Overview
Australia is renowned for its unique and diverse vertebrate animals. This unit will provide you with an introduction to Australian vertebrate diversity and to the necessary tools to understand the evolutionary, morphological, behavioural and ecological diversity of Australian vertebrate fauna against the backdrop of global vertebrate diversity and evolution. You will learn to use a wide variety of ‘tools’ (taxonomy, phylogeny, fossils, ecophysiology, comparative anatomy, behavioural ecology) as methods for understanding the past, current, and future vertebrate fauna of Australia. You will also learn and practice the applied skill-sets and techniques required for fauna survey and wildlife research in Australia, proficiency in identification of Australian vertebrates and technical report writing for wildlife monitoring and surveying.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: (BIOL11099 Living Systems OR BIOL11102 Life Sciences Laboratory) AND (BIOL11100 Functional Biology OR BIOL12112 Animal and Plant Physiology)
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 2 - 2021
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.
- Describe the evolution, diversity and distribution of major vertebrate fauna in Australia
- Explain the significance of behavioural, reproductive, physiological, and nutritional adaptations in Australian vertebrates
- Apply knowledge about the biology of a species to their applied conservation and management to explain why invasive species pose a threat to Australian vertebrate fauna
- Practice industry and ethical standards and techniques in monitoring, surveying Australian vertebrate fauna
- Communicate knowledge and study findings in verbal and written scientific reports.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 50% | |||||
| 2 - Laboratory/Practical - 0% | |||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 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 - Online Quiz(zes) - 50% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Laboratory/Practical - 0% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 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.carton@cqu.edu.au
s.robson@cqu.edu.au
n.english@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Subject overview: understanding and explaining vertebrate diversity in Australia
An overview of Australian vertebrate biogeography and evolution
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Fish and Amphibians
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Reptiles
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Theory Quiz 1 will open 07:00 Wednesday 28th July (AEST).
Module/Topic
Reptiles and Birds
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Theory Quiz 1 will close 11:55 Wednesday 4th August (AEST).
Module/Topic
Birds and Mammals: Monotremes
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Media article due 11:55pm Wednesday 11th August (AEST).
Theory Quiz 2 will open 07:00 Wednesday 11th August (AEST).
New Australian Mammal Species Due: Week 5 Wednesday (11 Aug 2021) 11:55 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Theory Quiz 2 will closed 11:55pm Wednesday 18th August (AEST).
Module/Topic
Mammals: Marsupials
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Mammals: Marsupials and 'True' Mammals
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Mammals: Bats
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Theory Quiz 3 will open 07:00 Wednesday 8th September (AEST).
Module/Topic
Communication & subterfuge
Optimising mating decisions
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Theory Quiz 3 will close Wednesday 15th September (AEST).
Module/Topic
Residential School
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Residential School, North ROK Campus, 20th-22nd September.
Module/Topic
Sexual selection and Male-male competition
Parental care, conflict & mating systems: the summation of individual choice
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Those pesky 'new' species: the impact of introduced vertebrates in Australia
Where to from here? The future for Australian vertebrates
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Practical Report due 23:55 Monday 11th October (AEST).
Practical Report: Surveying and Monitoring of Australian Fauna Due: Review/Exam Week Monday (11 Oct 2021) 11:55 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
This unit has one compulsory residential school for ALL students. The residential school consists of three days, 20th-22nd September (inclusive) at Capricornia Caves, Rockhampton.
Students will be required to provide their own transport to and from the North Rockhampton campus. Details of residential school activities and cost will be provided on the unit Moodle site.
1 Written Assessment
This assessment requires you to research and write a 800 word article for a popular wildlife magazine (e.g. Australian Geographic, Wildlife Australia) about an arboreal Australian mammal species (including surrounding offshore islands). Your article should include a description of the species and associated characteristics, what attributes are interesting about the species, its geographic range, habitat, conservation status and whether the species is the subject of any management strategies, or other relevant information that will attract interest and keep the audience's attention. You may include one photograph/image of your species within the article. At the end of the article, you must provide a list of the references you have used, but do not use any in-text referencing.
Week 5 Wednesday (11 Aug 2021) 11:55 pm AEST
Week 7 Wednesday (1 Sept 2021)
This article will be assessed on
1. Completeness of details on the animals ecology, behavior, life history and conservation status/management. 2. Ability to engage, attract interest and keep the audience's attention.
2. Appropriate application of scientific information and interpretation consistent with a 'popular' science article. 4. Clarity, grammar, punctuation and organization.
3. Correct referencing of information sources.
4. Word limit of 800 words.
- Comprehend the evolution of chordates
- Comprehend the basic phylogenetic relationships of the major groups of vertebrates
- Comprehend and analyse the adaptive changes that have occurred in aquatic vertebrates
- Comprehend and analyse the changes in homologous structures which accompanied the invasion of terrestrial habitats by vertebrates
- Recognise, describe, and point out the external and internal features that characterise the major groups of modern day vertebrates
- Recognise and describe the basic microscopic anatomy of chordates
- Relate and analyse a chordate's structural and functional features in relation to its habitat
- Demonstrate the results of additional reading around the subject
- Communicate knowledge and findings clearly both orally and in writing.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Practical Assessment
- Fish and Amphibians (Topic Wk 2)
- Reptiles and Birds (Topic Wk 3 - 5)
- Mammals: Monotremes, Marsupials, True Mammals (Topic Wk 5 - 7)
Quiz 1 due 23:55 4th August, Quiz 2 due 23:55 18th August, Quiz 3 due 23:55 15th September
Periodic online quizzes/short answers are based on lecture and study material from the previous week(s).
For ALL students, online quizzes will open on the Wednesday (07:00) of the week following the topic (e.g. Quiz 1 covers Week 2, so opens 07:00 Wednesday of Week 3) and is open for 7 days (e.g. Quiz 1 closes on 23:55 Wednesday of Week 4). Online quizzes are limited to thirty (30) minutes for completion; make sure to submit within the thirty (30) minute time limit. Students will have one attempt per quiz.
Questions can be a mix of true/false, multiple choice, mix-and-match, short answers, and other formats.
Do not share your questions or answers with other students as this may disadvantage other students, and such behaviour will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in academic misconduct.
- Comprehend the evolution of chordates
- Comprehend the basic phylogenetic relationships of the major groups of vertebrates
- Comprehend and analyse the adaptive changes that have occurred in aquatic vertebrates
- Comprehend and analyse the changes in homologous structures which accompanied the invasion of terrestrial habitats by vertebrates
- Recognise, describe, and point out the external and internal features that characterise the major groups of modern day vertebrates
- Recognise and describe the basic microscopic anatomy of chordates
- Relate and analyse a chordate's structural and functional features in relation to its habitat
- Demonstrate the results of additional reading around the subject
- Communicate knowledge and findings clearly both orally and in writing.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
3 Take Home Exam
During your ZOOL19002 Residential School you will undertake wildlife surveying and monitoring activities that require the application of scientific and industry standard monitoring, assessment and surveying methodologies and technologies. These activities will primarily involve the assessment of microbat communities, and diurnally/nocturnally active ground and arboreal fauna.
Following the Residential School you will use the data collected during each activity to write up and present the results and conclusions in the format of a scientific/industry standard report.
To assist you with the task of writing up the reports, general assistance with with the interpretation and analysis of data will be provided at the conclusion of each activity during the Residential School.
Review/Exam Week Monday (11 Oct 2021) 11:55 pm AEST
Practical Report will be assessed on
1. Completeness (relevant observations, methods and results relating to surveying and monitoring techniques and methodologies used).
2. Discussion of the results in context with current and relevant surveying and monitoring methods for mammalian fauna.
3. Appropriate application and discussion of wildlife assessment(s) and applications/limitations in conservation management.
4. Clarity, grammar, punctuation and organisation.
5. Presentation of figures, tables and diagrams (to publication standard).
6. Correct inline referencing of figures/tables/diagrams.
7. Appropriate and correctly-cited references with appropriate author-date citation (Harvard referencing).
8. Word limit of 2000 words.
Further details of the assessment criteria and rubric will be available on unit Moodle and discussed with students at the conclusion of the Residential School.
- Comprehend the evolution of chordates
- Comprehend the basic phylogenetic relationships of the major groups of vertebrates
- Comprehend and analyse the adaptive changes that have occurred in aquatic vertebrates
- Comprehend and analyse the changes in homologous structures which accompanied the invasion of terrestrial habitats by vertebrates
- Recognise, describe, and point out the external and internal features that characterise the major groups of modern day vertebrates
- Recognise and describe the basic microscopic anatomy of chordates
- Relate and analyse a chordate's structural and functional features in relation to its habitat
- Demonstrate the results of additional reading around the subject
- Communicate knowledge and findings clearly both orally and in writing.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
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?
