Overview
The invertebrates are the largest and most diverse group of animals on Earth, being found in all environments and habitats. This unit provides an overview of the biology, ecology, and taxonomy of the various invertebrate phyla, linking adaptation and evolutionary history to understand the origins and proliferation of this great diversity of life.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
ZOOL11005 Foundation Animal Biology or BIOL11099 Living Systems
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2019
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Residential Schools
This unit has a Compulsory Residential School for distance mode students and the details are:
Click here to see your Residential School Timetable.
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Moodle
Two students noted the difficulty in working on a team project (the residential school project report) while geographically separated from their team mates.
Provide additional advice and tools for achieving successful remote collaboration during the residential school and via Moodle.
Feedback from Moodle
One student noted that, while they enjoyed the residential school, they felt they didn't learn much more about invertebrates, per se.
As the residential school aims to build the student's skills in experimental design and sampling of invertebrates, it foregoes a general overview of all invertebrate phyla presented in lecture. The 2019 structure of the residential school will aim to redress this through short practical lessons that reinforce lecture content.
Feedback from Moodle
Students did not enjoy a new section of the exam - "Fill in the blanks", where a specific Phylum or anatomical feature had to be remembered to complete a sentence. This replaced a more traditional "Provide a definition of...(insert word here)" exam section.
Remove the fill in the blanks section of the exam and either re-instate the definitions section, or develop an alternative.
- Define terminology associated with the study of invertebrate zoology
- Describe the structural and functional organisation of animals from the various invertebrate phyla in written and verbal form
- Explain the evolutionary history of the invertebrates, including their adaptations to particular environments and their ecology
- Identify the major invertebrate taxa and explain, in wirtten and verbal form, the evolutionary and physiological basis for the taxonomic classification of these animals
- Acquire practical skills in the study of invertebrates by conducting basic scientific research on invertebrate abundaunce, distribution, behaviour, and ecology in both field and laboratory settings
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | |||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 30% | |||||
| 3 - Examination - 50% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||||
| 5 - Team Work | |||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Examination - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.anastasi@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
1. Unit overview
2. Why study invertebrates?
Chapter
Study guide chapter 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
3. Invertebrates and the environment
4. Taxonomy and evolution of the invertebrates
Chapter
Study guide chapters 2 & 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
5. Protozoans
6. Porifera
Chapter
Study guide chapters 4 & 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
7. Cnidarians
8. Coral reefs
Chapter
Study guide chapter 6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
9. Platyhelminthes
10. Of worms and coeloms
Chapter
Study guide chapters 7 & 8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
11. Annelida
12. Mollusca part 1
Chapter
Study guide chapters 9 & 10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Let's have fun at the residential school instead!
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Residential school: 3 - 5 May
Module/Topic
14. Mollusca part 3: Cephalopods
Chapter
Study guide chapter 10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
15. Arthropoda part 1: Introduction
16. Arthropoda part 2: Uniramia
Chapter
Study guide chapter 11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
17. Arthropoda part 3: Crustaceans
18. Lophophorates
Chapter
Study guide chapters 11 & 12
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
19. Echinodermata
20. Hemichordates & Chordates
Chapter
Study guide chapters 13 & 14
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
21. Unit review, Q&A
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
This written assignment comprises a concise 500 word essay.
“Lower invertebrates”, so called because they generally appeared early in the history of life on Earth, provide many benefits to humans (e.g. medical applications, food and resources, understanding how life on Earth ‘works’, etc.), as well as many detriments (infections, parasites, food spoilage, etc.). Your task is to summarise how a lower invertebrate (as an individual species or a higher taxonomic level) contributes to the benefit or detriment of human populations.
You are free to choose any invertebrate/outcome/field of research that interests you, but ensure your topic is based on a ‘lower’ invertebrate. This includes the protozoans, poriferans, cnidarians, platyhelminthes, nematodes and nemerteans, which will be described in detail in lectures.
Additional information regarding assessment requirements, hints, and submission guidelines will be provided on the unit Moodle site.
Week 6 Friday (26 Apr 2019) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 9 Friday (17 May 2019)
The written assessment will be marked against the following criteria:
1. The overall clarity of the essay with respect to structure and presentation (including figures and tables), grammar and spelling.
2. The extent to which the essay demonstrates research of the topic outside of the lecture content.
3. Appropriate acknowledgment of sources in the text and accurate representation in the reference list, using the Harvard referencing style.
4. Effectively summarising information within the 500 word limit.
- Define terminology associated with the study of invertebrate zoology
- Describe the structural and functional organisation of animals from the various invertebrate phyla in written and verbal form
- Explain the evolutionary history of the invertebrates, including their adaptations to particular environments and their ecology
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Practical Assessment
This practical assessment comprises a written report summarising the practical work you will complete during the residential school. This assessment is worth 30% of your unit grade.
The residential school will require you to sample multiple habitats (including aquatic and terrestrial) to collect a range of invertebrate taxa for subsequent identification and enumeration in the laboratory using provided methods and rationale. As such, the residential school will combine field work and laboratory work to enable you to learn field sampling skills, practice use of laboratory equipment such as microscopes, and further develop your skills in the use of dichotomous taxonomic identification keys.
While we will be travelling to field sites as a group, you will be required to complete your sampling, sample processing, and invertebrate identification and enumeration individually. Additionally, you will be required to write an individual report based on your observations, results and findings for submission to the unit Moodle site by the due date.Additional information, resources, and assessment instructions will be provided on the unit Moodle site during term, and at the residential school.
Week 11 Friday (31 May 2019) 11:45 pm AEST
Exam Week Friday (21 June 2019)
The report you submit for assessment will require you to provide:
- A background description of the rationale for doing the research/sampling.
- A description of the sites sampled and methodology used.
- A list of invertebrate taxa identified in each habitat sampled.
- Graphs of the invertebrate abundance and diversity sampled.
- A summary discussion of the results obtained, placed in the context of current literature.
- Maximum of 2500 words.
- Minimum of eight (8) references (no web pages unless of the data repository type).
- Define terminology associated with the study of invertebrate zoology
- Describe the structural and functional organisation of animals from the various invertebrate phyla in written and verbal form
- Explain the evolutionary history of the invertebrates, including their adaptations to particular environments and their ecology
- Identify the major invertebrate taxa and explain, in wirtten and verbal form, the evolutionary and physiological basis for the taxonomic classification of these animals
- Acquire practical skills in the study of invertebrates by conducting basic scientific research on invertebrate abundaunce, distribution, behaviour, and ecology in both field and laboratory settings
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
Examination
Calculator - all non-communicable calculators, including scientific, programmable and graphics calculators are authorised
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
