The aim of this module is to introduce students to understanding the scientific method, designing experiments, and collecting data in an unbiased scientific manner, analysing it using robust statistical techniques and presenting findings in a clear and concise form. Students will be provided with the skills they will need to successfully complete their dissertation projects. They are encouraged to critically appraise information, conduct a wide range of statistical analyses and to present and critically analyse data.

Students will be able to relate the notion of the scientific method to their own scientific endeavour, and will gain the level of knowledge required to measure, describe and discuss the varieties of environmental and ecological systems in the study of natural systems.

Students will learn to design and execute experiments which distinguish effectively between variation due to experimental effects and underlying uncontrolled variation, and will also understand the application of statistical tests to analyse data, taking into account the underlying assumptions of those tests, as well as the uses of computer based statistical packages, such as SPSSx) to analyse data. Critical skills developed on this module will enable students to report their findings in a style appropriate for their audience.

Employers expect graduate biologists, especially those aiming for careers as field biologists or ecologists, to have gained experience of basic field biology skills and common survey techniques. This module offers an introduction to the fieldwork and methodology relevant for conducting ecological surveys. Students are taken through a habitat and biodiversity survey, and will develop skills in several areas, such as species identification, monitoring bird breeding parameters, moth trapping, and small mammal trapping.

The weeklong intensive course will take place in the local area and the work will mostly be conducted outdoors. Students will take part in two off-campus excursions, for example, to a species-rich meadow in the Yorkshire Dales, and to sites of highly diverse insect communities in the Morecambe Bay region to see Fritillary butterflies. They will also gain the ability to identify appropriate sampling methods and apply them in the field, as well as developing transferable abilities such as report writing, teamwork, observation skills and safety awareness.

Recent emphasis on global change and biodiversity has raised awareness of the importance of species and their interactions in determining how sustainable our lifestyle is. This module explores the factors that drive population and community dynamics, with a strong focus on multi-trophic interactions and terrestrial ecosystems.

Students will be introduced to population ecology and will discover the abiotic factors that regulate populations, life history strategies of populations, competitive interactions within populations, and meta-population dynamics, in addition to an understanding of how species interact both within and across trophic levels. The module exposes students to the belowground system and will look at how the species interactions and soil communities discussed impact on community structure and dynamics. The module aims to give students a fundamental understanding of ecology - such knowledge is essential for informing conservation and sustainable land-use practices, and efforts to mitigate climate change.

In order to complete this module, students will develop the ability to outline the primary factors that drive population dynamics, whilst critically discussing examples, and will reinforce their understanding of the implications of species interactions for community dynamics. Students will also gain a critical awareness of biotic responses and their contribution to climate change.

This module aims to provide students with broad understanding of the discipline of conservation biology. The module starts by defining biodiversity, discussing its distribution in space and time, and its value to humankind, before examining the key anthropogenic threats driving recent enhanced rates of biodiversity loss. The module then focuses on the challenges for conservation of biodiversity at several levels of the biological hierarchy: genes, species, communities and ecosystems, and the techniques used by conservationists at these levels. The final part of the module looks at the practice of conservation through discussion of prioritisation, reserve design and national and international conservation policy and regulation.

Students will develop a range of skills including the ability to discuss the principle threats to global biodiversity and the rationale for biodiversity conservation, in addition to application of a range of metrics to quantify biodiversity. Students will gain a critical understanding of the various approaches to conserving genetic, species and ecosystem diversity, as well as an enhanced knowledge of quantification of popularisation approaches to prioritisation of conservation goals, and how nature reserves can be designed to improve conservation potential.

The aim of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to design and undertake a project from start to finish, which will involve working as part of a team and collecting individual and group data in an unbiased scientific manner. Students will develop the ability to distinguish effectively between variation due to robust effects and underlying uncontrolled variation, whilst statistically analysing and presenting their findings to the class in a suitable format.

By the end of the module, students will have the ability to critically appraise information and report the findings of their scientific endeavours to different audiences using a variety of methods, including scientific reports and PowerPoint presentations, in addition to developing a range of generic and specialist skills gained that will be useful in a competitive job market.

Students will be able to understand and integrate information from a variety of sources, whilst utilising skills of written critique of primary and secondary literature. They will also be developed in the ability to interrogate bibliographic databases and summarise pertinent information.

