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RSNR402 Freshwaters: Ecology and Management

Updated: 12 April 2010
Credit Points 6
Offering
Responsible Campus Teaching Period Mode of Study Online Level
Armidale Semester 2 Off Campus C - Internet access required
Armidale Semester 2 On Campus C - Internet access required
Intensive School(s) None
Supervised Exam There is a UNE Supervised Examination held at the end of the teaching period in which you are enrolled.
Pre-requisites 96cp or candidature in a postgraduate award
Co-requisites None
Restrictions EM454 or EM554 or ENVE421 or ENVE521 or RSNR502
Notes None
Combined Units RSNR502 - Freshwaters: Ecology and Management
Coordinator(s) Darren Ryder (dryder2@une.edu.au)
Unit Description

This unit commences with a description of the distribution, hydrology, chemistry, and ecology of freshwaters with an emphasis on Australia and its water resources. Technologies and their impacts on the freshwater ecosystem are reviewed in detail with a focus on environmental allocations, water use for irrigation and domestic supply, technologies for water re-use and re-cycling, desalination, agricultural effluent re-use and groundwater exploitation, and their likely impacts. Chemical and bio-assessment methods (including river health assessments) for detecting impacts are demonstrated before the unit concludes with a holistic treatment of the trade-offs and management of social, economic, ecological and political issues in water resource management in Australia and overseas.
Prescribed Material
Mandatory 		Text(s):

Note: Students are expected to purchase prescribed material

Australian Freshwater Ecology: Processes and Management
ISBN: 9781875553051
Boulton, A. and Brock, M., Gleneagles Publishing 1st ed. 1999
Note: Available from the United Campus Bookshops, UNE or Ecosystem Management Administration Office, UNE
Text refers to: Semester 2 , On and Off Campus
Recommended Material
Optional 		Text(s):

Note: Recommended material is held in the University Library - purchase is optional

Freshwater Ecology: Concepts and Environmental Applications
ISBN: 9780122191350
Dodds, W.K., Academic Press 2002
Text refers to: Semester 2 , On and Off Campus
Disclaimer Unit information may be subject to change prior to commencement of the teaching period.
Assessment
Title Exam Length Weight Mode No. Words
Assignment 1 20% 2000
Assessment Notes
describing a specific freshwater ecosystem and its ecology
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1-2, 4 GA: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8
Assignment 2 40% 3500
Assessment Notes
on actions, consequences, and management of a specific activity
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1-4 GA: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8
Final Examination 2 hrs 40%
Relates to Learning Outcomes (LO) and Graduate Attributes (GA)
LO: 1-4 GA: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8

Learning Outcomes (LO) Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
  1. describe and appreciate the distribution of Australia's surface and groundwater resources, major elements of their ecology, and their principal management issues;
  2. understand and use field methods to assess the likely impacts of technologies such as irrigation use or river regulation on river health;
  3. understand the trade-offs between water resource use and ecological sustainability for effective management, specifically applying this understanding to environmental flow assessment;
  4. integrate an understanding of aquatic ecology and water resource technology in 'action and consequence' assessment of various water resource issues such as re-use of agricultural effluent, river regulation, and groundwater use.

Graduate Attributes (GA)
Attribute Taught Assessed Practised
1 Knowledge of a Discipline
Students are required to read literature on freshwater ecology and management including topics on governance, hydrology and systems analysis. Students are required to critically examine the scientific and non-scientific literature and theory. Students apply this knowledge to assessment tasks (including examinations) to critique and problem-solve contemporary aquatic management issues. 		True True True
2 Communication Skills
Students are specifically trained in communication skills as part of an assessment item as they are required to communicate a critique of a report to the rest of the class (either in person or online as part of a live chatroom). Written communication is taught, practiced, and assessed in relation to media critique, and report. 		True True True
3 Global Perspectives
Students examine examples of models, theories and case-studies of the ecology and management of freshwater systems from around the world. 		True
4 Information Literacy
Students are instructed, assessed, and expected to demonstrate research capacity in written assignments and utilise a wide range of sources. 		True True True
5 Life-Long Learning
Students are instructed in, assessed and practice learning skills that will be useful to them beyond the unit of learning. 		True
6 Problem Solving
Students undertake two assessment tasks that each challenges them to relate an existing model to a system of their chioce and critique a scientific report/articles from a range of disciplines. 		True True True
7 Social Responsibility
Students are exposed to the concept of social responsibility and required to exhibit social responsibility in group discussions and when undertaking group work. 		True
8 Team Work
Students are given training in team skills and perspectives. Students subsequently work in teams in tutorial or online class activities, and their interaction within teams can contribute to their unit assessment. 		True True True
   

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