BIO3820 - Tropical Terrestrial Biology

• Unit information
• General Unit Information & Synopsis
• Specific Unit Information

General Unit Information

This unit is run by the Malaysian campus of Monash University and will be offered to students from the Clayton campus in 2010.  Please note: this unit was previously coded as SCM3022.

The unit focuses on the biology of terrestrial tropical ecosystems in South East Asia (particularly the Malaysian region) but also discusses tropical environments in other parts of the world. The Malaysian region encompasses many unique tropical habitats such as dipterocarp forest, peat swamp forest, cloud forest, karst vegetation and caves, which will be studied in detail. The students will gain an understanding of the importance of climate, nutrient cycling, disturbance, and succession on the ecology of tropical plants and animals. Conservation and management issues will also be examined. In the practical part of the unit, students will have a chance to visit local field sites, including some highly diverse tropical rainforests and unique peat swamps and mangroves, to investigate the biology of these communities.

Field Course

The field component will consist of a one week course held in the Gunung Mulu National Park in Borneo-Malaysia during the second semester break: 25th September - 3rd October 2010. The cost will be in be ~ $2000.

Monash Abroad Travel Grants

Eligible students undertaking the field trip to South East Asia will receive a Monash Abroad travel grant of $500.00    All students enrolled at Clayton who undertake the field trip, including those who want to apply for the travel grant, will need to complete a separate Monash Abroad application form which is available from the unit coordinator, Dr Patrick Baker or Technical Coordinator, Mr Bruce Weir.  Further details about Monash Abroad travel grants and other international study opportunities can be found at http://www.monash.edu.au/students/studyabroad/.

Objectives

On completion of this unit, students will have gained an introduction to the diversity and ecology of tropical environments in South East Asia. Both natural and artificial (e.g. rice paddies and oil palm plantations) habitats will be examined and consideration will be given to tropical ecosystems throughout the world. The students will gain an understanding of the conservation and management issues relating to specific tropical environments, particularly those in the Malaysian region. The students will develop skills to design and analyse sampling programs to examine the flora and fauna of tropical habitats.

Quota

Please note: Due to Field Course logistics this unit has a quota of 30 Clayton students .  All students who are interested in enrolling in 2010 must contact the faculty office to provisionally enrol.  Due to the quota, enrolment via WES is not possible and all enrolments must be done manually.  If a quota is applied, the selection criteria will be based on academic merit - please contact the Science Faculty office for further details.

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Specific Unit Information

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