Environmental Physiology "crosses the great divide" between animal and plant biology. The scope of this module is broad, extending from the consequences of environmental change on human health to communication between plants. It explores the whole-organism responses of animals and plants to light, to pollution and to disease-causing micro-organisms. It goes on to consider how such responses are controlled and co-ordinated, and how information is communicated between individuals in both animals and plants.

The unifying theme of this module is the central role of physiology in determining a wide range of biological responses, with the overall aim of providing an integrated understanding of the mechanisms by which both animals and plants cope with their environment. Students will gain an appreciation of the complex interactions between plants and animals and their natural environments, and particularly the notion of phenotypic plasticity. Practical work will develop laboratory skills, and assessment will develop skills in literature searching, data analysis, writing and argument.

Students will develop a sophisticated skillset, including the ability to describe mechanisms by which plants and animals perceive environmental signals and co-ordinate their responses to them, as well as being able to describe the effects of ultraviolet light on animals and plants and the mechanisms for protection from its damaging effects. In addition, students will gain the necessary experience required to show how various environmental pollutants affect the health of plants and humans, and will be knowledgeable of the various forms of innate immunity in animals, whilst gaining awareness of the conservation of anti-microbial defence mechanisms during evolution. Finally, students will be able to explain how plants resist attack by herbivorous insects and pathogenic microorganisms.

Evolution is the fundamental concept in biology and an understanding of its processes and effects are important for biologists in all disciplines. The module aims to show how the morphology and behaviour of animals and plants is adapted to their environment through interactions with their own and other species, including competitors, parasites, predators and prey, and relatives. Students will explore the concept of adaptation to natural and sexual selection pressures at the level of the individual and the effects on the wider population.

Students will gain the ability to describe the roles that variation, heritability and selection play in the evolutionary process, along with a developed understanding of how numerical changes in population occur, and enhanced knowledge of how to analyse such shifts in order to make predictions about future changes. This module will also reinforce students’ understanding of the application of theoretical models, the changing effects of costs and behaviours due to circumstance, and how conflicts of interest might influence the reproductive success of individuals.

Students taking this module will gain a range of transferable skills including: report writing, data analysis and presentation, team working, verbal presentation, summarising technical texts and design of scientific enquiries.

Eco-innovation, being the development of new products, processes or services that support business growth with a positive environmental impact, is one of the key enabling instruments identified by the European Union for the transition to a more resource efficient economy. It is embedded in the Europe 2020 strategy for supporting sustainable growth. This module will provide several case studies which outline the way in which businesses have applied eco-innovation in practice Students will gain knowledge of the key approaches to, and models of, eco-innovation in a range of business and policy contexts in addition to a reinforced understanding of how innovative ideas can be turned into practical solutions for complex socio-environmental problems, and how different business models and financing approaches can be used to make the solution commercially viable and potentially profitable.

Students will gain knowledge of eco-innovation and understand how the concept relates to business opportunities for environmental goods and services. In addition, students will gain the knowledge and skillset required to analyse how both small businesses and large global organisations apply eco-innovation into their business planning, whilst

Evaluating business opportunities related to the environment in the context of products and services to address flooding or other complex problems. Students will learn how to create proposals for eco-innovation, and prepare presentations for a panel of experts, and will develop the necessary level of understanding required to analyse technical, financial, and environmental information from a wide range of sources in order to comprehend and evaluate strategies to address complex environment-society problems and challenges.

This module aims to introduce and demonstrate the nature and properties of soils in an environmental context. It will provide an introduction to soil formation, soil description (including field work), chemical and physical properties, and biology, which will lead to the application of soil science to a variety of practical problems. This module gives exciting grounding in the nature and importance of soils in context with wider environmental issues. As well as detailed knowledge of fine scale soil processes, students will learn interdisciplinary thinking that helps them connect different and complex strands of knowledge from around the earth system.

Students will be able to describe the nature and roles of soils in the environment, and will gain the level of understanding required to describe the nature and role of soils in the environment. Successful students will be able to give a basic account of soil chemical and physical properties, as well as soil biology, and will develop the ability to discuss applied aspects of soils, specifically nutrient recycling and carbon storage.

