CQUniversity Unit Profile.

A series of online quizzes featuring short-answer, multiple-choice, and other question formats will evaluate your understanding of core concepts across the term.

The quizzes are structured around three key taxonomic groups:

• Quiz 1: Fish and Amphibians (Ichthyology and Herpetology I)
• Quiz 2: Reptiles and Birds (Herpetology II and Ornithology)
• Quiz 3: Monotremes, Marsupials, and Eutherian/Placental Mammals (Mammalogy)

The 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment.

Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 1: You must not use Al at any point during the assessment. You must demonstrate your core skills and knowledge. 

Each online quiz allows for a single attempt and comprises a variety of question formats, including multiple-choice, matching, and short-answer items. Marks are awarded based on the objective correctness and completeness of the submitted answers.

Please note that collaboration or the sharing of quiz content is a breach of CQUniversity’s Academic Integrity Policy. Disclosing questions or answers to other students compromises the assessment process and will be investigated.

In this practical assessment, students will work collaboratively in small teams to design and execute a series of field-based sampling activities. The focus of these exercises is to apply non-invasive surveying and monitoring techniques tailored to Australian vertebrate fauna.

Throughout the field exercises, you will develop and demonstrate essential professional skills, including:

• Survey Design & Logistics: Planning effective, ethical, and non-invasive fauna studies.
• Technical Field Skills: Navigating and mapping locations using GPS technology.
• Data Integrity: Collecting, recording, interpreting, and managing field data accurately.
• Specimen Identification: Correctly identifying local vertebrate species (and traces).

At the conclusion of each field activity, students will individually or in teams, present their methodology, data, and ecological findings. These brief on-site presentations will serve as the basis for your summative assessment and provide an opportunity for immediate, constructive feedback. 

The 72-hour grace period does not apply to this assessment.

Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 1: You must not use Al at any point during the assessment. You must demonstrate your core skills and knowledge. 

This task emphasizes progressive learning and teamwork.

Students will be assessed on their ability to:

• Design and Plan: Demonstrate completeness, accuracy, and scientific rigor in survey and sampling design.
• Technical Competence: Safely, accurately, and independently set up and operate non-invasive fauna sampling equipment in a field setting.
• Teamwork and Collaboration: Contribute actively, cooperatively, and professionally within a team environment to achieve shared field goals.
• Communication of Findings: Clearly and concisely explain preliminary data, field observations, and ecological conclusions during individual debriefs.

This assessment bridges the gap between field-based data collection and professional scientific reporting. During the residential school, you will deploy industry-standard methodologies and technologies to survey diverse Australian vertebrate communities, focusing primarily on microbats and both diurnal and nocturnal ground and arboreal fauna.

This task has two distinct sections:

Section 1: Fieldwork and Data Analysis Support (During Residential School)
You will gain hands-on experience with industry-standard wildlife monitoring technologies. At the conclusion of each field session, field review sessions and data debriefs will be held to guide you through data interpretation and analysis, ensuring you have a firm understanding of your findings before leaving the residential school.

Section 2: The Formal Scientific Report (Post-Residential School)
Using the consolidated field data gained from Section 1, you will independently author a formal technical report. This submission must synthesize your results in accordance with professional scientific and industry reporting standards, the specific guidelines for which will be provided and discussed on the final day of the residential school.

Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 2: You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

The Practical Report will be assessed on the following criteria:

• Completeness & Methodology: Comprehensive documentation of field observations, methodologies, and results relating to the fauna surveying and monitoring techniques deployed.
• Critical Discussion: Insightful analysis of results situated within the context of current, relevant surveying and monitoring methodologies for Australian vertebrate fauna.
• Conservation Application: Appropriate evaluation of wildlife assessment techniques, including a critical discussion of their practical applications and limitations in conservation management.
• Academic Literacy: Clarity of expression, precise grammar, correct punctuation, and logical structural organization.
• Data Presentation: Technical presentation of figures, tables, and diagrams curated to a professional, publication-ready standard.
• Referencing: Correct in-text referencing and integration of all figures, tables, and diagrams within the body of the report.
• Referencing Integrity: Accurate, consistent use of the Harvard (author-date) referencing style for all in-text citations and the final reference list.
• Scope and Word Count: Adherence to the specified word limit of 2000 words (+/- 10%).

Further details regarding the assessment criteria and marking rubric will be available on the unit Moodle and explained to students on the final day of the residential school.