BIO 224: Marine Biology (EnvSt major & conc, Bio major)
The broad band of latitude spanned by Australia encompasses a range of marine ecosystems.
Via field trips you will have opportunities to examine a variety of these marine environments
including: mud flats, sea grass beds, rocky foreshores, cool temperate waters of southern
Australia, mangrove forests in southern Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Studies will
occur both in traditional lectures and at several marine research facilities. Over a week will be
spent studying the Great Barrier Reef, mostly at the Heron Island Research Station, and two
days will be spent living on and studying from an ocean vessel. At the end of the course, you
should have a basic understanding of the following:
• the phylogeny of invertebrate marine animals,
• the composition and general distribution of Australia’s marine flora and vertebrate and
invertebrate fauna,
• the taxonomy and relative diversity of the Australian marine biota occurring in samples of
temperate zone seagrass beds, mud flats, rocky foreshores, sandy intertidal zones, pelagic water
columns and benthos and sub-tropical mangroves, mudflats, rocky foreshores, sandy intertidal
zones and coral reefs,
• some of the techniques used in marine research,
• the processes and techniques used in planning and implementing marine research,
• the major terrestrial and abiotic factors that affect the marine environment,
• some of the methods used in assessing, managing and conserving marine resources in Australia,
• primary production and energy dynamics in marine ecosystems,
• some of the structural, functional and behavioral adaptations to their environment exhibited by
marine organisms, and
• the structure, taxonomic diversity and functioning of coral reef ecosystems.
BIO 226: Terrestrial Ecology (ES major & conc, Bio major; SED, ORC)
This course offers an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in some of Australia’s
most exotic natural environments and use the opportunity to develop their knowledge and
understanding of ecology and ecological field work. The basic principles of ecology are as
relevant in Australia as in any part of the world. The unique geographical isolation of Australia
in combination with the continents climatic conditions has resulted in a vast array of unique
plants and animals, many which display unexpected or seemingly bizarre adaptations to life in
their environment. We will examine habitats from coastal sand dunes to subtropical rain forests
as well as the dry outback and alpine mountains, including camping trips in remote areas. The
field journal (transferred data, important notes, assignments & reflections) is part of this course
as well. At the end of the course, you should have an understanding of the following:
• animal phylogeny,
• adaptation by animals to their environment,
• the nature and origins of Australia’s flora and terrestrial vertebrate fauna,
• basic theories of community ecology and the way they relate to a selection of Australian
ecosystems,
• the nature of some of the relationships between Australian geology, soils, plants and terrestrial
animals,
• aspects of the composition, structure and function of the following Australian ecosystems: subtropical rainforest, wet and dry sclerophyll forests, coastal heathlands, sand islands, coral cays,
arid woodlands, and mangrove forests,
• aspects of the following phenomena in selected Australian ecosystems: succession, species
diversity, competition and resource partitioning, plant / animal interactions, trophic relationships,
environmental disturbance, social organization of animals, colonization of islands by plants and
animals, and fire,
• some techniques used in trapping and handling birds and small mammals for population survey
purposes, and
• processes and techniques used in planning and implementing ecological research projects in the
field.
SOAN 222: Cultural Anthropology (ES major & conc, MSG)
This course examines the diverse mix of people representing the present population of
Australia, including Australian Aborigines. With a substantial part of the population either born
in another country or having parents born in another country, the rich amalgam of people thrown
together over roughly two centuries has yielded a uniquely Australian society. The influence of
British colonizers, including European convicts, and the harsh nature of the continent has had
substantial impact of the lifestyles of whose live here. The course aims to give students insight
into some of the important factors involved in the shaping of the character of Australian people
and their society. Field trips will include visits to rural and urban aboriginal communities as well
as aboriginal archaeological sites. At the end of the course, you should have an understanding
of the following:
• human and cultural evolution,
• basic methods used in practical anthropological inquiry and some of their applications,
• some of the contributions that Australian anthropology has made to the theories and body of
knowledge in the discipline,
• the origins of the major ethnic and cultural groups comprising the Australian population,
• aspects of the history and culture of Australia’s Aboriginal people including their relationship to
the Land, spirituality, social structure, material culture, traditional and contemporary lifestyles,
language, music, dance, art and regional cultural diversity,
• aspects of the history of European colonization, settlement and development of Australia,
• the impacts of occupation of Australia by Europeans on Aboriginal culture, lifestyle and welfare,
• key contemporary social, economic and political issues relating to Aboriginal Australians,
• the social attitudes of various social and cultural groups within the Australian population with
respect to race, gender and religion,
• the importance of cross-cultural perspective and sensitivity in the analysis and interpretation of
human societies and in the practice of human relationships, and
• the ways in which the cultures they have observed in Australia differ from their own and others
with which they may be familiar.
PSCI 221: Environmental Policy (ES major & conc, HBS)
This course will deal with the Australian political system, the public service system, and the
commercial and public influences on the processes of environmental policy formulation and
implementation in Australia. The outcome of Australian environmental policies and the
strengths and weaknesses inherent in the policies themselves and in the processes by which
they were devised and implemented will be examined. The ‘fit’ of Australian environmental
policy to models of political theory and to practices of other countries will be compared.
Canberra, the national capitol, is a place of note and includes a visit to Parliament. Topics will
range from aspects of governance/regulation to mining operations to the Great Barrier Reef. At
the end of the course, you should have an understanding of the following:
• Australia’s political system, including the three tier Federal system of government and the
Westminster parliamentary system,
• Australian Federal, State and Local government election processes,
• the political philosophies of Australia’s principal political parties,
• the environmental policy making methods employed by Australia’s principal political parties,
• the role of the Australian public service at each level of government in the formulation,
implementation, review and policing of environmental policy,
• the roles played by environmental organizations, indigenous Australians and a range of
Australian industries in the formulation of Australian environmental policies and the impacts of
Australian environmental policies on those sections of the Australian community,
• the factors and priorities that determine the ways in which Australian governments deal with
conflicts between the desired goals of their environmental and other policies,
• the nature and extent of some of the conflicts of interest relating to environmental policy that exist
between various sections of the Australian community, and some of the ways in which these
conflicts are handled by the protagonists and governments,
• some of the ways in which Australia has responded to changes in the international political
economy and international environmental politics over recent times and the impact that these
changes have had on Australian environmental policy and its formulation and exercise, and
• the extent to which the processes and outcomes of the development of Australian environmental
policies can be explained in terms of conventional political theory.