More data has been generated in the last 2 years than over whole history of humanity prior to this. Of this data, 80% has spatial content. This module is about understanding properties of spatial data, whether derived from the map, an archive or the field or from space. The module will explore how these data are represented in computer systems and how, through spatial integration, new forms of information may be derived. There will be a focus on major sources of spatial data (topographic, environmental, and socio-economic) and their properties, major forms of analyses based on spatial relationships, and on effective communication of spatial data through adherence to principles of map design.

Students will develop an understanding of what makes spatial data special; this will be taught through exposure to data from a variety of primary, secondary, contemporary and historic data across the breadth of the geographic discipline. The module will introduce common forms of spatial analysis and will provide an understanding of which to use under given the situations. Students will learn the principles of map design and effective cartographic communication, as well as gaining practical experience of critiquing digital outputs. Finally, the module will offer students significant 'hands-on' experience of using state-of-the-art GIS software to capture, integrate, analyse and present geographic information.

Vertebrates (including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) display a staggering diversity of shapes and sizes, and are adapted to a wide array of environments, from hot deserts to freezing oceans. The aim of this module is to introduce this broad range of forms and functions, putting physiological and behavioural processes firmly within a whole organism and evolutionary context.

This module will introduce students to the major vertebrate taxonomic groups: it will explore how they have evolved to exploit different environmental niches on land, in water and in flight; and how their anatomy, reproduction, thermoregulation, etc. have all become fine-tuned to cope with the challenges of their evolved lifestyle. Students will be able to apply their general knowledge of vertebrate biology to species-specific examples: comparing and contrasting different forms and functions; and critically evaluating hypotheses proposed in order to explain vertebrate diversity.

They will also gain more generic transferable skills such as critical discussion, application of knowledge to new situations, data analysis and report writing. Throughout the module, students will consider how form, function and strategy will impact the vulnerability of vertebrates to on-going environmental change.

The dissertation project is an individual and individually supervised extensive project ending in submission of a substantial dissertation report. Students will choose from a set of dissertation research areas or topics based on a LEC-wide list compiled by the module conveyor. There will be regular meetings with dissertation supervisor, and students will develop a specific dissertation topic, along with research questions, aims, objectives and methods. This will be followed by a period of background reading, discussion and planning, before their dissertation drafts are analysed, marked and a final draft of up to 10,000 is submitted in week 11 of the term.

Students must take active involvement in the module and make good use of interaction with the supervisor in order to deepen their subject specific knowledge and ability to work independently. Depending on the discipline, style and topic, students may focus on methods, field techniques, lab techniques, or a combination of computer and software tools.

You will have the option of taking either a Dissertation or a Dissertation with External Partner. However, please note that students taking a Study Abroad year must take the Dissertation option.

The placement dissertation provides you with experience of the workplace in a context that is relevant to your academic study. It enables you to take your academic knowledge and to experience at first hand how it can be applied in the workplace. You will also get to see how the requirements of a particular organisation influence the interpretation and implementation of academic knowledge. The placement thus provides a unique opportunity to study the ways in which the academic and commercial worlds intersect and to appreciate both the opportunities and constraints involved in applying geographical, environmental and biological knowledge in a real-world context. The experience will both enhance your academic knowledge and understanding and improve your employability in sectors relevant to your degree.

You will have the option of taking either a Dissertation or a Dissertation with External Partner. However, please note that students taking a Study Abroad year may not take this option, as the work placement element would clash with the year abroad.

This intensive week-long residential fieldtrip to south west Switzerland is a new collaborative third year module, jointly offered by the University of Lausanne and Lancaster University. It is a unique intercultural exchange in knowledge, with Lancaster and Lausanne students working together. The module provides students with training in the design and implementation of research to understand alpine environments. Students will collect significant amounts of field data and focus on one of six interconnected study themes, spanning: alpine climate and hydrology; glacial processes; alpine rivers; streams; soils; and ecosystems. The module will provide students with an in-depth understanding of a particular thematic focus of alpine environments.

This module explores how and why animals behave in the way that they do, building on many of the major themes of the Evolution module to highlight the links between behaviour, ecology and evolution. The central aim will be to understand the fitness consequences of behaviour - by focusing on three of the most important topics in behavioural research (reproduction, sociality and communication), we will investigate how the behaviour of an individual has evolved to maximise its survival and reproductive success.

