Overview

This module aims to provide a practical, hands-on experience of conducting a small scale field project in small groups (3-4 students) on intertidal rocky shores to test a specific hypothesis. Students will be given the basic tools to conduct the project, including the concept of hypothesis testing, and skills in conducting appropriate graphical, statistical analysis and report writing. Workshops will be used to develop initial ideas followed by a reconnaissance field trip to refine these ideas. A specific workshop with support from staff and demonstrators will refine hypotheses to be tested and establish a detailed methodology. This methodology will then be implemented in a field trip where data will be collected. A final workshop will provide an opportunity to begin organising and analysing data under supervision. Students will then write up project reports individually.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -Threshold (40-49%): produce a structured project report giving a summary of the project (Abstract), the rationale, justification, aims and hypotheses to be tested (Introduction), the methodology adopted including site description, survey design, survey implementation, and statistical approach (Methods), a concise description of the output of the work with appropriate graphical and statistical analysis (Results), an interpretation of the results in relation to appropriate literature (Discussion) and a list of references referred to (Reference list).

-good -Good (50-69%): Produce a report as specified above using a good range of relevant literature, and with good to very good use of graphical and statistical analysis. Writing will be concise and clear, presentation will be well thought out and analyses conducted (and described) in the main correctly. The hypothesis will have been unambiguously tested and a conclusion/ conclusions reached which are well discussed in relation to relevant literature.

-excellent -Excellent (>70%): Produce a report as specified above using a wide range of relevant literature, and with excellent use of graphical and statistical analysis. Writing will be concise and clear, presentation will be well thought out and of a very high standard. Analyses will have been conducted correctly and reported in a concise fashion, combining graphical and statistical output. The hypothesis will have been unambiguously tested and a conclusion/ conclusions reached. The output of the work will have been thoroughly (but concisely) discussed using a wide range of literature, predominantly from primary sources.

Learning Outcomes

• Know how to articulate a testable hypothesis/hypotheses

• Know how to collate, analyse and present results of intertidal shore surveys based on testable hypotheses

• Know how to survey the abundance and distribution of macrobenthic species on intertidal shores

• Know the fundamentals of designing a field survey in the marine intertidal

• Understand how data can be collected and used to test the stated hypothesis