Landscape and Urban Ecology

Description

The module will consider the sustainability of urban biodiversity in the UK. Emphasis will be placed upon the potential importance of urban habitats, their uniqueness and the application of appropriate ecological theories to urban areas.

It will be argued that to understand fully the complexities of urban environments one needs to utilise results from both the natural and social sciences.

Topics addressed will include:

  • Green corridors
  • Metapopulations and gradient theory
  • System disturbance
  • Monitoring and recovery
  • Sampling
  • Habitat restoration
  • Sustainability 

Assessment

  • Field project
  • Examination

Key skills

  • Sample design (Project)
  • Statistical analyses (using SPSS, Brodgar, Excel, PAST) (Project)
  • Project planning (Project)
  • Project reporting (Project)
  • Essay writing (Examination)
  • Ecological problem solving (Examination)