Students will gain an understanding of how and why we study animal behaviour, at the same time developing their appreciation of scientific best practice. Students will be encouraged to relate specific knowledge to broader issues in ecology and evolution, and to critically reflect on what animal behaviour can tell us about behaviour in our own species. Additionally, students will be able to describe what behaviour actually is and understand the major factors that influence how animals (including humans) behave. Students will also develop the level of knowledge necessary to discuss a wide diversity of animal behaviours in a broad range of species, and describe the major approaches to understanding behaviour and apply Tinbergen's four questions to behavioural processes. Students will gain an enhanced understanding in a range of areas, including the importance of both nature and nurture in the evolution of behaviour, the ecological pressures that shape behaviour, the importance of the fitness consequences of behaviour at the individual level and the concepts of kin selection and inclusive fitness

This module explores climate change in the context of it being a ‘wicked problem’. The aim is to provoke students to look beyond the simple narratives pushed at us about climate change and to start to think critically as wicked problems require us to do. In doing so, students are invariably forced to abandon often naive assumptions about what can and can't be done to tackle climate related risks.

This module employs developing and using an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) as its primary learning device because, for all their deficiencies, IAMs have become the most important way synthesising the various components of the climate change 'problem'. Practical decision making is a theme running through the module supported by quantitative analysis. However, this necessarily involves debate and discussion over the normative values we use in our analysis of climate change and students will be expected to actively participate in this debate, holding and developing their line of argument both in small groups and in class wide discussions.

By the end of this module, students will recognise the role of societal and climate dynamics in climate change management, and will gain the necessary knowledge required to comprehend the basis of sustainable development in the context of climate change management. They will also be able to perform simple, yet meaningful evaluation of a range of climate related options.

Coral reefs are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth and have inspired the development of some of the most far-reaching theories in ecology. These ecosystems are distributed throughout the tropics and often dominate the shallow seas. They are also important for many millions of people worldwide yet are under increasing threat from climate change and more direct anthropogenic disturbance. This module aims to provide a solid grounding in coral reef biology, ecology and evolution, with a focus on corals and reef fishes, building on broad ecological principles laid down in previous years. Students will apply this understanding to evaluate threats and their potential solutions, developing an appreciation of the precarious nature of the most complex habitat in the oceans. Specifically, the students will explore how and where coral reefs have emerged through time and adapted to life in the oceans, the delicate balance of interactions that allow their enormous variety of species to coexist, and emerging threats and solutions to their continued existence.

This interdisciplinary module draws on perspectives from Geography, Conservation Science, Archaeology and more to explore the past, present and future of Amazonia. You will cover a broad range of topics, including debates around the question of whether the Amazon is a pristine forest or a cultural artefact; deforestation and agricultural transitions; conservation and extractive reserves; mega-dams and environmental justice; rural-urban migration and future resilience of Amazonian socio-ecological systems. By the end you will have learnt to see the world’s largest rainforest and its people through a variety of lenses, and that almost everything you thought previously about the Amazon was wrong!

The aim of this module is to illustrate some of the ways in which plants achieve this and to provide an insight into the physiological mechanisms that underlie plant ecology. Students will explore how plants respond to specific environmental cues and the ways in which they are able to adapt to a variety of stressful environments. All of these processes will be viewed from both an agricultural and an ecological perspective. Students will also gain an understanding of the environmental constraints on plant growth and productivity and an appreciation of the degree of plasticity and adaptability that plants display. They will develop an appreciation of the importance of a detailed understanding of these plant traits if we are to achieve the increases in crop productivity (through management or breeding) that will be required for food security in the face of global climate change.

This module will equip students with the ability to describe a range of features related to the subject, including the range of plant photomorphogenic and photoperiodic responses to light and their ecological significance, the response of plants and communities to high temperature and salinity, the rationale behind the use of deficit irrigation to increase water use efficiency , plant adaptations for efficient extraction of nutrients from the soil, the way in which leaves and roots function in drought-prone environments, and the regulation of growth of leaves and roots in drought-prone environments. Students will also develop the skill level required identify the practical applications of modifying plant responses to their light environment, discussing the problems posed by a hot dry climate for plant growth and functioning and the rationale for breeding/engineering plants for increased water use efficiency, in addition to gaining the necessary understanding of the cellular and whole plant tissue basis of plant drought resistance and the physiological basis of salt tolerance.

