What you will study

This module covers various aspects of the physiology, behaviour, ecology and evolution of whole organisms using a wide range of representative examples of plants, animals and fungi. The overarching theme of the module and the context within which all the teaching materials are presented is adaptation and natural selection. From this evolutionary viewpoint, both the unity and diversity of many organisms are explored in the introductory activities that include identifying local wildlife that you have observed, to investigating how butterflies adapt their camouflage to their changing surroundings. You will also be introduced to the module practicals that are presented in the Investigative Biology strand and how the data you collect will be used for your assessment tasks.

Topic 1 Interdependence: introduces the idea of interdependence and the module themes of Phylogeny, Coevolution, Communication and Energy flow. Most of the examples of interdependence used involve insects and plants, especially ants and acacias. You will also be introduced to the practical skills of testing biological hypotheses through experiments and statistical analysis.

Topic 2 Migration: introduces migration in animals, with special reference to birds, and also introduces the module themes of Movement, Selection and Homeostasis. The topic includes practical skills in the form of a hands-on experiment designed to develop your skills in experimental design and hypothesis testing.

Topic 3 Wood-wide web: focuses on the set of varied interactions that make up the wood-wide web, a relatively recent concept that has generated new ideas about how plant species interact. It also acquaints you with fungi, one of the major eukaryotic kingdoms, and the technique of using isotopes to understand biological systems. In terms of the module themes, this topic introduces Interactions, Energy transformations and Nutrient flux. You will learn important literacy skills including how to identify key publications to summarise information and cite and reference publications appropriately.

Topic 4 Reproductive behaviour: looks at reproduction and sexual selection, focussing on frogs and toads, and introduces the module themes of Growth, Communication, Selection and Phylogeny. Skills you will learn include conducting an onscreen experiment and collecting data, analysing and interpreting results, and using bibliography tools to compile a reference list.

Topic 5 Surviving with limited water: considers the role of water in terrestrial ecosystems and develops the module themes: Homeostasis, Growth and Energy transformations. Many of the examples given in this topic are plants from desert habitats, which have been used to emphasise more extreme adaptations. The topic also develops your practical skills in looking at tissue structure (via a digital microscope), as well as web searching and data analysis.

Topic 6 Predation: covers various aspects of predation, including ecological perspectives of interactions between predators and prey, the behaviour of predators and the evolution of specialist large cat predator groups. The topic develops the module themes of Interactions, Movement and Coevolution. The skills of report reading/writing and hypothesis formulation, along with analysing and interpreting correlations, are also covered.

Topic 7 Surviving the cold: explores many of the different ways in which a range of organisms adapt to cold environments. In doing so, it develops the module themes of Nutrient flux and then Energy flow and Energy transformations, focusing on respiration. The topic further develops your practical skills in developing and testing biological hypotheses through an online experiment, by devising and using data collection methods to gather results ready for analysis.

Topic 8 Crustacean behaviour: uses examples of marine invertebrates to apply the module themes of Communication and Phylogeny. The topic activities further develop your skills of data handling and analysis.

Topic 9 Selective breeding: focuses on the implications of artificial selection and captive breeding for survival, and uses mammalian examples of each to apply the module themes of Selection as well as Nutrient flux. The topic further develops your practical skills of designing data collection methods to use with films of elephant behaviour.

Topic 10 Sunshine and fresh air to cheese: This topic covers a number of integrated biological systems involving the conversion of light energy into the food product cheese, via the dairy cow and the cheese-making process. In doing so, the topic material applies the module themes of Homeostasis, Growth and Energy flow. It also refines your skills of performing calculations and using these to make comparisons.

Topic 11 Pollination: In the final topic of this module the rich variety of interactions between plants and flower visitors is explored and you will carry out your own investigations and write up a practical report. This topic applies the module themes of Interactions, Coevolution and Movement.

Investigative Biology: as you work your way through the module materials you will simultaneously be undertaking investigative biology with 5 practicals: Bird visual discrimination - prey selection; Plant stomata; Cold adaptation in laboratory rats; Observing Asian elephant behaviours: eating and defecating and Pollinators. Through these investigations you will also develop and practice your skills of reading scientific literature and writing up practical reports.

Vocational relevance

By studying this module you will develop your understanding of whole organism biology and will be equipped to apply your understanding of the concepts of adaptation and evolution to alternative biological examples. Through this combination of study and practical investigation, you will also develop digital literacy, practical and analytical skills by carrying out a number of investigations using at-home and on-screen interactive experiments to generate and analyse your own unique data sets.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

Throughout your module studies, you’ll get help and support from your assigned module tutor. They’ll help you by:

• Marking your assignments (TMAs) and providing detailed feedback for you to improve.
• Guiding you to additional learning resources.
• Providing individual guidance, whether that’s for general study skills or specific module content.
• Facilitating online discussions between your fellow students, in the dedicated module and tutor group forums.

Module tutors also run online tutorials throughout the module. Where possible, recordings of online tutorials will be made available to students. While these tutorials won’t be compulsory for you to complete the module, you’re strongly encouraged to take part.

Assessment

The assessment details for this module can be found in the facts box.

Field/laboratory schools

This module has an optional residential field school.

The Field Studies Council runs the residential field school Pollination. This 3-day programme (at FSC Preston Montford in Shropshire) includes outdoor exercises and follow-up laboratory work.

The residential field school fee for 2023/24 was £325; you must also pay for your travel.

Instructions for booking will be on the module website.

Plus

The School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences offers optional laboratory schools in Milton Keynes at an additional cost. Laboratory schools are not part of this module but may be of interest if you wish to gain relevant hands-on laboratory experience.

Further information and instructions for booking are on the .

Regulations