Courses/Modules Taught

Undergraduate

TI151 - Fundamentals of Physical Geography - Semester 2 (Spring, annually)

TI235 - Biogeography - Semster 1 (Autumn, recurrent annually)

TI2107 - Field course in Biogeography (Autumn, annually)

TI3123 - Research Methods in Biogeography (Annually Semesters 1-2)

TI3124 - Research Methods in Conservation Biogeography (Annually semesters 1-2)

Post-Graduate

TI 6105 - Biodiversity and Coastal Change (Part of the MSc in Coastal and Marine Environments)

Course Description:

Coastal habitats are one of the most sensitive environments to climate change. This course aims to foster an interdisciplinary assessment and analysis of coastal biodiversity science and conservation within a context of global change. Students will learn techniques used to identify, monitor, and analyze biodiversity at multiple scales and ecosystems, and how to assess coastal habitat sensitivity to environmental change. This module will expose students to current ecological methods, major threats to coastal environments, and the legislative framework used to implement conservation and restoration in coastal ecosystems.

Method of Assessment

Participation: 10% - Weekly contribution to in-class discussions, evidence / knowledge of readings and preparation of relevant questions for class discussion.

Presentation: 15% - Preparation of a ~15-20 minute in-class presentation to advance one of the topics (or an additional relevant topic) covered in this module. The idea is to present a case study or specific example(s) that highlights course material. This presentation must cover the subject at a high level of detail. Presentations will occur during class at a date/time to be determined during the first meeting.

Assignments: 30% - 10% each. You will have approximately three assignments that cover problems associated with a topic covered in lecture.

Data Camp: 15% - We enroll the class in an online programme to learn how to use and conduct simple data analysis using the widely used R platform. You will complete a series of online tutorials to gain a working knowledge of the program. This is also used to practice data analysis on real data sets after the base courses are completed.

Link to Data Camp: Data Camp: https://www.datacamp.com

Report: 30% - Appropriate Assessment report. Working as a team of consultants, students will engage in a project to perform an Appropriate Assessment of a site scenario (usually in either Co. Galway or Mayo). A field –based component to this project is compulsory.