Students will learn both the principles on which remote sensing systems operate, and how useful environmental information can be derived from remotely sensed data. From this, students will be able to compare the information provided by remote sensing sensors from several areas of research such as ecology, biology, geography, geology, marine and atmosphere science.

They will also develop image processing skills and learn how remote sensing data can be used to extend our understanding of ecosystems and global environmental changes.

The aims of this module are fulfilled by initially examining the physical basis of remote sensing in terms of the characteristics of electromagnetic radiation and its interactions with the Earth's atmosphere and biosphere. This physical basis is also examined in terms of how the sensors and satellites operate in a modern earth system observatory. The techniques used to analyse and interpret images will then be used to understand local, regional and global environmental changes.

This is followed by an investigation of the environmental applications of remote sensing. Here, satellite images from NASA, ESA and several international space agencies are used to illustrate the increasing importance of remotely-sensed data for environmental and climate applications.

Laboratory practicals allow students to study the physical principles of remote sensing, and computer practicals are used to demonstrate image analysis techniques using ENVI Imagine: a state-of-the-art software package.

Food and Agriculture in the 21st century explores the social, political and environmental challenges facing food systems in the world today. This includes the history, culture and development of contemporary food systems. The focus is on the industries’ interactions with plants, animals and the landscape, and the resultant debates regarding food security and food sovereignty. Through the exploration of case studies from across the globe, students will consider the connections between changing diets, landscapes and agrarian reform. They will also develop innovative and alternative solutions for the future.

The module encourages the development of skills in debate and analysis by drawing on environmental history, human geography, anthropology, sociology, historical and political ecology and cultural studies.

Students will ultimately be able to describe the social, ethical, economic and environmental challenges facing food systems and understand the connections between production and consumption and how these have shaped the contemporary food systems.

Plants and animals in their natural environments interact with a wide range of other living organisms. These include both beneficial interactions and damaging encounters with parasites, pathogens and herbivores. The module examines the different kinds of organisms that have evolved a parasitic lifestyle and the ways in which they parasitize their hosts. In parallel, the module will introduce the different strategies that plants and animals use to defend themselves, including the recruitment of other organisms to act as allies. The continuing conflict between hosts and parasites results in a so-called 'evolutionary arms race'.

Practical work will develop laboratory skills, and assessment will develop skills in data analysis, writing and argument. The module will also examine the evolutionary costs and benefits of defence, and the evidence for short and long-term immunological memory. Since the module is aimed primarily at addressing ecological and physiological questions rather than the biomedical aspects of parasitology, the focus will be on invertebrate rather than vertebrate hosts.

Students will be able to describe a range of subject specific topics, such as the main groups of parasitic organisms and their lifestyles; the structural and behavioural defences against parasites, pathogens and herbivores in plants and animals, and the key features of innate and adaptive immunity in plants and animals. This module will also enhance students’ ability to identify the main selective processes shaping the evolution of host resistance to parasites, along with providing explanations as to why many defence mechanisms are inducible rather than permanently expressed, and how specialist herbivores and parasites have co-evolved with their hosts to overcome resistance.

In this module, students will be shown how, through manipulation of species, communities and ecosystems, habitats can be managed in a sustainable way that preserves and enhances their aesthetic, scientific, recreational, and often utilitarian, value. The creation of new habitats will be considered, as well as management of existing areas of conservation interest. The module is largely taught by external lecturers who are directly involved in the application of ecological principles to practical problems.

Students will develop the level of ability required to describe the nature of selected habitat types, as well as explaining a series of underlying ecological processes which necessitate management. Students will also be able to identify the techniques used for conservation management specific to a range of habitat types, in addition to reinforcing a range of transferrable skills, such as the ability to present scientific data clearly and concisely, in both written and oral format. Students will learn to work autonomously as well as being involved in group work.

Join a discussion and debate where you are encouraged to critically examine primary literature and ideas on topical issues in conservation biology in the UK and globally. Gain an understanding of the key factors that constrain conservation and of the interdisciplinary nature of conservation problems in the real world.

