an online discussion board.
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

Assessment Task  3: End of Semester Report 
Weighting 45% (both on-campus and OUA)   
This assessment task supports CLO 1

If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.