ENV BIOL 2510 - Plant Identification II

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2024

Students gain a basic understanding of the diversity of plants and develop specialised technical skills in the identification of vascular plants. This course has an atypical distribution of contact hours and student workload during the semester; learning activities include online preparation ahead of the focus intensive one week face-to-face period within the mid-semester break, after which students have face-to-face workshops to support their project. The course is taught in the context of the origins of Australian plant diversity with special emphasis on selected and iconic Australian plant groups. Native and introduced plant groups are emphasised in practical studies and some emphasis will be placed on understanding the status of rare, threatened and priority weed plant groups. Field and practical experience will include study of plant diversity of local natural and managed habitats. Skills developed in this course include the description and identification of vascular plants along with a basic understanding of land based non-vascular plant groups. The skills developed will provide a sound basis contributing to investigating evolutionary processes and describing biodiversity.

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Course Details

Course Code	ENV BIOL 2510
Course	Plant Identification II
Coordinating Unit	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Term	Semester 2
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 6 hours per week during 2nd half of the Semester; up to 40 hours per week in Mid-Semester break
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Incompatible	ENV BIOL 2515
Assumed Knowledge	6 units of Level I BIOLOGY, Environmental Biology courses or equivalent; ENV BIOL 2500
Assessment	Quizzes (in practicals), oral presentation, assignments, mid-term and final tests

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Michelle Waycott

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1	Demonstrate understanding of the principles and practice of vascular plant identification;
2	Demonstrate understanding of plant taxonomic nomenclature and systems of classification;
3	Infer the taxonomic status of unknown plant specimens and have the analytical tools to assess their conservation or introduced status;
4	Demonstrate understanding of how to collect plant specimens from the field and prepare them for lodgement in herbaria and
5	Understand processes of vascular plant evolution which underly the origins of existing biodiversity.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.	2-5
Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.	1,2,3
Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.	1,2,4,5
Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.	1-5
Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.	2-5
Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.	2,4

Learning Resources

Recommended Resources

There is not a formal recommended text for this course.
Course content and technical resources will be delivered via MyUni (please check at the start of the course) and handouts during face to face classes.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course is run in three phases:
Phase 1. Online only (weeks 1-8 of Semester II): prior to the intensive mode component of the course, students have access to a series of online only, pre-recorded Lectures that cover both theoretical concepts and some practical background for the course. There are also a series of topics that students can work through to reinforce their conceptual understanding of the lecture material. Informal online discussion sessions on the lecture topics will be available fortnightly to students during this period.

Phase 2. Face to face one-week, full time - intensive mode, during the mid semester break of Semester II: Practical experience will be gained by students individually and in groups in the use of plant identification keys of various types both electronic and traditional hard copy; dichotomous, character based, technical and visual. Field trip activities will be undertaken in small groups during the field trips run during the face to face week to learn methods for collaborating in the collection of plants in the field. Students will also individually learn to provide appropriate material for inclusion in national research infrastructure resources including herbaria and national data sets providing them with foundational skills. Learning activities will include scientific preparation of materials, analysis and interpretation of technical data in correct plant identifications and self-evaluation protocols for assessing accuracy of conclusions drawn.

Phase 3. Completion of major project assessment following face to face week: students will have access to face to face demonstrator support for completing their major project through informal tutorial sessions in the final 3 weeks of semester.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

A student enrolled in a 3 unit course, such as this, should expect to spend, on average 12 hours per week on the studies required. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g., lectures and practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading and revision). This leads to approximately 160 hours per course in total.

However, because this course is delivered in a mixed online and face to face intensive mode the practicals and field work undertaken during the mid semester break (1 week) are the equivalent of 8 weeks of practicals in a normal semester course.
Thus there is an expectation of full time commitment during the 1 week face to face intensive plus significant preparation time beforehand. Assessment is ongoing during the face to face work and absences have the potential to impact grades significantly.

The work to be completed before the face to face intensive week includes online content delivered via MyUni.

Following the intensive week the final assessment items will need to be completed and there are tutorial sessions to support this.

Learning Activities Summary

The course content may include the following topics:
1.   Botanical nomenclature, the principles of systematics and taxonomy (including historical context)
2.   Species concepts versus species identification (including historical and theoretical context and its practical application).
3.   Modern taxonomic techniques.
4.   The role of the herbarium and other research infrastructure such as botanic gardens, seed banks and databases.
5.   Fundamentals of plant characters used for modern taxonomy; morphology, anatomy, cytology, DNA characters. Detailed
plant character analysis; leaves, flowers and fruits.
6.   Spotting characters for major groups including iconic Australian flowering plant groups, weeds and globally important
plant families.
7.   Evolutionary systematics of vascular plants including adaptation and congruence in plant characters.
8. An understanding of plant biodiversity, ethnobotany, adaptations of plants to particular environmental conditions, invasive species and biosecurity risks.

Practical classes may include developing skills in the recognition of plant structures for use in taxonomic identification, the use of taxonomic identification key and other resources, analysis of plant characters for assessment of variability. Field work will provide practical skills in field identifications, specimen collection and data capture.

Specific Course Requirements

Course content and technical resources will be delivered via MyUni (please check at the start of the course) and handouts during face to face classes.

Supporting resources could also include:

Plant Systematics, Second Edition, by Michael G. Simpson ISBN: 978-0-12-374380-0

It's Blue With Five Petals by Ann Prescott ISBN: 978-0-64-659298-5

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Type of Assessment	Percentage of total assessment for grading purposes	Hurdle Yes or No	Outcomes being assessed / achieved	Approximate Timing of Assessment
Quizzes	Formative & Summative	10%	No	1,3	Week 38
Practical Assessment	Formative & Summative	15%	No	2,3,4	Week 38
Project	Formative & Summative	25%	No	1-5	Week 43
Mid-Semester Test	Summative	25%	No	1,2,3,5	Week 38
Final Test	Summative	25%	No	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Week 44

Assessment Detail

1. Quizzes (10%)

Quizzes to test practical skills in plant identification the students have gained (3 occasions, 5% each). They take the form of the student being provided with plant material and directed to specific resources to use to identify the plant. These quizzes include assessment of the ability of student to not only observe and describe the key charactersitics of unknown plant specimens they will need to identify but the correct taxonomy applied. These quizzes are conducted in-lab during the face to face week.

2. Practical Assessment (15%)

The practical assessment of work conducted during the face to face week. Assessment will involve completing a test having access to their workbook containing records of in-lab and in-field activities and research associated with identifying major Australian plant families including knowledge of the spotting characters for the plant families observed.

3. Project (25%)

Collections of plants collected during field trips to native vegetation during the face to face component of the course. This assessment will include sampling, data collection and preparation of plant specimens for lodging at a herbarium, the correct identification of specimens and documentation of them method used, a description (including imagery) of the vegetation observed during the field trips, and preparation of data for submission with specimens such as that which is lodged with national and international databases.

4. Mid Term and Final Tests (50%)

Mid-term test (25%)

Mid-semester test will be based on the online learning activities to be completed prior to the face to face training activities.

Final test (25%)

The final test will be conducted following the intensive mode component and following tutorials that will draw on material from both lectures and practicals requiring the students to integrate their learning across this course.

Submission

If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that the assignment is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days late or more without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the marks available for that assignment.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
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Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator