Aims

This module aims to deliver and develop competencies in the following areas:

Knowledge Application:

To gain fundamental biological knowledge concerning the identification, biology and ecology of the main groups of marine organisms that are collectively responsible for up to 50% of global carbon fixation and recycling, are at the base of most aquatic food webs, and contribute to global biogeochemical cycling. As part of this, the students will develop understanding about the physiological, morphological and life history adaptations that have evolved in these hugely successful groups of organisms. They will learn how these organisms fix carbon dioxide and about the techniques scientists apply to determine the amount of CO2 fixed. They will understand some common techniques used to quantify primary productivity, and to culture and identify microbes in marine environments. They will gain an appreciation of the potential uses and applications of these organisms in commercial, industrial and biomedical contexts.

Information Literacy:

Through a combination in-course and end of module assignments, students will develop their skills in finding, interpreting and evidencing materials from the scientific literature.

Practical Skills:

Students will develop and hone practical skills needed to operate safely and efficiently in laboratory environments using contemporary methods and approaches. The practical skills will link strongly to key themes in the lecture content.

Data Literacy:

Students will develop their confidence in working with, and competence in the understanding of numerical problems that relate to key themes within the module. These may take the form of in-course assignments or as part of an end of module assignment.

Ethics Literacy:

Students will have the opportunity to develop their understanding of research and business ethics as delivered through risk assessments associated with the practical elements of the module, and through ethical aspects of intellectual property.

Collaboration:

Students will begin to develop collaboration skills associated with the practical aspects of the module, with activities commonly requiring teamwork, effective communication, and reflection thereof.

Professional Skills & Career Management:

Students will be introduced to career paths that target life sciences and biotechnology sectors. In-course assignments may in turn reflect aspects of business practice and should help to develop critical thinking in aspects of the ‘blue bioeconomy’.

Integrated Problem Solving:

Students will begin to develop their appreciation of the complexity of biological systems through concepts such as food web dynamics, challenges to perceived wisdom, and from an industrial/biotechnology perspective the need to work across disciplines to deliver effective solutions.

Outline Of Syllabus

This is a lecture based module, supported by two laboratory practicals, that will cover topics including an introduction to the evolution and diversity of marine primary producers; bacterial genetics; marine viruses; nutrient cycling and gene transfer; marine microbiomes. This will be followed by lectures on the evolution of algae and plants; photosynthesis and the photosynthetic apparatus; photosynthetic bacteria; macro-and micro-algal diversity; algal trophic ecology; and applied phycology.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures are designed to give students a broad factual knowledge of key biological principles and essential details relating to marine primary producers.

Practicals embed practical skills within the wider theoretical framework of working with marine primary producers.

Directed research and reading will support the information received through formal lectures and practicals by guided independent study using key texts. Students will be encouraged to become more independent in their learning at this stage in their programmes.

The majority of lectures and all practicals are intended to be delivered as present-in-person. There will be some lectures delivered as non-synchronous online sessions.

Assessment preparation and completion will allow students to fully prepare for their summative coursework and written examination. They will have the opportunity to consolidate and build upon knowledge gained in the taught sessions.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The 1,000 word formative assessment will allow staff to monitor student learning and provide timely feedback to students to support their learning. This will help students identify their strengths and weaknesses.

The 1,000 word summative coursework will assess students' knowledge of specific aspects of the course through a combination of written work and data interpretation, in addition to examining their use of the relevant literature to support their ideas and their ability to present information in an appropriate scientific format.

The 24 hour end of semester assessment will assess the level of knowledge and understanding of all key themes of the module and allow students additional time to carefully synthesise knowledge from diverse sources of literature.