This module covers primarily the physical processes and phenomena that govern the nature of lakes, rivers and estuaries. It also covers the biological and chemical processes that operate within the framework of their physical structure and investigates how the physical, chemical and biological aspects of lakes, rivers and estuaries influence and relate to each other.

Students shall become well versed in the following areas: the nature and functioning of aquatic environments, the ways in which physical, chemical and biological processes and phenomena interact in the environment, and ways in which fundamental scientific concepts play out in the environment.

From this, they will be able to determine the water quality and ecological health of these areas. Students will also acquire the skill of interpreting data sets generated by instrumentation that are widely deployed for monitoring and management purposes in lakes, rivers and estuaries.

They will also learn how curiosity-driven scientific understanding can be applied in the exploitation, management and conservation of aquatic environments.

In this module, students will be shown how, through manipulation of species, communities and ecosystems, habitats can be managed in a sustainable way that preserves and enhances their aesthetic, scientific, recreational, and often utilitarian, value. The creation of new habitats will be considered, as well as management of existing areas of conservation interest. The module is largely taught by external lecturers who are directly involved in the application of ecological principles to practical problems.

Students will develop the level of ability required to describe the nature of selected habitat types, as well as explaining a series of underlying ecological processes which necessitate management. Students will also be able to identify the techniques used for conservation management specific to a range of habitat types, in addition to reinforcing a range of transferrable skills, such as the ability to present scientific data clearly and concisely, in both written and oral format. Students will learn to work autonomously as well as being involved in group work.

Modern resource-intensive agriculture has proved incredibly successful in delivering relatively abundant, cheap food (at least in the developed world), but sometimes at considerable environmental cost. Therefore the general public is usually keen to embrace "sustainable agriculture" but is generally unaware of the economic and food production costs of proposed changes in crop management. By emphasising the concept of crop resource use efficiency, this module focuses on the viability of less intensive agricultural systems.

Students will critically examine primary literature on topical issues concerning the sustainability of different agricultural systems. They will gain an understanding of the key factors constraining food production, and the environmental and food production consequences of different crop production systems.

In addition to gaining the ability to identify key issues affecting the sustainability of agriculture, students will critically appraise the literature on these issues, and will develop the skillset required to recognise the economic and societal problems constraining the adoption of more environmentally sustainable agriculture. Ultimately, students will gain the ability to discuss alternative scenarios and solutions for key environmental problems associated with agriculture and document said issues in a cogent and critical manner.

During this residential field course, based in Kenya, students will be given an overview of tropical ecology via a series of lectures, field exercises, workshops and debates, using the geographic, abiotic and biotic characteristics of the Rift Valley, East Africa: from aquatic ecosystems to arid savannah. They will experience ecological processes, biodiversity and conservations issues commonplace within the tropics.

Throughout the field course, students will design and conduct surveys for the following:

• Birds - timed counts, transects and / or mist netting will be conducted at various sites and in different habitats at particular sites eg protected grassland plots versus goat grazed scrub
• Aquatic invertebrates and fish – net versus trap strategies
• Camera-trapping – grids, baited versus non-baited, targeting of specific organisms
• Light trapping – position, duration, assessing catch

Students will gain a direct appreciation of the issues, problems and solutions surrounding wildlife and human conflicts at a variety of scales.

Water is fundamental to life and is therefore a critical natural resource for human society and for all ecosystems. Employers of graduates from a wide range of environment-orientated degrees increasingly value understanding of the frameworks and technologies through which water resources can be conserved and restored, alongside the interactions between water and other natural resources such as land. This module focuses on providing this understanding, drawing on a wide range of real-world examples from the UK water sector. Students will cover the major UK and European regulatory frameworks that currently drive water resource management, the technologies available to treat wastewater, the approaches used to assess chemical and biological water quality, and the links between agricultural and urban development and water quality. This learning will be reinforced by field visits to wastewater treatment works, and by practical work dealing with datasets collected by the Environment Agency of England and Wales.

Over the duration of the module, students will be required to apply standard Environment Agency statistical procedures to assess chemical water quality, along with applying standard Environment Agency procedures to evaluate biological water quality. The module will enhance students’ ability to identify the strategies for assessing and managing water quality in the UK, and they will be able to derive simple dilution models to describe pollutant concentrations in river networks. Finally, students will gain the knowledge required to be able to explain and describe the fundamentals of water treatment processes.